220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A technician needs to upgrade a Windows 10 Pro workstation from version 1809 to 22H2 while preserving all installed applications, user settings, and personal files. The technician has downloaded the Windows 10 22H2 ISO file. Which method should the technician use to perform this upgrade?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse a clean installation (Option A) with an upgrade, assuming booting from the ISO is the only way to install a newer version, but the question specifically requires preserving data and apps, which only the in-place upgrade via setup.exe with 'Keep personal files and apps' achieves.
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
✓
Launch setup.exe from within Windows and choose 'Keep personal files and apps'
Launching setup.exe from within the running Windows 10 environment and selecting 'Keep personal files and apps' performs an in-place upgrade. This method preserves all installed applications, user settings, and personal files while upgrading the OS from version 1809 to 22H2, which is exactly what the technician needs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Boot from the ISO and perform a clean installation
Why it's wrong here
Booting from the ISO and selecting a clean installation erases the boot partition, then installs a fresh copy of Windows 10 22H2. This wipes all installed applications, device drivers, local user profiles, and personal files without a migration process. While it achieves the target version, it does not satisfy the requirement to preserve the existing environment, so it is not an acceptable upgrade path.
- ✓
Launch setup.exe from within Windows and choose 'Keep personal files and apps'
Why this is correct
Running setup.exe from inside the existing Windows 10 1809 and choosing 'Keep personal files and apps' invokes the in-place upgrade engine of Windows Setup. This process replaces the operating system binaries and components with 22H2 versions while migrating user accounts, personal data, installed applications, and system settings into the new installation. It is the only option listed that performs a true feature update without a clean install or separate deployment.
- ✗
Use DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) to apply the new image
Why it's wrong here
DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) is a command-line tool for capturing and servicing Windows images offline, and when used with `/Apply-Image` it writes a WIM or ESD image directly to a designated partition. Applied to the current system, this would overwrite the existing 1809 installation entirely, and DISM has no in-place upgrade mechanism that understands and preserves installed applications or settings. Because the OS is actively running, applying the image is also not possible non-destructively; it must be done from WinPE, further confirming this is not an upgrade.
- ✗
Create a new partition and install Windows 10 22H2 on it
Why it's wrong here
Creating a new partition and installing Windows 10 22H2 onto it leaves the original 1809 installation intact on the existing partition, producing a dual-boot configuration. The new OS is a separate copy with a fresh registry, and none of the original applications, personal files, or settings are carried over; users would have to manually reinstall software and migrate data. This also does not change the original 1809 to 22H2 — it merely coexists with it, so the workstation's primary OS remains outdated.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
File Systems: NTFS, FAT32, exFAT
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
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 220-1102 question from scratch — 925 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.