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220-1102 Practice Question: During a software installation, a technician…
During a software installation, a technician receives an error that the system does not meet the minimum requirements. The technician decides to override the check by modifying the registry. What safety procedure should be followed before making registry changes?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between permission elevation (running as admin) and system protection (restore point), leading candidates to mistakenly choose 'Run as administrator' because they think it bypasses the error, when in fact the question explicitly asks for the safety procedure before making registry changes.
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
✓
Create a system restore point.
Creating a system restore point before modifying the registry is the correct safety procedure because it captures the current system state, including registry keys, drivers, and system files. If the registry edit causes instability or boot failure, the restore point allows the technician to revert the system to its previous working configuration without data loss. This is a standard best practice for any registry modification, as even minor errors can render the system unbootable.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Disable User Account Control (UAC).
Why it's wrong here
Disabling User Account Control (UAC) primarily removes prompts for elevated permissions, allowing software to make system-level changes without user confirmation. While this might facilitate an installation by bypassing security prompts, it offers no mechanism to revert or undo any problematic alterations, such as corrupted registry entries or incompatible system files, that the installation might introduce. Therefore, it does not provide a safety net for system stability.
- ✓
Create a system restore point.
Why this is correct
Creating a system restore point captures a snapshot of critical system files, installed programs, the Windows Registry, and hardware drivers at a specific moment. If a software installation introduces instability, corrupts the registry, or causes other issues, this restore point enables the technician to revert the operating system to its prior, stable configuration, effectively undoing the problematic changes. This is the most direct and effective method for rollback protection against unforeseen installation problems.
- ✗
Run the installation as an administrator.
Why it's wrong here
Running an installation as an administrator grants the setup program the necessary elevated privileges to modify protected system files, install drivers, and write to restricted areas of the registry. While essential for many installations to succeed by overcoming permission barriers, this action does not inherently provide a recovery mechanism or safeguard against the installation itself introducing errors, corrupting existing data, or causing system instability, as it only addresses access rights.
- ✗
Close all other running applications.
Why it's wrong here
Closing all other running applications is a recommended best practice to minimize resource contention, prevent file locking conflicts, and reduce the likelihood of installation errors caused by other programs interfering with the setup process. However, this action does not create a backup of the system state or offer any means to revert changes if the installation itself introduces corruption or instability, particularly within the Windows Registry, as it only manages active processes.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Windows Registry
Key term
Registry
The Windows Registry is a central hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options for the operating system, hardware, software, and user preferences.
Key term
System Restore
System Restore is a Windows utility that lets you revert your computer's system files, registry settings, and installed programs to a previous state without affecting your personal files.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 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 220-1202 exam.