220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A technician is deploying several Windows 10 Pro workstations. Each workstation needs to run a Windows 7 virtual machine for a legacy application that is not compatible with Windows 10. Which built-in Windows feature should the technician enable to support this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse Windows Sandbox (a lightweight, disposable VM for testing) with Hyper-V (a full virtualization platform for persistent VMs), leading them to choose A instead of B.
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
✓
Hyper-V
Hyper-V is the built-in Windows 10 Pro feature that allows a technician to create and run virtual machines, including a Windows 7 VM for legacy application compatibility. It provides full hardware virtualization, enabling the legacy application to run in its native environment without modification.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Windows Sandbox
Why it's wrong here
Windows Sandbox is a lightweight, disposable desktop environment that relies on the host OS (Windows 10) to run untrusted applications in isolation. It does not allow you to install or boot a separate operating system such as Windows 7; it only creates a temporary instance using the current Windows 10 installation. Therefore, it cannot satisfy the requirement to host a full Windows 7 virtual machine.
- ✓
Hyper-V
Why this is correct
Hyper-V is Microsoft's native hypervisor, included in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, that can create and manage full-featured virtual machines. Because it is a Type-1 hypervisor (running below the OS), it can allocate resources to guest operating systems like Windows 7, including x64 and x86 versions. Enabling Hyper-V via 'Windows Features' and using the Hyper-V Manager allows you to install and run Windows 7 as a virtual machine, making it the only option here that meets the stated requirement.
- ✗
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
Why it's wrong here
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a compatibility layer for running Linux ELF binaries natively on Windows 10, without a traditional virtual machine. It does not provide a virtualized hardware environment, nor can it run a different Windows version as a guest. Thus, WSL cannot host a Windows 7 virtual machine and is irrelevant to the scenario.
- ✗
Remote Desktop Services
Why it's wrong here
Remote Desktop Services (RDS) provides a graphical remote access gateway to desktops or applications running on a Windows server or client, but it does not create or manage virtual machines. RDS simply transmits the UI of an existing session, and on Windows 10 Pro it typically refers to Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for connecting to that computer. Deploying RDS would not enable a Windows 7 VM; it would only let users access the host machine remotely.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
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.
Key term
Virtual machine
A virtual machine (VM) is a software-based emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications just like a real machine, but is isolated and managed by a hypervisor on a host system.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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