Hardware, Hardware Troubleshooting, Laptops Practice Test
What type of connector provides power to an internal hard drive from the computer's power supply using a 4-pin connector? SATA SCSI Thunderbolt Molex
A Molex connector provides DC power to the various drives inside a computer case. Molex and Mini-Molex are both 4-pins connectors, with Mini-Molex only being used to support floppy disk drives. The large-sized one is used for hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD drives. SATA connectors have 15 pin and 7 pin varieties. Thunderbolt has 20 and 24 pin varieties. SCSI has 50 and 36 pin varieties.
Dion Training wants to install a network cable to run a television signal between two buildings. Which of the following cable types should it utilize? Fiber Coaxial Plenum Shielded
A coaxial cable is a cable used to transmit video, communications, and audio. A coaxial or coax cable is most commonly used as a cable to connect a TV to a cable TV service. Coaxial cables are a specialized type of copper cabling that uses a copper core to carry the electrical signal while being enclosed by plastic insulation and shielding to protect the data transmission from the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Plenum-rated cable has a special insulation that has low smoke and low flame characteristics. Plenum cable is mandated to be installed in any air handling space. Shielded cables contain a braided foil shield around the inner cabling to protect the data from the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI). An optical fiber consists of an ultra-fine core of glass to carry the light signals surrounded by glass or plastic cladding, which guides the light pulses along the core, and a protective coating. The fiber optic cable is contained in a protective jacket and terminated by a connector. Fiber optic cables use light signals to carry data across a cable at extremely high bandwidths.
You are setting up a projector and a laptop for a big presentation in the Dion Training conference room. You start up the presentation software and mirror the laptop's display to the projector. The image on the screen from the projector is flickering intermittently, but the image on the laptop's display is working with no issues. You attempt to change the laptop's resolution to a lower setting and a higher setting, but still, the projector's flickering persists. Which of the following steps should you attempt NEXT? Change the color depth setting on the projector Ensure the display cable is securely connected to both the laptop and the projector Ensure the project's power cable is connected securely Change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3 on the laptop
A flickering image on a projector is a common issue that can occur if the display cable between the laptop and the projector is not connected securely. This is especially common with older-style display cables like VGA and DVI. Therefore, it is important to ensure a VGA or DVI cable is properly secured using the cable's thumbscrews to prevent flickering of the image.
A client has a workstation with a RAID 5 configuration and reports that slower than normal performance occurs when reading/writing files to the RAID. You run a diagnostic program against the RAID, and the system passes all of the diagnostic tests without any issues. While you are running the tests, though, you heard clicking noises coming from the RAID. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the slow performance being experienced by the client? SSD Hard drive RAID controller Cooling fan
Based on the symptoms described, the RAID itself is fully functional, so the RAID controller is not causing any problems. This could be caused by a failing hard drive or the system overheating due to the slow performance. Since there is a clicking noise, this is most likely a hard drive failure since a cooling fan makes a whirring or grinding noise instead. Therefore, we can assume the RAID is made up of magnetic hard drives, and one of those hard disks is starting to fail. To replace the hard drive, you need to find a comparable drive that will work in the array, reboot the computer, and enter the RAID setup program to rebuild the array after replacing that hard drive. If you use a RAID 1, RAID 5, or RAID 10, the system will continue to operate normally, but with slower performance, until you replace the hard drive and rebuild the RAID.
You just rebooted your Windows 10 workstation, and the desktop's background picture looks strange. Upon closer examination, you notice that only a few hundred unique colors are being shown in the image. Which of the following settings should you reconfigure? App size Refresh rate Color depth Resolution
Color depth is either the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image or video frame buffer or the number of bits used for each color component in a single pixel. In Windows 10, you can display up to 32-bits of color depth if your monitor supports it. A larger color depth number allows more unique colors to be displayed. If you only have 4-bit color, for example, you can only have 16 colors. With an 8-bit color depth, you can see 256 colors. Normally, most Windows systems are set to 16-bit (65,536 colors), 24-bit (16.7 million colors), or 32-bit (4.2 billion colors).
