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FC0-U71 Practice Question: A user wants to upgrade their workstation's…
A user wants to upgrade their workstation's storage without losing existing data. Which of the following is the BEST method?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'backup and restore' (Option C) as equivalent to cloning, but backup/restore often requires reinstalling the OS and may not preserve boot configuration, whereas cloning directly transfers the entire working system.
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
✓
Clone the existing drive to the new one
Cloning the existing drive to the new one creates an exact bit-for-bit copy of the original drive, including the operating system, applications, settings, and all data. This allows the user to simply swap the drives and boot normally without any data loss or reinstallation. It is the most direct method that preserves the existing environment intact.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Clone the existing drive to the new one
Why this is correct
Cloning copies the entire source drive, including the operating system, applications, and user data, sector by sector onto the new drive. This preserves the existing installation exactly, so the workstation boots and runs unchanged after the swap, satisfying the requirement to upgrade storage without losing data or reinstalling anything.
- ✗
Perform a clean installation on the new drive
Why it's wrong here
A clean installation wipes the new drive and installs a fresh OS, destroying the existing data the user wants to keep. It is tempting because it is the standard method for a fresh deployment or when replacing a failing system, but it satisfies none of the requirement to preserve and transfer existing files.
- ✗
Back up data to external drive, then restore
Why it's wrong here
Backing up to an external drive and restoring afterwards does preserve data, but it is a manual, indirect workaround rather than the BEST method for a storage upgrade. It is tempting because backup and restore is the correct approach when replacing a failed drive or migrating between incompatible systems.
- ✗
Set up a RAID 1 array
Why it's wrong here
RAID 1 mirrors across two drives simultaneously, so it protects against a single disk failure but cannot migrate existing data onto a larger drive. It is tempting because redundancy sounds like data preservation, yet it is the right choice only when continuous uptime against hardware failure matters, not storage upgrades.
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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.