An administrator has already increased the size of a managed data disk attached to a running Windows VM. Azure now shows the larger disk size, but the application still cannot use the new capacity. What should the administrator do next?

Detach the disk, shrink it, and reattach it to refresh the filesystem.

Shrinking the disk is not the solution, and detaching it is unnecessary when the goal is simply to use newly allocated capacity. The issue is inside the guest OS, not with Azure disk allocation.

Convert the data disk to a shared disk so Windows can auto-detect the size increase.

Shared disks are for specific clustering scenarios and do not automatically solve a filesystem expansion problem. The disk type does not change the need to expand the volume in the operating system.

Redeploy the virtual machine to apply the new disk size.

Redeploying is unnecessary and disruptive. The Azure disk has already been resized, so the remaining task is to expand the partition or filesystem inside the VM.

What does this AZ-104 question test?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Expand the partition or volume inside the guest operating system. — When Azure resizes a managed disk, the extra space is not automatically usable by the workload. The guest operating system must extend the partition and filesystem to claim the new capacity. That is why the Azure-side change alone is not enough. This is a common operational step after increasing data-disk size on a running VM, especially for Windows volumes. Why others are wrong: Detaching or shrinking the disk does not solve a capacity problem that already has a larger Azure disk allocated. Shared disks are for multi-writer scenarios, not simple expansion. Redeploying the VM is unnecessary because the disk resize has already occurred. The missing step is a guest-level volume expansion, not another Azure control-plane action.

What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.