70-687 Exam Guide: Plan Preparation Around the Windows 8.1 Objectives
Exam 70-687, identified by Microsoft as Configuring Windows 8.1, validates practical knowledge of preparing, installing, upgrading, and configuring Windows 8.1 devices and their applications. It is most relevant to candidates whose work or prior training covered Windows desktop deployment and administration. The immediate decision is whether the historical exam objectives still match your credential goal, or whether you should redirect preparation toward a current Microsoft certification before investing time in legacy material.
Is 70-687 still the right exam to prepare for?
Treat 70-687 as a legacy Windows 8.1 exam and verify its current status with Microsoft before scheduling or purchasing study material. Microsoft explains that retired exams cannot be taken and that associated credentials cannot be earned after retirement, while previously earned certifications remain on a learner’s transcript. This status check should come before building a study timetable.
Check the official credential record first
Microsoft’s retired-exam guidance says exam information may remain linked for reference purposes for 12 months, so an old detail page or third-party catalogue entry is not proof that an exam can still be scheduled. Check Microsoft Learn’s credential pages and the official retirement guidance, then confirm any scheduling option through the authorized registration path shown there.
Decide whether the objective match is worth preserving
Choose 70-687 only when your requirement specifically concerns the Windows 8.1 objective set, a historical transcript, or an existing learning plan tied to that exam. If your goal is a current desktop administrator credential, compare Microsoft’s current role-based catalogue instead. Microsoft’s mapping article lists 70-697 and 70-698—not 70-687—as aligning to the Modern Desktop Administrator path, so do not assume that passing 70-687 automatically substitutes for a current certification.
What work does the exam validate?
The objective material centers on administering a Windows 8.1 desktop from installation through device and application configuration. The work is decision-based: assess compatibility, select an installation approach and SKU, manage user data, handle drivers, install applications, and apply controls for software and removable devices. Study should therefore connect each technology to a deployment or support decision.
Installation and upgrade decisions
The official update document names the first domain Install and upgrade to Windows 8.1 and assigns the domain 14 percent. Its objectives include evaluating hardware readiness and compatibility, choosing between an upgrade and a clean installation, determining the Windows SKU, installing Windows 8.1 as Windows To Go, and upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.
Hardware and application configuration
The official update document names the second domain Configure hardware and applications and assigns the domain 14 percent. It includes installing, updating, disabling, and rolling back drivers; resolving driver issues; managing driver packages; installing and configuring desktop applications and Windows Store apps; managing Windows Store access; and controlling software and removable-device access.
User data and profile handling
The objectives include migrating and configuring local, roaming, and mandatory user profiles. Prepare to explain why a profile type is selected, what user experience it supports, and which migration or configuration action preserves the intended settings. A useful study exercise is to document the expected behavior of each profile before choosing a tool or procedure.
How should the blueprint shape your study time?
Use the domain names as a checklist, not as a reason to ignore unweighted objectives. The available official update document exposes two domains at 14 percent each, but the supplied evidence does not establish the complete current blueprint, question count, duration, score, or delivery method. Allocate time first by objective difficulty and hands-on weakness, then use the published weights where they are actually documented.
Build an objective-to-evidence matrix
Create four columns: objective, your confidence, the Microsoft source or lab exercise that supports it, and the mistake you are likely to make. Put installation choices, SKU and feature requirements, profiles, drivers, applications, AppLocker or Software Restriction Policies, and removable devices into separate rows. This prevents broad labels such as “Windows administration” from hiding a missing skill.
Do not mistake a percentage for a syllabus
A domain weight indicates relative blueprint emphasis; it does not tell you which scenario will appear or guarantee a particular number of items. Study every listed task, especially the smaller operational details that distinguish similar answers. Never use leaked questions or exam dumps as a substitute for understanding; they are not evidence of current objectives and cannot guarantee a pass.
What should you learn before practicing?
Start with the decision logic behind Windows 8.1 deployment, then move to device and application administration. Reading commands or memorizing interface paths without understanding the problem they solve creates brittle preparation. For every topic, ask what state the computer is in, what constraint applies, what action changes that state, and how you would verify the result.
