AZ-104 Implement and Manage Storage Practice Question
A user accidentally deleted a nested folder tree from an Azure file share yesterday. Other folders were modified after the deletion and must not be rolled back. The administrator wants to restore only the deleted folder tree. What is the best recovery method?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Azure file share snapshots with blob soft delete or assume that restoring from a full backup is the only option, failing to recognize that snapshots allow granular, non-destructive recovery of specific folders without affecting other changes.
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
✓
Use a file share snapshot and copy the deleted folder tree back into the live share.
Azure file share snapshots provide a point-in-time, read-only copy of the entire file share. By mounting a snapshot taken before the accidental deletion, the administrator can browse the snapshot's directory structure and copy only the deleted folder tree back into the live share. This approach restores the lost data without affecting any other files or folders that were modified after the snapshot was taken, meeting the requirement to avoid rolling back other changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use a file share snapshot and copy the deleted folder tree back into the live share.
Why this is correct
A snapshot captures the file share at a point in time, which allows the administrator to browse the earlier state and restore only the deleted folders. This is ideal when the goal is targeted recovery without reverting later changes elsewhere in the share.
- ✗
Delete the current share and restore the whole share from the most recent backup.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring the whole share from a recent backup would replace the entire current file share with an older point-in-time state, thereby rolling back all modifications made after the deletion—exactly what the business wants to avoid. Deleting the live share first also adds unnecessary risk, as any failure during the restore could result in total data loss. A targeted recovery using snapshots is required to preserve unrelated later changes while reinstating only the deleted folder tree.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question stated that no other modifications were made after the deletion, or if the entire share needs to be restored to a specific point in time and all changes after that point are acceptable to lose.
- ✗
Change the share’s access tier from Hot to Cool and then refresh the folder view.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the access tier between Hot and Cool only optimizes storage cost and performance based on usage frequency; it does not interact with the file system metadata or content itself. Refreshing the folder view merely re-queries the live share, which will still show the deleted folders as absent. This option misapplies a cost-management control to a data-recovery scenario, so it cannot restore anything.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to reduce costs for an Azure file share that is rarely accessed, and the data must remain available for retrieval with higher latency. Changing the access tier from Hot to Cool would be the appropriate action.
- ✗
Enable soft delete for blobs in the same storage account and recover the folder from there.
Why it's wrong here
Blob soft delete operates on the Blob service endpoint and protects only blobs and blob containers, completely separate from the Azure Files service endpoint. File share deletions are captured by file share snapshots or Azure Backup, not by blob soft-delete policies, even when both services live in the same storage account. Enabling this feature would not track or recover a deleted folder tree from a file share, making it an ineffective recovery path.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question were about recovering accidentally deleted blobs in an Azure Blob Storage container, and the storage account had soft delete enabled, then using soft delete to recover the blobs would be the best method.
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.
✓Use a file share snapshot and copy the deleted folder tree back into the live share.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
A snapshot captures the file share at a point in time, which allows the administrator to browse the earlier state and restore only the deleted folders. This is ideal when the goal is targeted recovery without reverting later changes elsewhere in the share.
✗Delete the current share and restore the whole share from the most recent backup.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Deleting the current share and restoring the whole share from the most recent backup would roll back all modifications made after the deletion, which violates the requirement that other folders must not be rolled back.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question stated that no other modifications were made after the deletion, or if the entire share needs to be restored to a specific point in time and all changes after that point are acceptable to lose.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that restoring from backup is the standard recovery method for accidental deletions, without considering the need to preserve subsequent changes to other folders.
✗Change the share’s access tier from Hot to Cool and then refresh the folder view.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Changing the access tier from Hot to Cool does not restore deleted data; it only affects storage costs and performance. It has no capability to recover deleted files or folders.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to reduce costs for an Azure file share that is rarely accessed, and the data must remain available for retrieval with higher latency. Changing the access tier from Hot to Cool would be the appropriate action.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse access tier changes with data recovery mechanisms, mistakenly believing that a tier change triggers a restore or that 'refreshing' the view recovers deleted items.
✗Enable soft delete for blobs in the same storage account and recover the folder from there.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure file shares do not support blob soft delete; soft delete for blobs is a feature of Azure Blob Storage, not Azure Files. The deleted folder tree is in a file share, so blob soft delete cannot recover it.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question were about recovering accidentally deleted blobs in an Azure Blob Storage container, and the storage account had soft delete enabled, then using soft delete to recover the blobs would be the best method.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Files with Azure Blob Storage, or think that soft delete is a universal recovery feature across all Azure storage services, leading them to select this option without recognizing the service mismatch.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,049 original AZ-104 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on AZ-104
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An employee accidentally deletes a critical document from an Azure file share. You need to restore only that file to its earlier state without restoring the entire share or using a vault-based backup job. Which feature should you use?
medium- ✓ A.A file share snapshot, because it captures a point-in-time copy of the share for granular recovery.
- B.A storage account access key, because it can retrieve deleted files from any share version.
- C.An Azure VM snapshot, because it captures the file share state automatically.
- D.A private endpoint to the file share, because it enables restore operations.
Why A: File share snapshots are point-in-time, read-only copies of Azure file shares that allow you to recover individual files or folders without restoring the entire share. When a file is accidentally deleted, you can mount a previous snapshot, copy the deleted file from it, and restore it to the live share—no vault-based backup job or full share restore required.
Variation 2. A user accidentally deleted a folder tree from an Azure file share. The administrator needs to restore only the deleted folders to the state they had yesterday, not roll back the whole share. Which feature should be used?
medium- A.Restore the entire storage account from an account-level backup.
- ✓ B.Use a file share snapshot and copy the needed folders back from it.
- C.Enable blob versioning on the storage account and recover the folders from versions.
- D.Create a shared access signature with read permissions and use it to recover the folder tree.
Why B: Azure file share snapshots provide a point-in-time, read-only copy of the share. By mounting a snapshot taken yesterday, the administrator can browse the folder tree and copy only the deleted folders back to the live share, restoring them without affecting other data. This is the only option that allows granular, folder-level recovery without rolling back the entire share or storage account.
Variation 3. An employee accidentally deletes several folders from an Azure file share. The administrator must recover only those folders from yesterday, not roll back the whole share. What should the administrator use?
easy- ✓ A.A snapshot of the Azure file share from yesterday
- B.The storage account access key
- C.A shared access signature
- D.A private endpoint to the storage account
Why A: To recover the deleted folders, use an Azure file share snapshot that was created before the deletion (for example, yesterday). Mount that snapshot, copy the deleted folders back to the live share, and then unmount the snapshot. This provides granular, file-level recovery without rolling back the entire share.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-104 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-104 exam.