220-1102 Software Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that a Windows 10 application crashes when trying to open a specific Word document. The application works correctly with other documents. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse a file-specific crash with a broader user profile or permission issue, but the key differentiator is that the problem is isolated to one file, not the entire application or user environment.
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
✓
File corruption
The application crashes only when opening a specific Word document, while other documents work fine. This points to a problem with the file itself, not the application or the user environment. File corruption, such as a damaged header or broken internal structure, can cause the application to fail during parsing or rendering of that particular document.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Insufficient user permissions to the file
Why it's wrong here
Insufficient user permissions to the file would typically block access at the operating system level with an 'Access Denied' error (ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED, HRESULT 0x80070005) when the application attempts to open a handle. Because the crash occurs during content processing, the application must have already opened the file; otherwise it would never enter the parsing code that crashes. Furthermore, NTFS permissions apply to the containing folder and affect all files within it, not a single file, so this doesn't explain a file-specific crash.
- ✗
Corrupt user profile
Why it's wrong here
A corrupt user profile affects the entire user session—registry hives, application data, and environment variables—causing widespread problems across every application the user runs. Windows would usually generate error 0x80070002 (The system cannot find the file specified) or log 'user profile service failed' and fall back to a temp profile. Since the application launches and runs normally until a specific file is opened, the profile is intact and cannot be the trigger for this crash.
- ✓
File corruption
Why this is correct
When an application opens a file, a parser reads the file's binary structure—magic bytes, header fields, and data records—to reconstruct the document in memory. If the file is corrupted, the parser may receive impossible values, causing a buffer overrun, null-pointer dereference, or an unhandled math error, all of which can terminate the process. This is a data-dependent failure: the application processes other files with the same code, so only the corrupted file crashes it.
- ✗
Application incompatibility with Windows 10
Why it's wrong here
Application incompatibility with Windows 10 typically manifests as a failure to install, launch, or stay running, often due to missing API sets, reliance on deprecated libraries, or kernel-mode components. Such incompatibility would cause the application to crash on startup or when performing any operation, regardless of which file is opened. Because the crash occurs only with this one specific file, and the application otherwise functions correctly, the fault lies in the file's contents rather than the application's compatibility with the operating system.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Linux Users and File Permissions
Key term
Windows
Windows is a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft that manages computer hardware and software, providing a graphical user interface for users to interact with their devices.
Key term
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft that combines the familiarity of Windows 7 with the modern features of Windows 8, designed to run on a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets.
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JA
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.