MCTS Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield MCTS facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the purpose of the SafeControls entry in a SharePoint 2010 web.config? → Registers assemblies as trusted for rendering in SharePoint pages
2. Which ADO.NET object is used to execute a stored procedure and retrieve a result set? → SqlCommand
3. Which SQL Server index type is optimized for analytical queries that scan large ranges of rows in a data warehouse? → Columnstore index
4. A Windows 7 computer displays a 'Windows is not genuine' notification. Which tool should be used to activate Windows with a valid product key? → slmgr.vbs /ipk
5. In SharePoint 2010, which CAML element is used to filter list items by a specific field value in a CAML query? →
6. In SharePoint 2010, what is a Content Type Hub used for? → Publishing content types to subscribed site collections via the Managed Metadata Service
7. A query uses a MERGE statement. Which DML operations can a single MERGE statement perform simultaneously? → INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
8. In SharePoint 2010, which service application is responsible for syncing user profile data from Active Directory? → User Profile Service Application
9. What SQL Server feature enables you to enforce rules that span multiple tables, such as ensuring referential integrity across databases? → INSTEAD OF triggers
10. Which ASP.NET configuration element is used to define custom error pages for specific HTTP status codes? → in system.web
11. Which Exchange 2010 cmdlet would you use to test whether a specific email address can successfully receive messages through your Exchange organization? → Test-MailFlow
12. Which ASP.NET feature allows you to run code before and after the application starts and stops by implementing methods in Global.asax? → Application lifecycle events (Application_Start, Application_End)
13. Which SharePoint 2010 class is used to programmatically run an elevated-privilege operation bypassing user permissions? → SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges
14. Which DBCC command is used to check the logical and physical integrity of all objects in a SQL Server database? → DBCC CHECKDB
15. In C#, which access modifier makes a member accessible only within the same assembly? → internal
16. Which Windows tool allows administrators to configure startup programs, services, and boot options from a single interface? → System Configuration (msconfig)
17. Which SQL Server 2008 feature allows you to compress data at the row or page level to reduce storage space? → Data compression
18. Which WCF feature allows a service to route incoming messages to different backend service instances based on message content or headers? → Message Routing Service
19. What is the maximum size of a single database in an Exchange 2010 Standard Edition mailbox server? → 50 GB
20. In ASP.NET, which HTTP module is responsible for Forms Authentication? → FormsAuthenticationModule
21. What is the purpose of the 'using' statement in C# when working with objects that implement IDisposable? → To ensure Dispose() is called automatically when the block exits
22. You need to move a user database to a new drive without taking it offline for long. Which technique minimizes downtime? → Use backup and restore to the new location
23. Which method on the UpdatePanel control's AsyncPostBackTrigger allows you to specify which control event initiates a partial-page update? → ControlID and EventName properties
24. What SharePoint 2010 mechanism allows you to respond to events such as item additions or deletions in a list? → Event Receivers
25. Why is Group Policy important in Windows networks? → It helps define security policies and permissions.
26. Which SharePoint 2010 feature enables external data to be surfaced within lists using the Business Data Connectivity Service? → External Lists
27. What is the default port for SQL Server Database Engine instances? → 1433
28. What is the purpose of the Entity Framework DbContext class in an ASP.NET application? → It represents a session with the database and is used to query and save entity instances
29. In SQL Server 2008 database mirroring, what is the role of the WITNESS server? → It monitors the principal and mirror and enables automatic failover
30. What is the primary function of Windows Services (services.msc)? → Manage background processes and services