The answer is eDiscovery (Standard). This Microsoft Purview solution is the correct choice because it allows you to place a hold on a user’s Exchange Online mailbox and OneDrive for Business site simultaneously, preserving all content from permanent deletion or modification during a legal investigation. The hold works by preventing both users and automated retention policies from purging items, ensuring data integrity for compliance reviews. On the MS-102 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between eDiscovery (Standard) and eDiscovery (Premium), where the former is sufficient for simple hold-and-search tasks while the latter adds advanced analytics and review sets. A common trap is confusing this with Litigation Hold, which only applies to mailboxes, not OneDrive. Memory tip: think “Standard for single-user holds, Premium for deep dives.”
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. 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.
The legal department is investigating a potential data breach involving a specific user. The compliance officer needs to place a hold on all content in the user's Exchange Online mailbox and OneDrive for Business to prevent deletion until the investigation is complete. Which Microsoft Purview solution should the officer use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
eDiscovery (Standard)
eDiscovery (Standard) allows you to place a hold on Exchange Online mailboxes and OneDrive for Business sites to preserve content from deletion during an investigation. This hold prevents users and automated processes from permanently deleting items, ensuring data integrity for legal or compliance reviews.
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.
✗
Content Search
Why it's wrong here
Content Search can find and export content but cannot place a hold to prevent deletion.
✓
eDiscovery (Standard)
Why this is correct
eDiscovery (Standard) allows creating cases and placing legal holds on user mailboxes and OneDrive accounts to preserve content.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
eDiscovery (Premium)
Why it's wrong here
eDiscovery (Premium) provides advanced features for complex investigations, but eDiscovery (Standard) meets the simple hold requirement.
✗
Audit log
Why it's wrong here
Audit log records user and admin activities but does not preserve content or prevent deletion.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the search-only capability of Content Search with the preservation functionality of eDiscovery (Standard), or mistakenly think eDiscovery (Premium) is required for holds, when in fact holds are a standard feature of eDiscovery (Standard).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When you create an eDiscovery (Standard) case and add a hold, Microsoft Purview uses a retention policy applied at the mailbox or site level, leveraging the Managed Folder Assistant in Exchange Online and the Preservation Hold library in SharePoint/OneDrive. The hold is implemented via a system-generated retention tag that prevents the Purges folder from permanently deleting items, even if the user empties their Deleted Items or Recoverable Items folder.
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 (Standard) — eDiscovery (Standard) allows you to place a hold on Exchange Online mailboxes and OneDrive for Business sites to preserve content from deletion during an investigation. This hold prevents users and automated processes from permanently deleting items, ensuring data integrity for legal or compliance reviews.
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.
About these practice questions
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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. An organization is involved in a legal case and needs to preserve all emails in a user's mailbox, including future emails, without deleting or modifying them. The user must continue to work normally. Which Microsoft Purview feature should be applied to the user's mailbox?
medium
✓ A.Litigation Hold
B.Retention policy
C.Sensitivity label
D.Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why A: Litigation Hold (option A) is the correct feature because it preserves all mailbox content, including future emails, in its original state without allowing deletion or modification by users or automated processes. Unlike a retention policy, Litigation Hold places the entire mailbox on indefinite hold, ensuring that any item changed or deleted by the user is retained in the Recoverable Items folder, while the user continues to work normally. This meets the legal preservation requirement without disrupting daily operations.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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