Phase one: establish the Windows 8.1 baseline
Review installation prerequisites, hardware compatibility, edition or SKU selection, and the difference between an upgrade and a clean installation. Include Windows RT in your SKU notes because it is explicitly named in the objectives. Then study requirements for Hyper-V, Miracast Display, pervasive device encryption, virtual smart cards, and Secure Boot. Keep these as comparison notes rather than isolated definitions.
Phase two: connect deployment with user continuity
Study Windows To Go and the supported upgrade paths from Windows 7 or Windows 8. Follow that with user-data migration and profile configuration. A practical sequence is to write a migration plan, identify what must follow the user, select the profile behavior required by the scenario, and list validation checks after the move.
Phase three: administer hardware and software
Move next to driver lifecycle tasks: installation, updates, disabling, rollback, package management, and issue resolution. Then cover desktop applications, Windows Store apps, and Windows Store access. Finish with restriction and removable-device controls, because these topics require choosing a control according to the software or hardware behavior being managed.
How can you turn the objectives into hands-on practice?
Use a controlled Windows 8.1 practice environment only where you can do so lawfully and safely, and record the result of each change. The objective document is better used as a task list than as a reading list. Practice should reproduce administrative decisions without relying on live exam content, unsupported shortcuts, or memorized answer patterns.
Practice installation scenarios
Create written scenarios that vary the starting operating system, hardware capability, and business requirement. For each one, choose upgrade or clean installation, identify the likely SKU, note feature prerequisites, and explain what could block the plan. Include a Windows To Go scenario and a user-data migration scenario, then review whether your proposed sequence preserves the required user experience.
Practice driver recovery
Use a repeatable troubleshooting record: identify the device, determine whether the driver is absent, incorrect, or recently changed, select installation, update, disable, or rollback, and document the verification step. Add driver-package management to the exercise so you practice controlling the source and lifecycle of drivers rather than only clicking through a single installation.
Practice application and access controls
Separate application deployment from application restriction. For desktop software and Windows Store apps, record installation and configuration requirements, then decide how Windows Store access should be managed. For Software Restriction Policies and AppLocker, describe the rule purpose and the access outcome. Add a removable-device case and explain whether the control concerns installation, access, or both.
Which Microsoft resources are useful for preparation?
Use the official objective update as the authority for scope and the Microsoft download listing as a source for the named preparation package. Microsoft lists “Preparing for the Configuring Windows 81 Exam (70-687).zip” with a file size of 5.6 GB and describes the downloads as training videos for Windows technologies. Check the download page directly because resource availability and page details can change.
Start with the objective-update document
Read the January 2014 update notes before opening any course material. Microsoft published the update to incorporate Windows 8.1 tasks and terminology, making it especially important for candidates using older Windows 8 study notes. Mark every task that was added or renamed, then remove study activities that do not map to the objective list or to your actual credential decision.
Use video selectively
The supplied Microsoft Ignite session is for exam 70-697, Configuring Windows Devices, not 70-687. It may help explain Microsoft certification preparation or related Windows device concepts, but it should not be treated as the 70-687 blueprint. Label it as supplementary and return to the 70-687 objective document whenever the two sources differ or coverage is unclear.
Prefer current Microsoft navigation for status checks
Microsoft’s credentials and browse pages are appropriate places to investigate current certification options, while the retired-exam page explains the consequences of retirement. Use those sources for status and replacement research; use the 70-687 objective document for historical scope. Do not infer a current exam format, price, language, prerequisite, or appointment method from an older preparation package.
What is a practical study roadmap?
A useful roadmap has four checkpoints: confirm the credential decision, map the objectives, practice weak tasks, and perform a final evidence review. Set the pace around your available lab access and prior Windows experience rather than an invented number of days. At each checkpoint, produce something concrete—a status record, matrix, runbook, or remediation list.
