220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A user reports that their Windows 10 Pro workstation's Start menu is not working and they cannot open most applications. The technician wants to perform a repair installation while keeping personal files and applications. The technician has mounted a Windows 10 ISO and runs setup.exe. Which option should the technician select to accomplish this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the 'Repair your computer' link in WinRE with a repair installation, but WinRE only provides recovery tools like System Restore or Command Prompt, not the in-place upgrade that keeps personal files and apps.
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
✓
Select 'Upgrade this PC now' and choose to keep personal files and apps.
Selecting 'Upgrade this PC now' and choosing to keep personal files and apps initiates a repair installation (in-place upgrade) that replaces Windows system files while preserving user data and installed applications. This is the standard method to fix a corrupted Start menu and application launch issues without a clean install.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Select 'Upgrade this PC now' and choose to keep personal files and apps.
Why this is correct
Select 'Upgrade this PC now' and choose to keep personal files and apps: This launches a repair installation (in-place upgrade) that reinstalls Windows 10 over the current OS while preserving installed programs, user profiles, and files. The setup process rebuilds the component store and replaces corrupt system files, which can restore a broken Start menu without requiring a backup-and-restore cycle. It is the only option that both repairs the operating system and retains all user data and applications.
- ✗
Select 'Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)' and choose the existing partition.
Why it's wrong here
Select 'Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)' and choose the existing partition: This performs a clean installation, not a repair. Choosing Custom and selecting the existing partition will format that partition, erasing all user profiles, applications, and personal data before installing a fresh copy of Windows. While it can fix corruption, it does so by destructively wiping the volume; use it only when you have a full backup and are prepared to reinstall every application.
- ✗
Click 'Repair your computer' from the initial setup screen to access Windows Recovery Environment.
Why it's wrong here
Click 'Repair your computer' from the initial setup screen to access Windows Recovery Environment: This choice only opens WinRE, which contains tools such as Startup Repair, System Restore, and Command Prompt. Startup Repair targets boot failures like missing BCD entries or a damaged boot sector, not Start menu corruption or broken UWP app registration; System Restore might roll back if a restore point exists, but it cannot guarantee a fix and does not perform a component-level repair. It never triggers an in-place upgrade or reinstallation of the OS.
- ✗
Click 'Install Windows 10' and wait for the setup to complete automatically.
Why it's wrong here
Click 'Install Windows 10' and wait for the setup to complete automatically: Clicking Install Windows 10 merely advances to the next setup screen, where you must actively choose between 'Upgrade this PC now' and 'Custom.' Without deliberately selecting the upgrade option and confirming 'Keep personal files and apps,' setup will not know to preserve data; if you proceed past that choice without changing the default, you risk a clean install that wipes everything. Simply clicking Install and waiting does not initiate the required repair installation.
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macOS System Preferences and Settings
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.