70-698 Exam Guide: Windows 10 Skills, Retirement Status, and the Right Next Step
Exam 70-698, Installing and Configuring Windows 10, was designed to validate practical ability to install, configure, locally manage, and maintain Windows 10 core services in professional environments. It served IT professionals who could encounter enterprise scenarios and cloud-integrated services. The most important decision now is not how to book this exam, but whether you need historical 70-698 knowledge or a current certification route. This guide helps you make that choice, identify the original skill areas, and build useful Windows administration practice without relying on outdated exam claims or unauthorized question material.
Can you still take exam 70-698?
No. Exam 70-698 has been retired and is no longer available to take. Microsoft’s retirement guidance explains that a retired exam cannot be taken and its associated certification or credential cannot be earned after retirement. Treat any page offering a current appointment, current exam questions, or a guaranteed path through 70-698 with caution.
The retirement changes the purpose of preparation. A candidate cannot schedule 70-698 as a new certification exam, so studying specifically to obtain a present-day 70-698 result is not a viable plan. The technical subjects remain useful for understanding Windows 10 administration, migration, device configuration, and support, but the credential decision must be based on a current Microsoft offering.
Microsoft’s retirement guidance also distinguishes between an unavailable credential and a credential already earned. A certification earned or renewed before retirement remains on the learner’s transcript in the Active Certifications section until it expires; after expiration, it moves to Historical Certifications. That transcript treatment does not reopen the retired examination.
What was 70-698 intended to validate?
70-698 validated the operational work involved in installing and configuring Windows 10, with emphasis on local management and maintenance of core Windows 10 services. Its intended audience was IT professionals responsible for those activities, rather than candidates seeking only a conceptual introduction to desktop computing.
The official objective-domain material also indicated that candidates might encounter enterprise scenarios or cloud-integrated services. That detail matters when interpreting the exam’s scope: preparation was not limited to installing a single workstation from removable media. It required thinking about Windows 10 in an organization, where identity, policy, deployment choices, connectivity, and service integration affect the outcome.
The title and audience profile point toward a task-based study model. Instead of memorizing isolated product terms, a candidate should have been able to explain why an installation method fits a situation, configure a device consistently, diagnose a failed change, and maintain a usable workstation over time. Those are practical study principles even though the examination itself is retired.
Microsoft’s published objective-domain document identified changes effective November 30, 2017. Historical study material should therefore be checked against the version of the objectives being discussed. Do not assume that a document, course, or practice product created for one objective revision represents every version of the retired exam.
Who was the intended candidate?
The intended candidate was an IT professional who installed, configured, locally managed, and maintained Windows 10 core services. Someone with hands-on exposure to desktop deployment and support would have had a more appropriate starting point than a learner with no Windows administration experience.
Microsoft’s own exam-preparation session was specifically designed for people experienced with installing and configuring Windows 10 who were interested in taking 70-698. That is useful evidence about the expected baseline: the exam was positioned as a validation step for existing technical experience, not as a substitute for learning basic operating-system administration from scratch.
A suitable historical candidate profile would include responsibility for preparing devices, applying configuration, supporting users, and maintaining a Windows 10 estate. The profile could also include work in environments connected to enterprise systems or cloud services. The exact job title matters less than the tasks performed and the ability to connect a configuration decision to an administrative requirement.
For present-day career planning, separate two questions. First, do you need Windows client administration skills? Second, do you need the historical 70-698 credential? The first can still justify a structured lab and documentation exercise. The second cannot justify a new exam appointment because the exam is retired.
Which skills should a historical study plan cover?
The supplied official research does not provide a complete current blueprint with domain names, task statements, or percentage weights. It supports a broader scope: Windows 10 installation, configuration, local management, maintenance of core services, enterprise scenarios, and cloud-integrated services. A responsible study plan should stay within that evidence rather than inventing domain percentages or question allocations.
Start with installation decisions. Practise distinguishing a clean installation from an upgrade-oriented approach, identifying the prerequisites and dependencies for a repeatable deployment, and recording what changes after installation. The goal is not to reproduce a remembered answer; it is to understand how an administrator would select, execute, and verify an installation in a controlled environment.
