AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
A Windows VM in Azure is protected by Azure Backup. A developer accidentally deleted one application folder, but the VM must keep serving users while the administrator restores only that folder. What should the administrator do?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume a full VM restore or disk restore is required for file-level recovery, overlooking the Azure Backup File Recovery feature that is specifically designed for granular, non-disruptive restores.
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 File Recovery from the appropriate recovery point and copy the folder back.
Azure Backup's File Recovery feature allows you to mount a recovery point as a drive on the running VM, enabling you to copy specific files or folders without restoring the entire VM or disrupting production. This is the only method that meets the requirement of restoring only the deleted folder while the VM continues serving users.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Restore the entire VM from the latest recovery point into the production resource group.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring the entire VM creates a new virtual machine from the recovery point (it does not overwrite the existing one); placing it in the same resource group would cause a resource name conflict unless the original VM is deallocated or deleted, which would interrupt the running workload. That approach also resurrects the full OS and all data disks, potentially losing any changes made since the recovery point, whereas only a single folder is missing. This is far more disruptive and not the intended method for item-level recovery.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question stated that the VM is completely corrupted and cannot boot, and the goal is to replace the entire VM with minimal downtime, restoring the full VM from a recovery point into the same resource group (after stopping the original VM) would be appropriate.
- ✓
Use File Recovery from the appropriate recovery point and copy the folder back.
Why this is correct
File Recovery is designed for item-level restore from an Azure VM backup. The administrator can mount the recovery point, browse the backed-up contents, and copy the missing folder back without replacing the whole VM. This is the least disruptive option when the machine must remain online and only a small set of files is needed.
- ✗
Restore the managed disk and attach it to the running VM as a second OS disk.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring a managed disk creates a new disk from the snapshot; attaching it to the same VM as an additional data disk is not a supported way to recover files because the restored disk contains an entire OS volume, not a readable data partition, and doing so risks disk signature conflicts (especially if the original OS disk remains attached). Even if mounted, you'd need to ensure the OS doesn't boot from it, and there's no straightforward method to access the file system for copying files without additional steps. This is much more invasive than needed.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked to recover an entire VM from a backup when the original VM is deleted or corrupted, and you need to create a new VM from the backup, restoring the managed disk and attaching it to a new VM would be correct.
- ✗
Create a new Recovery Services vault and re-protect the VM before restoring anything.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a new Recovery Services vault and re-enabling backup on the VM does not transfer or grant access to the existing recovery points; those remain tied to the current vault, and a new vault would have no recovery points until a new backup completes. This action does not help locate or recover the deleted folder and only introduces redundant configuration effort. The correct approach is to access the existing vault's restore flow and use file-level recovery directly.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked: 'An administrator needs to enable Azure Backup for a new VM that is not yet protected. What should they do first?' then creating a new Recovery Services vault and configuring backup protection would be the correct initial step.
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 File Recovery from the appropriate recovery point and copy the folder back.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
File Recovery is designed for item-level restore from an Azure VM backup. The administrator can mount the recovery point, browse the backed-up contents, and copy the missing folder back without replacing the whole VM. This is the least disruptive option when the machine must remain online and only a small set of files is needed.
✗Restore the entire VM from the latest recovery point into the production resource group.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Restoring the entire VM into the production resource group would overwrite or conflict with the running VM, causing downtime and potential data loss. The requirement is to restore only one folder without disrupting the running VM.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question stated that the VM is completely corrupted and cannot boot, and the goal is to replace the entire VM with minimal downtime, restoring the full VM from a recovery point into the same resource group (after stopping the original VM) would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think a full VM restore is the simplest and most comprehensive recovery method, overlooking that Azure Backup's File Recovery allows granular restore without affecting the running VM.
✗Restore the managed disk and attach it to the running VM as a second OS disk.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Restoring the managed disk and attaching it as a second OS disk would not allow selective folder recovery; it would require mounting the disk and manually copying files, which is more complex and not the intended Azure Backup feature for file-level recovery.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked to recover an entire VM from a backup when the original VM is deleted or corrupted, and you need to create a new VM from the backup, restoring the managed disk and attaching it to a new VM would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that attaching the restored disk as a second disk allows direct file access, but they overlook the simpler, built-in File Recovery feature designed exactly for this purpose.
✗Create a new Recovery Services vault and re-protect the VM before restoring anything.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Creating a new Recovery Services vault and re-protecting the VM does not restore the deleted folder; it only enables future backups. The existing backup data remains in the original vault and is not accessible via a new vault.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked: 'An administrator needs to enable Azure Backup for a new VM that is not yet protected. What should they do first?' then creating a new Recovery Services vault and configuring backup protection would be the correct initial step.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that re-protecting the VM is necessary before any restore operation, confusing the setup of backup with the restore process, or they may incorrectly believe that the original vault is corrupted or unavailable.
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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Same concept, more angles
2 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. A user accidentally deleted a file from an Azure VM. The administrator wants to recover only the deleted file from the most recent backup instead of restoring the entire VM. What should the administrator use?
easy- ✓ A.File recovery from the Azure Backup restore process
- B.A new VM image
- C.A metric alert
- D.An NSG flow log
Why A: Azure Backup's file-level recovery (also known as item-level restore) allows you to recover individual files or folders from a VM backup point without restoring the entire VM. This is achieved by mounting the recovery point as a drive on the same or another VM, enabling direct file copy. Option A is correct because this feature is specifically designed for granular recovery of deleted files from the most recent backup.
Variation 2. Based on the exhibit, a user accidentally deleted one file from the VM and you need to restore only that file without recovering the entire virtual machine. What should you use?
medium- ✓ A.Run file recovery from the available recovery point.
- B.Restore the entire VM to the original resource group.
- C.Create a new backup policy with longer retention and wait for the next backup.
- D.Use Azure Monitor alerts to trigger an automatic file restore.
Why A: Azure Backup for Azure VMs supports file-level recovery from VM backup snapshots without restoring the entire VM. By selecting 'File Recovery' from the backup item's recovery point, you can mount the backup as a drive on the VM or a recovery machine, browse the file system, and copy the deleted file back to its original location. This avoids the overhead and downtime of a full VM restore.
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.