Johnny is trying to download a file from a remote FTP server but keeps receiving an error that a connection cannot be opened. Which of the following should you do FIRST to resolve the problem? Flush the DNS cache on the local workstation Validate the security certificate from the host Ensure that port 161 is open Ensure that port 20 is open
Executing an FTP connection from a client is a two-stage process requiring the use of two different ports. Once the user enters the name of the server and the login credentials in the FTP client's authorization fields, the FTP connection is attempted over port 21. Once the connection is established, FTP sends the data over port 20 back to the client from the server. For FTP to function properly, you should have both ports 20 and 21 open.
Which of the following type of hard disk drives would be installed in a low-end office desktop? 15,000 rpm 10,000 rpm 7200 rpm 5400 rpm
Hard drive performance is limited based on the number of revolutions per minute (RPM) the disk can spin. If a disk can spin faster, it can retrieve or store data on the disk quicker. For low-end office desktops, using a 5,400 rpm hard disk drive to save money is acceptable. For a high-performance gaming computer, a 15,000 rpm hard disk drive or an SSD should be used instead.
A computer technician is building a server that will run multiple virtual machines simultaneously. Which CPU technology should be selected so that the processor can utilize two logical cores?
HyperThreading (HT) is an Intel CPU architecture implemented to expose two or more logical processors to the OS to deliver performance benefits. This allows the system to run multiple cores for each operating system in a virtualized environment. Since the question asked about logical cores and not physical cores, the answer is hyperthreading and not a multi-core processor.
You have been asked to fix an old computer whose CD-ROM has stopped working. The CD-ROM drive is using a 40-pin ribbon cable, and you suspect the cable is defective. Which cable should you buy to replace the cable?
IDE Explanation: An IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) cable is an older cable interface that used to be used for the transmission of data between the motherboard and various internal devices like hard drives and CD-ROM drives. An IDE cable is a 40-pin ribbon cable that operated at relatively slow speeds (less than 50 Mbps). IDE cables were also known as PATA (Parallel ATA) cables, as opposed to SATA (Serial ATA) cables. You will rarely come across an IDE cable in use today, but if you are working on a very old computer in an office (legacy machine) then you may find one in use.
Tamera was responding to a complaint that one of the employees is having problems with the wired network connection on their laptop. She investigated the issue to see why it will not connect to the network. Tamera looked at the indicator lights, but she doesn't see the blinking she expected to view. Instead, the light is steady. What is MOST likely the issue? Low RF signal No network activity Intermittent connectivity Incorrect TCP/IP configuration
If the lights are steady on a network interface card (NIC), it indicates that there is no network activity. If it is blinking, this indicates that data is passing over the NIC to the network. Even if there were an incorrect TCP/IP configuration or intermittent connectivity, there would be blinking lights to indicate transmission attempts. Since this is a wired network connection, it cannot be a low RF signal as that is a wireless network problem.
You are attempting to troubleshoot a computer for a user. When you attempt to turn on the computer by pressing the power button, the computer turns on, and the fan spins normally. There is no output displayed on the screen from the PCIe x16 video card. You turn off the computer, remove the processor and the memory, and attempt to power on the computer again. During the boot-up sequence, you do not hear any POST beep codes, but the fans still spin normally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of his issue? The CMOS battery needs to be replaced The power supply's voltage switch is set to 240V but the power outlet is providing 110V The motherboard has failed and needs to be replaced The power supply wattage is too low for the components in the computer
If your computer won't boot, but fans spin continuously, it indicates a problem with the power supply, the motherboard, or overheating could be occurring. When the power supply to your computer fails, it won't start or power up, but the fans spin (as described in this question). One of the reasons your computer won't boot but the fans spin could be a bad processor or memory chip. To isolate this as a reason, you should remove the processor and memory and then attempt to boot up the computer and listen for a POST beep code. In this case, we could eliminate the motherboard, processor, and memory as the issue's source since no POST beep codes were heard. Based on the symptoms and actions performed, it appears that the power supply is not providing enough wattage to all the components of the computer, which is why the fans are spinning (they use low wattage) while the rest of the system fails to boot.
