Windows System Administration Questions

Comprehensive administration of Microsoft Windows operating systems and Windows Server platform and related infrastructure, covering day to day operational tasks, configuration, security, and infrastructure design. Core areas include Active Directory concepts such as domains, forests, organizational units, trust relationships, and identity and access management; Group Policy design, scoping, inheritance, filtering, and deployment; server roles and services such as Domain Name System, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, file and print services, remote access, and remote desktop services; local and domain account and group management, role based and discretionary access control, and New Technology File System permission models; registry and service management, process and service lifecycle, and performance tuning; disk management, storage configuration, volumes, and backup and recovery strategies; patching and update management and maintenance windows; network configuration and troubleshooting including name resolution, routing, and firewall basics; monitoring, logging, and event log analysis for fault isolation and operational insight; administrative interfaces including graphical user interface and command line tools and remote administration techniques; automation and scripting with PowerShell for task automation, configuration management, and operational workflows, covering both basic PowerShell commands and broader scripting patterns; and security hardening, audit, and compliance practices for Windows environments. Candidates are expected to perform and describe practical tasks such as creating and managing user accounts and groups, applying and troubleshooting Group Policy settings, configuring core services and network settings, diagnosing Windows specific operational issues, and designing Windows oriented infrastructure for reliability, scalability, and security. Deep automation and advanced scripting topics may be assessed separately where appropriate.

EasyTechnical

64 practiced

You are administering an Active Directory domain corp.contoso.com. Write a PowerShell-based approach (commands or a short script) to create a domain user with sAMAccountName 'j.smith', DisplayName 'John Smith', UPN 'j.smith@corp.contoso.com', set an initial password and enable the account, then add the user to the security group 'Sales'. Show how your commands are idempotent (safe to run multiple times) and list any required modules or permissions for the account running the script.

EasyTechnical

54 practiced

Describe how to find all failed logon events on a domain controller for the past 24 hours using both the Event Viewer GUI and PowerShell. Indicate the key event IDs you would search for, how to filter by username or source IP, and how to export or forward these events for further analysis in a SIEM.

EasyTechnical

52 practiced

Describe Windows Server servicing channels and enterprise patch management options. Explain the differences between servicing channels (such as Long-Term Servicing Channel vs Semi-Annual Channel where applicable), and describe how WSUS, SCCM/ConfigMgr or Intune can be used to manage patch deployment including pilot rings, maintenance windows and emergency patching procedures.

EasyTechnical

58 practiced

You are at a physical Windows Server with no network access to domain controllers and the local Administrator password is unknown. Describe safe, supported methods to regain administrative access using Windows tools (for example WinRE, offline SYSTEM registry mount, or built-in recovery) while preserving data and noting security/compliance implications. Do not provide exploit-style instructions; instead describe the administrative recovery workflows and mitigations to prevent this situation.

EasyTechnical

62 practiced

Describe the steps and PowerShell commands to join a Windows Server to an Active Directory domain. Include DNS prerequisites that must be present before joining, how to supply credentials securely from a script, and how you would verify the server joined successfully and that AD replication is functioning properly afterwards.

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