The answer is an eDiscovery hold, which is the correct configuration to preserve documents for legal hold in a SharePoint Online site. This mechanism, also known as a litigation hold, works by placing a hold on the entire site or specific content matching criteria like a creation date, preventing any modification or deletion of documents. When a user edits or deletes a held document, the original version is automatically retained in the Preservation Hold library, ensuring immutable preservation. On the MS-102 exam, this tests your understanding of Microsoft Purview’s eDiscovery features versus retention policies—a common trap is confusing eDiscovery holds with retention labels, which manage lifecycle but don’t prevent user deletion. Remember that eDiscovery holds are court-ordered and site-level, while retention policies are proactive and policy-driven. A useful memory tip: “Hold for court, retain for compliance”—eDiscovery holds lock content for legal cases, whereas retention policies simply keep it for a set time.
MS-102 Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview Practice Question
This MS-102 practice question tests your understanding of manage compliance by using microsoft purview. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 compliance administrator needs to preserve all documents in a SharePoint Online site that were created before a specific date for a legal hold. The hold should prevent any modification or deletion of those documents. What should the administrator configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
eDiscovery hold
An eDiscovery hold (also known as a litigation hold) preserves all content in a SharePoint Online site by preventing modification or deletion of documents that match the hold criteria, including those created before a specific date. This hold applies at the site level and ensures that even if users edit or delete documents, the original versions are retained in the Preservation Hold library. It is the correct mechanism for legal holds that require immutable preservation of existing documents.
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.
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Retention label applied automatically
Why it's wrong here
Retention labels can preserve items but do not prevent modifications; they only prevent permanent deletion during the retention period.
✓
eDiscovery hold
Why this is correct
An eDiscovery hold preserves content in its current state and prevents edits or deletions until the hold is removed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Data loss prevention policy
Why it's wrong here
DLP policies prevent data leakage but do not preserve content for legal hold.
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Sensitivity label with encryption
Why it's wrong here
Sensitivity labels with encryption protect content but do not prevent deletion or modification for legal hold purposes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse retention labels or policies with eDiscovery holds, not realizing that retention labels only ensure content is kept after deletion but do not prevent modification, whereas an eDiscovery hold actively blocks modification and deletion by preserving the original content in a hidden library.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an eDiscovery hold is placed on a SharePoint Online site, the hold is enforced via the Preservation Hold library, which stores copies of all versions of documents that are modified or deleted while the hold is active. The hold uses a timer job to copy the original document to this library before any changes are committed, ensuring that the pre-hold state is preserved even if users overwrite or delete the file. In a real-world scenario, if a legal hold is placed on documents created before January 1, 2023, any document created after that date is not preserved, but documents created before that date are protected regardless of subsequent edits or deletions.
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
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-102 question in full detail.
Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview — This question tests Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: eDiscovery hold — An eDiscovery hold (also known as a litigation hold) preserves all content in a SharePoint Online site by preventing modification or deletion of documents that match the hold criteria, including those created before a specific date. This hold applies at the site level and ensures that even if users edit or delete documents, the original versions are retained in the Preservation Hold library. It is the correct mechanism for legal holds that require immutable preservation of existing documents.
What should I do if I get this MS-102 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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