You work as a computer technician for a production company that travels worldwide while filming and editing music videos. Due to the nature of video editing, you will be building a video production workstation for the company that will have the maximum amount of RAM, an 8-core CPU, a dedicated GPU, and a redundant array of solid-state devices for storage. You are now determining which power supply to install in the system. What is the MOST important characteristic to consider when choosing a power supply?
Input Voltage Explanation: This question provides you with many details, but the key phrase in finding the answer is in the first sentence. This computer will be traveling worldwide, and the most important consideration will be the input voltage. If you choose a 120-volt power supply, it would be destroyed if plugged into a 240-volt outlet (commonly used outside the United States). Conversely, if you use a 240-volt power supply and plug it into a 120-volt outlet, it will not function due to the lower voltage. Therefore, you need to pick a power supply with dual voltage selection capability for maximum compatibility worldwide.
A network technician connects three temporary office trailers with a point-to-multipoint microwave radio solution in a wooded area. The microwave radios are up, and the network technician can ping network devices in all of the office trailers. However, users are complaining that they are experiencing sporadic connectivity. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue? Latency Throttling Split horizon Interference
Microwave links require a direct line of sight (LoS) between the antennas to maintain a strong and effective link. These line-of-sight microwave link uses highly directional transmitter and receiver antennas to communicate via a narrowly focused radio beam. Since this microwave-based network is being run in a wooded area, there are likely some trees or leaves that are blocking the line of sight between the antennas. To solve this issue, they should trim the trees and branches to provide a clear light of sight or move the antennas to reestablish a clear line of sight. Latency is the time delay between when a packet is sent and received. While latency will increase with an obstructed microwave line of sight link, latency is an effect of this issue and not the cause of the issue. Throttling is the intentional slowing or speeding of an internet service by an Internet service provider to regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion. This again is not a cause of intermittent connectivity, but would instead occur if the microwave link was overutilized beyond its SLA contract limitations. Split horizon is a form of route advertisement that prohibits a router from advertising back a route to the same interface from which it learned it. This does not affect the issues experienced with the microwave line. Another way to approach this question is to use the process of elimination: throttling slows down the speed, and latency slows down speed even further. Split horizon prevents loops, so it only makes sense that interference is the correct choice since interference can cause drops in connections in many situations.
The touch screen on your Windows 10 laptop is not working properly. You have been asked to troubleshoot the laptop. What should you check FIRST? Device manager Performance monitor System configuration Digitizer settings
Most laptops have a digitizer and an LCD screen if they are touchscreen devices. The digitizer is a piece of glass glued to the LCD's surface and is used to capture your touches and translate them into input for your system. If the touch screen is not working, but the display doesn't look cracked or broken, this is often a sign that the digitizer settings are incorrect or the digitizer is defective.
Your computer keeps losing track of time and the date in the system. Which of the following is MOST likely causing this issue? The CMOS battery is dead and needs to be replaced The power supply is faulty The memory is corrupted The motherboard's device drivers need to be updated
Most motherboards (especially older ones) have a small coin-sized battery installed on them to power the CMOS RAM when the computer is powered down. This is where the BIOS settings and date/time are saved when power is removed from a workstation. If a computer continually loses track of the day/time, this is a classic sign that the CMOS battery is dead and needs to be replaced. Please note that some newer motherboards have replaced the need for a CMOS battery by replacing it with an area of nonvolatile memory used instead to store the BIOS settings and the date/time.
A client reports that their workstation is continually crashing when using certain applications on their macOS system. The system will stop working and display a spinning rainbow pinwheel on the screen. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this error? Failure of the graphics card Failure of the processor Failure or corruption of the memory Failure of the power supply
On a Mac (OS X) system, the "Pinwheel of Death" is used to indicate an error. The pinwheel appears as an endlessly spinning rainbow mouse pointer displayed on the screen. This usually occurs due to a memory failure or memory corruption in the system. The pinwheel is like the BSOD used in Windows. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is a "stop screen" that appears when the Windows operating system detects a critical error and literally stops the system so that the error doesn't cause any loss of data. All operating systems have some form of "stop screen," but the Windows version got the name BSOD since it was a screen with a full blue background and white text containing troubleshooting information and error codes.
