easyMultiple Choice
FC0-U71 Practice Question: That a spreadsheet application crashes every time…
A user reports that a spreadsheet application crashes every time they try to open a specific file. The file was created in a newer version of the software. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume file corruption (Option C) is the cause, but the key clue is that the file was created in a newer version, pointing to a format incompatibility rather than data corruption.
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
✓
The file was saved in a format incompatible with the installed version.
The most likely cause of a crash when opening a file created in a newer version of the software is a format incompatibility. Newer versions often use updated file formats (e.g., .xlsx vs. .xls in Excel) that older versions cannot parse correctly, leading to application instability or crashes. This is a common scenario in backward compatibility issues, where the installed software lacks the necessary codecs or schema to interpret the file's structure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The computer does not have enough RAM.
Why it's wrong here
Insufficient RAM causes general slowness or swapping, not a crash tied to one specific file. It is tempting because memory exhaustion does crash applications, but the trigger here is file version incompatibility. Adding RAM is correct when large files or many concurrent applications exhaust memory.
- ✓
The file was saved in a format incompatible with the installed version.
Why this is correct
Newer spreadsheet versions save using updated file format structures, so an older installed release cannot parse the file, causing the crash on open. Compatibility mode addresses legacy files in newer software, not the reverse, making the format mismatch the likely cause.
- ✗
The file is corrupted.
Why it's wrong here
A version mismatch, not corruption, is the likely cause: the newer file format cannot be parsed by the older application, so it crashes on open. Corruption is tempting because it also produces crashes, and would be the answer if the file failed in the same version that created it.
- ✗
The user does not have permission to access the file.
Why it's wrong here
A permissions problem produces an access-denied error, not an application crash, so it does not explain the failure. Permissions would be the likely cause if the user could see the file but received a denial when opening or saving it.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.