- A
Restore the entire VM to a new deployment and then copy the file back
Why wrong: This is unnecessarily disruptive when only a single file needs to be recovered.
- B
Use the file recovery option from the Recovery Services vault for the relevant recovery point
File recovery lets you mount a backup recovery point and copy back only the missing file while the VM continues running.
- C
Trigger an Azure Site Recovery failover to a recovery region
Why wrong: Site Recovery is for disaster recovery and failover, not for restoring one deleted file.
- D
Create a new backup policy with a shorter retention period and run the next scheduled backup
Why wrong: Changing retention does not recover the deleted file, and waiting for the next backup delays the fix.
Question 313 of 1,170
AZ-104 Monitor and Maintain Azure Resources Practice Question
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 protected by Azure Backup is missing one application file, but the VM must stay online during recovery. Which restore approach should the administrator use?
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 the file recovery option from the Recovery Services vault for the relevant recovery point
Azure Backup's file recovery option allows you to mount a recovery point as a drive on the running VM without restoring the entire VM or taking it offline. This enables you to copy the missing application file directly from the backup while the VM remains operational, meeting the requirement to stay online.
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 to a new deployment and then copy the file back
Why it's wrong here
This is unnecessarily disruptive when only a single file needs to be recovered.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question required recovering the entire VM to a known good state, and the original VM could be taken offline or replaced. For example: 'A VM has been corrupted by malware and needs to be fully restored to a previous clean state. The VM can be shut down during recovery.'
- ✓
Use the file recovery option from the Recovery Services vault for the relevant recovery point
Why this is correct
File recovery lets you mount a backup recovery point and copy back only the missing file while the VM continues running.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Trigger an Azure Site Recovery failover to a recovery region
Why it's wrong here
Site Recovery is for disaster recovery and failover, not for restoring one deleted file.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to recover an entire Windows VM after a regional outage, and the VM must be brought online in a different Azure region with minimal data loss. In that scenario, triggering an Azure Site Recovery failover to the recovery region would be the correct approach.
- ✗
Create a new backup policy with a shorter retention period and run the next scheduled backup
Why it's wrong here
Changing retention does not recover the deleted file, and waiting for the next backup delays the fix.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to reduce backup storage costs for a VM by decreasing retention duration for future backups, while keeping existing recovery points unchanged. The correct action would be to modify the backup policy to a shorter retention period and apply it to the VM.
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 the file recovery option from the Recovery Services vault for the relevant recovery pointCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
File recovery lets you mount a backup recovery point and copy back only the missing file while the VM continues running.
✗Restore the entire VM to a new deployment and then copy the file backWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Restoring the entire VM to a new deployment is disruptive and time-consuming, and it does not keep the original VM online during recovery. The requirement is to recover a single file while the VM stays online, which is not achieved by this method.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question required recovering the entire VM to a known good state, and the original VM could be taken offline or replaced. For example: 'A VM has been corrupted by malware and needs to be fully restored to a previous clean state. The VM can be shut down during recovery.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think restoring the entire VM is a straightforward way to recover the missing file, overlooking the requirement to keep the VM online. They might also be unaware of the file-level recovery feature in Azure Backup.
✗Trigger an Azure Site Recovery failover to a recovery regionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery solution for replicating VMs to a secondary region, not for recovering individual files from Azure Backup. It requires failover to a recovery region, which would cause downtime and is not designed for granular file recovery from backup points.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to recover an entire Windows VM after a regional outage, and the VM must be brought online in a different Azure region with minimal data loss. In that scenario, triggering an Azure Site Recovery failover to the recovery region would be the correct approach.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Site Recovery with Azure Backup, thinking both can restore files, or they may assume that failover is a valid method for file-level recovery without understanding the purpose and limitations of each service.
✗Create a new backup policy with a shorter retention period and run the next scheduled backupWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Creating a new backup policy with shorter retention and running the next scheduled backup does not recover the missing file; it only changes future backup behavior. The question requires immediate recovery of a specific file from an existing backup, not altering backup policies.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to reduce backup storage costs for a VM by decreasing retention duration for future backups, while keeping existing recovery points unchanged. The correct action would be to modify the backup policy to a shorter retention period and apply it to the VM.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse backup policy management with recovery operations, thinking that adjusting retention or scheduling a new backup can somehow restore missing data, or they may misinterpret the question as asking how to ensure the file is backed up in the future.
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 may confuse Azure Backup's file-level recovery with Azure Site Recovery's failover, or assume that a full VM restore is the only way to access individual files, overlooking the granular mount capability.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The file recovery option uses a script (available via the Recovery Services vault) that mounts the backup's VHD as an iSCSI target on the VM. This mount is read-only and temporary, typically lasting 12 hours, allowing you to browse and copy files without any downtime. The underlying mechanism leverages Azure's snapshot and restore infrastructure to present the point-in-time disk state directly to the running OS.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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 the file recovery option from the Recovery Services vault for the relevant recovery point — Azure Backup's file recovery option allows you to mount a recovery point as a drive on the running VM without restoring the entire VM or taking it offline. This enables you to copy the missing application file directly from the backup while the VM remains operational, meeting the requirement to stay online.
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 →
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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