AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  Create a new managed disk from the snapshot.

  Why this is correct

  A snapshot is a read-only, point-in-time copy of the original disk. To use it as a live volume, you must first create a new managed disk from the snapshot (e.g., via Azure CLI 'az disk create --source snapshot'). This new managed disk becomes fully writable and attachable to the VM, allowing the data to be restored without rebuilding the OS.

• ✓

  Attach the new managed disk to the VM.

  Why this is correct

  After creating the managed disk from the snapshot, you attach it to the VM as a data disk. The attachment can be done via the portal, PowerShell (Set-AzVMDataDisk), or CLI, and the VM will recognize it as a block device. Once attached, you must mount it inside the OS (e.g., assign a drive letter or mount point) to access the restored data.

• ✗

  Mount the snapshot directly as a data disk.

  Why it's wrong here

  Snapshots are not block devices and cannot be attached as a virtual disk to an Azure VM. Azure VM data disks must be managed or unmanaged disks represented as VHD blobs; snapshots lack this disk structure. Only by creating a new managed disk from the snapshot do you get an attachable block device, so attempting to mount a snapshot directly fails with an invalid parameter error.

  When this WOULD be correct

  If the question asked for a method to create a new VM from a snapshot, mounting the snapshot directly would be incorrect; however, in a scenario where you need to recover a single file from a snapshot without creating a disk, you could use the snapshot to create a disk and then mount it, but the snapshot itself cannot be mounted.

• ✗

  Redeploy the VM and reinstall the operating system.

  Why it's wrong here

  Redeploying the VM simply moves it to a different underlying host and does not change the OS disk, while reinstalling the OS would completely replace the boot volume. Neither action recovers the deleted data disk because the snapshot is independent of OS state. This approach is unnecessarily destructive and does not address the missing data volume.

  When this WOULD be correct

  This option would be correct in a scenario where a VM is unresponsive due to a host failure or underlying hardware issue, and the question asks for the action to restore connectivity without affecting data disks.

• ✗

  Delete the snapshot after verifying it exists.

  Why it's wrong here

  Deleting the snapshot after merely confirming it exists removes the sole recovery point for the accidentally deleted data disk. A deleted disk cannot be recovered from Azure; the snapshot is the only backup of the data. Destroying it before creating and attaching a new managed disk guarantees permanent data loss and is thus a destructive action that should be taken only after a successful restore.

  When this WOULD be correct

  In a scenario where the question asks for cleanup steps after successfully restoring a VM from a snapshot, and the snapshot is no longer needed for backup or compliance, deleting it would be correct to reduce storage costs.

Option-by-option analysis

Why each answer is right or wrong

Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-104 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.

Analysis generated from the official AZ-104blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”

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