Move next to configuration. Build a checklist for device settings, user access, connectivity, policy application, and required services. For each setting, record the expected result, the evidence that confirms it, and the symptoms that would indicate a failed or conflicting configuration. This turns passive reading into an auditable troubleshooting process.
Then cover local management and maintenance. Practise inspecting system state, applying an intentional change, validating the change, and documenting rollback or recovery considerations. A strong Windows administrator does not stop when a setting appears to have been applied; the administrator verifies user impact, service health, and repeatability.
Finally, connect the workstation to the larger environment. The objective-domain evidence says enterprise scenarios and cloud-integrated services could appear in the audience profile, so historical preparation should include the reasoning required when a Windows 10 device interacts with organizational identity, management, or cloud-connected services. The evidence does not support naming a complete list of tested products, so do not treat an unofficial topic list as an authoritative blueprint.
What should you do about blueprint percentages?
No verified blueprint percentages were supplied for 70-698. Consequently, this guide does not assign percentages to exam domains, compare weighted areas, or present a fabricated objective distribution. Use the official objective-domain document as the boundary for historical scope, and treat any percentage shown by a third-party source as unverified unless Microsoft documentation supports it.
How should you study the material if your goal is practical competence?
Use a sequence of build, change, break, and explain. First create a controlled Windows 10 practice environment, then install and configure it, deliberately introduce a manageable fault, restore service, and write down the evidence used to reach the diagnosis. This approach develops administrative judgment more effectively than reading lists of commands without observing their effects.
Begin with a capability inventory. Mark each subject as demonstrated, understood but untested, or unfamiliar. Demonstrated means you can perform and verify the task; understood means you can describe it but have not completed it; unfamiliar means you need authoritative learning material before attempting the lab. This prevents comfortable topics from consuming the time needed for weak areas.
Use one notebook or digital record for every lab. Include the starting state, the intended change, the commands or console path used, the expected result, the observed result, and the recovery step. If the result differs from expectation, preserve the error and document how you isolated the cause. These notes become a revision tool and a portfolio of reasoning, not a substitute for official documentation.
Study in decision pairs. For installation, compare two deployment situations and justify the choice. For configuration, compare a local setting with an organization-managed setting. For maintenance, compare a symptom with several plausible causes and identify the first non-destructive check. Decision pairs expose whether you understand the conditions behind a solution.
Use the Microsoft exam-preparation session as historical orientation rather than as proof that its coverage is current. Microsoft describes that session as a fast-paced review of covered topics, test-taking techniques, certification context, and resources for final preparation. Since the exam is retired, use it to understand the former exam’s intent, then verify technical procedures against current Microsoft documentation before applying them.
What practical lab exercises are worth doing?
A small, repeatable lab can cover more useful ground than a large collection of disconnected notes. Build a Windows 10 workstation, record its initial state, apply a planned configuration, test a normal user workflow, and then reverse one change. Repeat the exercise until you can explain both the procedure and the verification evidence.
For installation practice, document the selected installation path, the assumptions behind it, and the checks performed immediately afterward. Confirm that the device reaches the expected operating state, that required services are available, and that a user can complete a representative task. The point is to practise validation, not merely to make the installer finish.
For configuration practice, choose a setting with an observable effect and test it from the perspective of both the administrator and the user. Record where the setting is defined, how precedence could affect it, and how you would prove that the intended device received it. Avoid changing production systems while experimenting.
For maintenance practice, start with a healthy baseline and introduce a controlled fault such as a failed configuration change or unavailable service. Gather evidence before altering the system. Check the most local and least destructive explanations first, then change one variable at a time. Finish by documenting prevention or monitoring steps.
For enterprise and cloud-connected scenarios, draw the dependency chain before touching the lab: device, user or identity, network path, management or service layer, and the Windows component affected. This makes it easier to identify whether a failure belongs to the endpoint, the connection, or an external service. The official evidence supports the presence of such scenarios but does not prescribe a particular lab topology.
How can you tell whether your preparation is strong enough?
Do not measure readiness by the number of pages read or the number of practice questions completed. Measure whether you can perform a task from a stated requirement, verify the result, explain an alternative, and recover from a predictable failure. That standard is more meaningful for Windows administration and avoids confusing recognition with operational ability.
