220-1102 domain - 22% of the exam

Software Troubleshooting

Software Troubleshooting is 22% of the CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) exam. These are the objectives it covers, each with practice questions and worked explanations.

Objectives in this domain

Sample question from this domain

Free sampleSoftware Troubleshootingmedium

Priya updated a banking app on her Android phone and now it force-closes the instant she taps its icon, while every other app runs normally. She does not want to lose her saved logins or in-app data. Which action should the technician try FIRST?

  • AClear the app's storage and data from Settings so the app starts from a completely fresh state on next launch.
  • BUninstall the app and reinstall the current version from the official app store to replace any damaged program files.
  • CForce stop the app, then clear only its cache from Settings, leaving saved data and logins intact before relaunching. Correct
  • DPerform a factory reset of the phone to clear any system-wide corruption that may be affecting the application at launch.
When an app crashes after an update, clear its cache first because it is the least-destructive fix that preserves user data. An app update can leave incompatible cached temporary files that make the app fail at launch. Clearing the cache forces those files to be rebuilt while leaving accounts and saved data untouched, so it is the correct first step before the more destructive clear-data or reinstall options.

Why A is wrong: Clearing storage does often fix a corrupt-state crash, but it also wipes saved logins and in-app data, so it is not the first, least-destructive step when that data must be kept.

Why B is wrong: Reinstalling can resolve the crash, but it is more disruptive than clearing the cache and can remove locally stored data, so it is tried after the lighter step fails.

Why C is correct: Clearing the cache removes stale temporary files left by the update that commonly cause launch crashes, and it preserves accounts and saved data, so it is the correct least-destructive first step.

Why D is wrong: A factory reset is far too drastic for a single misbehaving app and erases all user data, so it is a last resort and never the first action here.

Other domains in this exam

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