220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A user reports that their Windows 10 workstation shows 'Preparing Automatic Repair' on boot, then loops back to the same message. The technician needs to access the Advanced Startup Options to troubleshoot. Which key combination should the technician press during the boot process to trigger the recovery environment?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that many candidates remember the legacy F8 method from older Windows versions and assume it still works in Windows 10, but the exam tests the modern three-interrupt method as the default way to access recovery when the system is stuck in a boot loop.
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
✓
Interrupt the boot process three times by pressing the reset button or powering off.
Interrupting the normal boot process three times in a row (by pressing the reset button or holding the power button) triggers Windows 10's built-in automatic repair mechanism, which then presents the Advanced Startup Options menu. This is the modern method for accessing recovery tools when the system fails to boot normally, as the traditional F8 key method is disabled by default in Windows 10 due to fast startup.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Press the F8 key repeatedly as soon as the computer starts.
Why it's wrong here
In Windows 10, the F8 key is not a reliable way to invoke recovery options because the operating system's fast startup and modern boot manager bypass the legacy Advanced Boot Options menu. To use F8, you would need to manually re-enable the legacy boot menu policy via bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy, otherwise the keystroke is ignored during the rapid boot sequence.
- ✓
Interrupt the boot process three times by pressing the reset button or powering off.
Why this is correct
Deliberately interrupting the boot sequence three times—by pressing the reset button or holding the power button to force shutdown—causes Windows to detect that it cannot boot successfully and automatically enter the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). On the third interrupt, the system's boot loader triggers Automatic Repair, providing access to Advanced Startup Options such as System Restore, Startup Settings, and Command Prompt.
- ✗
Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete during boot to access recovery options.
Why it's wrong here
The Ctrl + Alt + Delete key combination is a secure attention sequence that is only processed after Windows has loaded the kernel and is displaying the login screen. During the early stages of boot, this input is not handled by the operating system; it may be ignored or trigger a warm reboot via the BIOS, but it cannot open recovery menus because WinRE has not been initialized yet.
- ✗
Press the F2 or DEL key to enter the recovery console from the boot menu.
Why it's wrong here
Pressing F2 or DEL during startup typically opens the BIOS/UEFI firmware settings, not the Windows recovery console. While you can use these firmware menus to alter the boot order (for example, to boot from a USB recovery drive), they do not directly launch Windows' Advanced Startup Options, since those are part of WinRE and are initiated by the Windows Boot Manager, not by firmware.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Windows Command Line Tools
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
Recovery
Recovery is the process of restoring systems, data, and operations after a security incident, failure, or disaster to return to normal functioning.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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