Use a four-part review after each study block. Ask: What problem does this feature solve? Which prerequisite must exist? How will I confirm success? What evidence would point to a different cause if it fails? Write answers in your own words, then test the parts that cannot be answered confidently.
A useful readiness exercise is a timed change record. Give yourself a scenario, define the desired outcome, perform only the necessary work, and produce a concise handover note. The note should let another administrator understand the original state, the action taken, the verification performed, and any remaining risk. This tests precision without pretending to reproduce live exam content.
Review errors by category rather than simply marking them wrong. A knowledge gap means you did not know the relevant concept. A process gap means you knew the concept but missed a prerequisite or verification step. A reading gap means you overlooked a condition in the scenario. Each category requires a different correction.
If a study resource claims to contain real or leaked 70-698 items, do not use it as an authority. Memorizing unauthorized material cannot establish current Windows competence, and it does not change the exam’s retired status. Prefer official documentation, controlled practice, and explanations that you can validate against the stated objective scope.
What mistakes should retired-exam candidates avoid?
The most costly mistake is treating an old exam page as a current booking opportunity. Confirm status before buying training, reserving time, or accepting a claim that 70-698 is still active. A retired exam cannot be taken, so scheduling research should come before intensive exam-specific study.
Another mistake is assuming that a replacement exam recreates the old certification requirement. Microsoft stated that 70-698 and 70-697 were replaced by MD-100 and MD-101 in the transition to the Modern Desktop Administrator path, and Microsoft also explicitly noted that those replacement exams would not satisfy the requirements for MCSA: Windows 10.
Do not convert a historical mapping into a current promise. Microsoft’s mapping table associated 70-698, Installing and Configuring Windows 10, with the Modern Desktop Administrator certification path involving MD-100 and MD-101. That is useful historical orientation, but current certification availability and requirements can change; check the live Microsoft certification catalog before selecting a replacement.
Avoid studying from a topic list with no version, source, or update context. The 70-698 objective-domain document recorded changes effective November 30, 2017. If two resources disagree, identify which objective revision they describe and whether the information is historical or current before deciding which one to follow.
Finally, do not confuse a lab’s successful outcome with understanding. If you copied a procedure without knowing why it worked, vary the starting conditions and repeat the exercise. The ability to adapt, verify, and explain is the transferable skill that remains valuable after an exam retires.
What replaced 70-698, and how should you choose a route now?
For historical Microsoft guidance, the Modern Desktop Administrator path was the mapped successor context for 70-698, involving MD-100 and MD-101. That mapping does not establish that those exams are currently available or that they are the correct route today. Select a current credential only after checking Microsoft Learn for its present status, objectives, audience, and requirements.
If your goal is Windows client administration, begin with the current Microsoft certification catalog and compare the active role-based option with your actual work. Read the skills measured, identify the tasks you can demonstrate, and note the areas requiring current practice. Do not choose solely because a third-party page calls an exam an equivalent.
If your goal is to preserve an already earned historical achievement, review your Microsoft Learn transcript rather than attempting to recreate it. Microsoft’s retirement guidance says an earned certification remains on the transcript subject to the stated active and historical status rules. This is an account-record question, not a new-exam preparation question.
If your goal is broader Microsoft 365 work, distinguish fundamentals from role-based administration. Microsoft’s workload-certification material described a path from foundational Microsoft 365 knowledge toward roles such as Modern Desktop Administrator and ultimately Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator. Use that material as historical program context, then verify the current catalog before making a training investment.
The practical choice is therefore straightforward: study 70-698 topics when they support Windows 10 troubleshooting or legacy-environment competence; choose a current certification when you need a credential that can be earned now; and use your transcript when you are checking a credential earned before retirement.
How do registration and delivery details apply?
The normal Microsoft registration instructions do not provide a way to schedule retired 70-698. They explain the general process for active exams: open the certification or exam details page, select Schedule exam, and choose the available provider. Because 70-698 is retired, use those instructions only when investigating a current replacement, not as evidence that 70-698 has appointments.
For an active Microsoft certification exam taken independently or as part of a training program, Microsoft directs candidates to select Schedule with Pearson VUE. Students, members of an academic institution, or candidates taking a Microsoft Office Specialist exam are directed to select Schedule with Certiport. Those provider instructions concern active offerings and do not restore access to 70-698.
