- A
Restore the entire VM from the latest recovery point into the production resource group.
Why wrong: That restores far more than requested and can interrupt the running workload unnecessarily.
- B
Use File Recovery from the appropriate recovery point and copy the folder back.
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.
- C
Restore the managed disk and attach it to the running VM as a second OS disk.
Why wrong: Restoring a disk is more invasive than needed and does not directly solve a single-folder recovery request.
- D
Create a new Recovery Services vault and re-protect the VM before restoring anything.
Why wrong: A new vault does not help recover the deleted folder and adds unnecessary administrative work.
Azure Backup File Recovery: Restore Deleted Files Without Full VM Restore
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of monitor and maintain azure resources. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
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?
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.
Option B is correct because 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.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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
That restores far more than requested and can interrupt the running workload unnecessarily.
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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Restore the managed disk and attach it to the running VM as a second OS disk.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring a disk is more invasive than needed and does not directly solve a single-folder recovery request.
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
A new vault does not help recover the deleted folder and adds unnecessary administrative work.
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?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often 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.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure File Recovery uses the Azure Backup service to mount the recovery point as an iSCSI target on the VM, allowing read-only access to the file system without requiring the VM to be stopped. The administrator can then use standard OS tools (e.g., robocopy or File Explorer) to copy the deleted folder back to its original location. This process leverages the Azure Backup Vault's instant restore capability, which uses snapshots stored in the same region, ensuring low latency and minimal impact on production workloads.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — This question tests Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use File Recovery from the appropriate recovery point and copy the folder back. — Option B is correct because 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.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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