Checkpoint one: confirm before committing
Open the official Microsoft credential and retirement pages, determine whether the exam can still be scheduled, and identify whether a current role-based credential better serves your goal. Record the date you checked and the exact official page used. If the exam is unavailable, stop collecting 70-687 dumps or courses and redirect the plan to the verified current path.
Checkpoint two: map the full objective set
Turn the official objectives into a study board grouped under installation and upgrade, hardware and applications, profiles and user data, and access controls. Mark each item as explain, perform, or troubleshoot. A candidate who can define a feature but cannot select it under constraints should mark that objective incomplete.
Checkpoint three: remediate by task
Study the weakest task first, not the topic you already enjoy. Pair each reading session with a written scenario or safe lab exercise. After a failed attempt, explain the failure, repeat the task from a clean starting state, and add the corrected decision rule to your notes. This produces reusable knowledge instead of a collection of copied procedures.
Checkpoint four: conduct a final readiness review
Review every objective without opening notes, then verify the items you cannot explain. Rehearse installation choices, feature requirements, profile behavior, driver recovery, application deployment, policy restrictions, and removable-device management. Finally, recheck Microsoft’s official status information before making any appointment or purchase decision, because retirement and credential information can change.
What mistakes waste the most preparation time?
The largest risks are studying the wrong exam, confusing related Windows exams, and memorizing isolated interface steps. Candidates also lose efficiency when they ignore profile behavior, treat all driver problems alike, or study application installation without access control. Correct these by tying every note to an objective, a scenario, and a verification method.
Mistake: assuming an old catalogue listing proves availability
A third-party page can preserve an exam name long after Microsoft changes its program. The official retirement guidance says retired exams cannot be taken and associated credentials cannot be earned after retirement. Confirm availability through Microsoft before scheduling, and treat any unverified date, price, delivery mode, or score claim as unreliable.
Mistake: studying 70-697 material as if it were 70-687
Microsoft’s available video page explicitly concerns 70-697, Configuring Windows Devices. Related terminology does not make it a substitute for 70-687. Use it only for supplementary context, and maintain a separate checklist based on the 70-687 objective-update document.
Mistake: memorizing feature names without constraints
Hyper-V, Miracast Display, pervasive device encryption, virtual smart cards, and Secure Boot appear in the objectives as requirements to determine, not merely terms to define. Write comparison cases that make one requirement relevant and another unsuitable. The point is to recognize the condition that drives the configuration choice.
Mistake: relying on dumps
Dumps, leaked questions, and answer keys do not establish legitimate exam coverage and can encourage memorization without administration skill. Replace them with official objectives, Microsoft learning resources, controlled practice, and self-written scenarios. Your final review should test whether you can justify an action and verify its result, not whether you recognize a copied question.
What should you do next?
Begin with a status check, then download or review only resources that map to the official 70-687 objectives. Build a small matrix covering installation, compatibility, profiles, drivers, applications, restrictions, and removable devices. If Microsoft confirms that the exam is unavailable or unsuitable for your target credential, use the role-based certification catalogue to choose a current alternative instead of extending preparation for a legacy objective set.
A focused first session
Read the official objective-update document and write one sentence describing the decision tested by each objective. Next, separate verified facts from your own assumptions about exam delivery and scheduling. End the session by checking Microsoft’s current credential and retirement pages. This gives you a defensible starting point before you invest in labs, courses, or practice materials.
A final purchasing rule
Do not buy a preparation product because it promises real questions, a guaranteed pass, or a shortcut around the objectives. Confirm that its coverage matches Configuring Windows 8.1 and that its claims can be checked against Microsoft sources. If the product discusses an unverified exam date, score, question count, or delivery format, treat that as a reason to pause rather than a reason to purchase.
Conclusion
70-687 preparation makes sense only after you verify the exam’s current status and your reason for pursuing a Windows 8.1 credential. When the objective set is relevant, study from the official tasks, practice the administrative decisions behind them, and document how each change is validated. When your goal is a current Microsoft role-based certification, use Microsoft’s credential catalogue and mapping information to redirect the plan before spending time on legacy material.