Microsoft’s scheduling guidance states that certification exams can be scheduled no more than 90 days in advance and that a maximum of two Microsoft Certification exams can be scheduled at a time through Pearson VUE. Confirm the live policy when booking a current exam because provider availability and program rules can change.
For a current exam, Microsoft says that online and local test-center choices may be available, but an online option is not guaranteed. If an online option appears, the candidate must complete a system pre-check and meet the required computer and testing-area standards. Certiport does not offer online proctored exams according to the cited registration guidance.
Request any needed accommodations before scheduling an active exam so the provider has time to review the request. For 70-698, the immediate action is different: stop looking for a delivery appointment and verify the current replacement or credential route through Microsoft Learn.
A practical four-stage roadmap for Windows 10 study
A four-stage roadmap keeps historical 70-698 study useful without implying that it leads to a new exam appointment. Establish the scope, build the endpoint, practise enterprise-oriented troubleshooting, and then convert the results into a current certification decision. Each stage should end with evidence of what you can do rather than a passive completion marker.
Stage one is scope control. Read the official 70-698 title and audience description, note the emphasis on installation, configuration, local management, maintenance, enterprise scenarios, and cloud-integrated services, and label the material as historical. Record the objective-domain document’s November 30, 2017 change reference so that older resources are not mistaken for a timeless blueprint.
Stage two is endpoint construction. Create a controlled Windows 10 environment and establish a baseline. Practise an installation, inspect the resulting system, apply a small set of deliberate configurations, and verify each result. Keep a change log. If your environment cannot safely support a particular exercise, document the expected verification path instead of experimenting on a production device.
Stage three is operational troubleshooting. Introduce one controlled fault at a time and work from symptoms to evidence to correction. Include a case involving a local configuration issue and another involving an enterprise or cloud-connected dependency, since the audience profile allowed for those scenarios. Explain why each diagnostic step was chosen and what alternative evidence would change your conclusion.
Stage four is decision and transition. Review your notes, identify gaps that affect your real work, and compare those gaps with a current Microsoft certification’s published skills. If you need a current credential, follow the active exam’s official registration process. If you need only Windows 10 capability, continue with labs and operational documentation rather than pursuing an unavailable 70-698 appointment.
Schedule study time around deliverables: a verified installation record, a configuration checklist, a troubleshooting log, and a current certification comparison. This produces tangible evidence of progress and prevents the roadmap from becoming a list of videos or practice questions with no connection to administrative work.
What should you do next?
First, confirm that your objective is current certification, historical knowledge, or an existing transcript record. Since 70-698 is retired, do not purchase a product or reserve an appointment until that decision is clear. Then use the official Microsoft sources to verify the current certification catalog and the historical relationship between 70-698 and the Modern Desktop Administrator path.
Next, create a skills matrix with the five evidence-supported themes: installation, configuration, local management, maintenance of Windows 10 core services, and enterprise or cloud-integrated scenarios. Add columns for explanation, hands-on demonstration, verification evidence, and unresolved questions. This gives you a practical way to direct study toward capability rather than repetition.
Build one controlled lab and complete a full change record before expanding the scope. When you encounter an unfamiliar issue, consult authoritative Microsoft material and update the record with the prerequisite, procedure, verification, and recovery step. Keep historical terminology separate from current product guidance so your notes remain useful.
Finally, check Microsoft Learn immediately before making a current exam decision. Retirement pages and certification offerings can change, and the cited registration instructions apply to active exams. If a question remains about an old transcript or replacement route, use Microsoft’s official support or certification channels rather than relying on an unverified dumps listing.
Conclusion
Exam 70-698 is best treated as a retired Microsoft exam and a historical reference point for Windows 10 installation and configuration skills, not as a currently schedulable certification target. Its documented audience and scope still support practical lab work for administrators maintaining Windows 10 environments. Make the next decision deliberately: verify an existing transcript, compare a current Microsoft certification, or study the legacy skills for operational competence. That approach protects your time, avoids unsupported exam claims, and produces preparation that remains useful beyond an unavailable exam.
