220-1102 Software Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that a Microsoft Office application crashes when attempting to open a specific document, but other documents open fine. The user has already tried restarting the computer. Which of the following should the technician try first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume a crash when opening any file means a corrupted Office installation, but the question specifies only one document fails, pointing to a document-specific or add-in issue rather than a full reinstall scenario.
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
✓
Run the application in Safe Mode
Running the Microsoft Office application in Safe Mode (by holding Ctrl while launching or using 'winword /safe') disables add-ins, extensions, and customizations that may be causing the crash. Since only one specific document triggers the issue, the problem is likely with the document itself or an add-in interfering with that file, not a core Office installation problem. Safe Mode isolates these variables without requiring a full reinstall.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Run the application in Safe Mode
Why this is correct
Run the application in Safe Mode to diagnose the crash. Office applications support a /safe command-line switch (e.g., winword.exe /safe or excel.exe /safe) that launches the program with add-ins, COM add-ins, and customizations disabled. If the document opens successfully under these conditions, the root cause is almost certainly an add-in or user-interface customization rather than the file itself. This is a quick, non-destructive isolation step that should be your first move before attempting any broader repair.
- ✗
Reinstall Microsoft Office
Why it's wrong here
Reinstalling Microsoft Office is an invasive, time-intensive process that replaces the entire Office installation, but it does not guarantee a fix for a crash that occurs with a single document. The document itself may be corrupted or contain macros or elements that trigger the fault, and third-party add-ins are not always removed by a reinstall. Additionally, a full reinstall can require re-entering product keys, re-activating the suite, and losing user settings. This approach should only be considered after targeted diagnostics like Safe Mode and document-level repairs have failed.
- ✗
Use System File Checker
Why it's wrong here
System File Checker (sfc /scannow) scans Windows operating system files for integrity violations, not the binary files or configuration components that belong to Microsoft Office. The crash occurs when opening a specific document, which points to either the document's contents, the application's add-ins, or Office-specific settings—none of which are part of the protected Windows file set. Running SFC would consume time and resources without addressing any of these likely causes, making it an ineffective troubleshooting step in this scenario.
- ✗
Perform a system restore
Why it's wrong here
System Restore rolls back the system registry, driver files, and certain Windows components to a prior restore point, which is a broad system-wide change with no surgical precision. Since the crash is isolated to a single Office document, a system-level rollback would not repair file corruption within that document or remove a problematic Office add-in unless that add-in was installed within the restore window. It also carries risks such as uninstalling recent software updates or applications and reverting user settings. Therefore, this is a heavy-handed last-resort option, not an appropriate early diagnostic step.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1102 exam.