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220-1202 Practice Question: A customer brings in a laptop that they want to…
A customer brings in a laptop that they want to recycle, but they are concerned about personal data. The laptop has a 256GB SSD and the customer wants to keep the laptop functional for resale. Which method should the technician recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
220-1202 often tests whether candidates know the difference between standard format, secure erase, degaussing, and physical destruction, and which is appropriate for SSDs versus HDDs, so the trap is selecting a method that is either ineffective for SSDs or destroys the resale value.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use the 'Reset this PC' option with the 'Remove everything and clean the drive' setting.
The 'Reset this PC' option with 'Remove everything and clean the drive' performs a secure erase that overwrites the drive, making data recovery difficult while keeping the laptop functional for resale. This satisfies both the customer's data security concern and the desire to resell the working laptop. Physical destruction or degaussing would render the drive unusable, and a standard format does not securely erase data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Remove the SSD and physically destroy it, then sell the laptop without a drive.
Why it's wrong here
Physically destroying the SSD ensures data is unrecoverable, but it renders the laptop incomplete and non-functional for resale as a complete unit. The customer's objective is to sell a working laptop while ensuring their data is securely erased, not to remove a critical component. This method would necessitate purchasing a new drive, adding unnecessary cost and effort.
- ✗
Use a degausser on the SSD.
Why it's wrong here
Degaussing is a method designed to erase data from magnetic storage media, such as traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), by disrupting their magnetic fields. Solid State Drives (SSDs), however, store data using non-volatile NAND flash memory chips, which operate on electrical charges rather than magnetism. Therefore, applying a degausser to an SSD would be completely ineffective for data erasure and could potentially damage the drive's electronic components.
- ✗
Perform a standard format and reinstall Windows.
Why it's wrong here
A standard format, often referred to as a quick format, primarily removes the file system table entries and marks the space as available for new data. On an SSD, this process does not overwrite the actual data blocks, meaning the original information remains physically present on the drive. Consequently, sophisticated data recovery tools can often reconstruct and retrieve sensitive data, failing to provide the necessary level of security for personal information.
- ✓
Use the 'Reset this PC' option with the 'Remove everything and clean the drive' setting.
Why this is correct
The 'Reset this PC' option, specifically with the 'Remove everything and clean the drive' setting, is the most appropriate method for securely erasing data from an SSD while maintaining laptop functionality. This feature performs a secure wipe by overwriting all data sectors multiple times, often leveraging the SSD's built-in TRIM command and secure erase capabilities. This process renders previous data virtually unrecoverable, ensuring privacy before resale.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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