You are building a Desktop PC for a newly hired employee at Dion Training. The computer's motherboard doesn't have a wireless network adapter integrated into it, so you need to purchase an expansion card to provide this functionality. Which of the following motherboard connections will most likely be used to connect the wireless network adapter card? PCIe x16 PCIe x1 AGP eSATA
PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express) is an interface standard for connecting high-speed components. Every desktop PC motherboard has several PCIe slots you can use to add GPUs (video cards or graphics cards), RAID cards, network adapters, Wi-Fi cards, or SSD (solid-state drive) add-on cards. The types of PCIe slots available in your PC will depend on your motherboard and are designated as PCIe x1, x4, x8, and x16. Network adapters and Wi-Fi network cards almost exclusively rely on PCIe x1 expansion slots or a USB connection for their connectivity. Graphics cards usually rely on a PCIe x16 expansion slot. eSATA is an external SATA port used to connect an external storage device such as a hard drive. The accelerated graphics port (AGP) is a parallel expansion card standard that was originally designed for attaching a video card to a computer system to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. AGP has been replaced with PCIe due to its faster speeds.
Which of the following types of connectors are used to terminate a CAT 5e network cable? RJ-45 RJ-11 Molex F type
RJ-45 refers to a cable termination specification that specifies physical male and female connectors and the pin assignments of data jacks that can be used for networks and VOIP telephone cables. RJ-45 is an 8-pin/8-position plug or jack commonly used to connect computers onto Ethernet-based local area networks (LAN) and consists of two wiring schemes: T568A and T568B. An RJ-11 connector is used to terminate cables used for phone lines. A Molex connector is used to provide power to internal components of a computer from the power supply.
Tom is running some new Cat 5e cabling in an office building to connect a few offices. The ceiling is constructed as a drop ceiling with fluorescent lights and does not have any cable trays. Due to the proximity of the fluorescent lights to the cable being run, what type of CAT 5e cable should be run? Coaxial Fiber UTP STP
STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) is a type of cabling that can help prevent electrical interferences or cross-talk. A cross-talk is when electrical interference data passing through can cause CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) errors. A CRC is used to calculate the before and after checksum is made when transferring data. If electrical interference gets in the way, such as proximity to fluorescent light bulbs, it can cause data to be corrupted and produce an error. UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) is cheaper and easier to work with but is subject to interference. Coaxial and fiber are not types of CAT 5e cabling. Coaxial and fiber are not Cat 5E cable types and cannot be used for this network.
You are connecting a laptop to a brand new digital high definition TV. Unfortunately, the laptop is a little outdated and only has an analog display output. Which of the following adapters could you use to convert the signal from analog to digital for use with the new television? HDMI to VGA S-Video to RCA DVI-D to HDMI VGA to DVI-D
Since this question asks you to select the converter that can convert a signal from analog to digital, you need to consider which of the connectors are analog and digital. S-Video, RCA, and VGA are all analog. HDMI and DVI-D are both digital. Therefore, the correct answer is VGA (analog) to DVI-D (Digital). HDMI to VGS would be digital to analog. S-Video to RCA would be analog to analog. DVI-D to HDMI would be digital to digital.
Your desktop computer is currently running out of internal storage space. You want to upgrade the workstation with more internal storage to store additional videos, photos, and backups. Which of the following is the BEST storage solution to avoid having to expand again next year while still meeting your need to store more data? 3 TB HDD 50 TB SAN 5 TB NAS 1 TB SSD
Since you need an internal storage solution, you cannot use a NAS or SAN (since these are both network storage solutions). Instead, you have to select from the SSD or the HDD. In this question, we are primarily worried about the size of the storage being installed and not the storage speed. Therefore, we should choose the 3 TB HDD (hard disk drive) over the 1 TB SSD (solid-state drive) due to its larger size.
