The answer is to create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it to the VM. This is correct because a snapshot is a point-in-time, read-only copy of a managed disk, and Azure allows you to directly create a new managed disk from that snapshot as a separate resource. By attaching this new disk to the existing VM, you restore the lost data to a secondary drive without touching the operating system disk, avoiding any need to redeploy or rebuild the VM. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of disk recovery versus VM recovery—a common trap is thinking you must delete and recreate the VM or restore the OS disk, but the key is that data disks and OS disks are managed independently. Remember the mnemonic: “Snapshot to Disk, Attach to Live” to recall that you never need to stop the VM or touch the OS disk to recover a deleted data disk.
AZ-104 Deploy and Manage Azure Compute Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of deploy and manage azure compute. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 managed data disk on a VM was deleted by mistake. You have a snapshot from before the deletion and want to restore the data with minimal impact to the VM's operating system disk. What should you do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it to the VM
Option A is correct because you can create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it as a data disk to the existing VM. This restores the data without affecting the OS disk or requiring a VM redeployment, minimizing downtime and impact.
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.
✓
Create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it to the VM
Why this is correct
This restores the disk contents without rebuilding the VM or changing the OS disk.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Redeploy the VM from the marketplace image
Why it's wrong here
Redeploying from an image does not restore the deleted data disk contents from the snapshot.
✗
Convert the snapshot directly into an OS disk and boot from it
Why it's wrong here
A data disk snapshot is not the same as a direct OS-disk recovery path for this scenario.
✗
Resize the VM to a larger size and the deleted disk will reappear
Why it's wrong here
Changing VM size affects compute resources, but it does not recover deleted storage objects.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse snapshots with OS disk recovery options, incorrectly assuming a data disk snapshot can be used to boot the VM, or that resizing or redeploying the VM will restore deleted disks.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
A data disk snapshot is not the same as a direct OS-disk recovery path for this scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Managed disk snapshots are point-in-time copies stored as page blobs in Azure Storage, independent of the source disk. When you create a new managed disk from a snapshot, you can specify the same or different disk type (e.g., Standard HDD, Premium SSD) and attach it to any VM in the same region. This process uses the Azure Resource Manager API to instantiate the disk, ensuring the data is restored without affecting the OS disk's boot configuration or requiring a VM restart.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-104 question in full detail.
Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — This question tests Deploy and Manage Azure Compute — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it to the VM — Option A is correct because you can create a new managed disk from the snapshot and attach it as a data disk to the existing VM. This restores the data without affecting the OS disk or requiring a VM redeployment, minimizing downtime and impact.
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.
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Question Discussion
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