You are troubleshooting a workstation for a customer. The workstation will not boot. When it is powered on, an error message of "OS not found" is displayed on the screen. What is the MOST likely solution to fix this error? Repartition the drive Repair the GPT Perform a chkdsk Replace the HDD with an SSD
The "OS not found" error at boot time is an indication that the MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (Globally Unique ID Partition Table) is corrupted or faulty. If this occurs, you should reboot into the Windows recovery mode and use the 'bootrec /fixboot' command to fix the GPT.
Which of the following statements about an eSATA connection is correct? eSATA is used to add additional internal storage devices eSATA is used to add additional external storage devices eSATA uses unshielded cables eSATA is slower than USB 3.0
The External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (or eSATA) is used for connecting external drives to provide additional storage. When connecting a cable to an eSATA port, you must use a shielded cable. SATA is an internal connector for adding storage, while eSATA is reserved for external use. USB 3.0 can operate at speeds up to 5 Gbps, while eSATA can operate at speeds of up to 6 Gbps.
Jason's laptop display appears to be extremely dim. He set the brightness to the highest level and attempted to adjust the control, but the image still appears extremely dim. Jason notices that if he points his smartphone's flashlight at the screen, then he can see the image better. Which of the following components on the laptop should he replace to fix this issue? LCD panel Digitizer Inverter Graphics card
The inverter (also known as inverter board, screen inverter, or LCD inverter) is a part of the laptop's display assembly. The inverter is a small green board attached to the base of the LCD panel. In a laptop computer, the LCD screen relies on a backlight source to uniformly light up the screen, and the inverter acts as the power supply for this lighting source. If the inverter is faulty, the display will be too dim to easily see without an external light source like a flashlight. The digitizer is a touch-sensitive glass panel covering the LCD in a touchscreen assembly. The digitizer is used to convert touch events to digital signals that can be interpreted as different types of input. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is a type of display technology where the image is made up of liquid crystal cells controlled using electrical charges. The LCD panel is backlight by a cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) bulb. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a microprocessor used on dedicated video adapter cards or within a CPU with integrated graphics capability to handle the mathematical calculations required to create immersive and 3D graphics.
Dion Security Group has established a Security Operations Center (SOC) that operates 24/7. They have several 65" plasma TVs at the front of the room that are used as computer displays to show open tickets. You turned off the televisions to clean the screens and noticed that the company logo is still visible in each of the screens' upper left corners. Which of the following should you do to correct this? Replace the plasma TVs Degauss the television Replace the HDMI cable Replace the video card
The logo in the upper left corner has been burned into the display since it is a static image. This is common with plasma displays and TVs. To fix this, you need to replace the TVs. If you plan to have a lot of static content on a display, you should use an OLED or LED display instead. If burn-in was experienced on old CRT monitors, you could run a degaussing program to erase the burn-in. Unfortunately, this will not work for plasma, LED, or OLED displays, though.
A computer technician is replacing a failed power supply in a customer's gaming workstation that contains multiple hard drives and a dedicated graphics card. Which of the following are the two most important things for the technician to consider when selecting a power supply replacement for this system? (Select TWO) Number and type of connectors Dual rail Wattage rating Dual voltage
The technician must ensure that they select a new power supply with a high enough wattage rating and the right number/type of connectors. Since this is a gaming workstation with several hard drives and a dedicated graphics card, it is likely to require a large wattage rating and many connectors. Wattage defines the amount of power needed to power all the hardware in the system. The number of connectors defines the number of devices that can be powered from the power supply. The number of connectors defines the types of devices that can be powered from the power supply.
Your friend just gave you his old laptop. Whenever you turn on the laptop, though, a blank screen appears and asks you to enter an administrative password before the computer attempts to boot up. Unfortunately, your friend never gave you the password for this laptop. Which of the following actions should you take to resolve this issue and get past this password screen? Press and hold the power button down for a few minutes, then attempt to power on the laptop Remove the CMOS battery, wait a few minutes, reinsert the battery, then power on the laptop Remove the laptop's battery, wait a few minutes, reinsert the battery, and then power on the laptop Disconnect the hard drive from the motherboard for a few minutes, reconnect it, and then power on the laptop
This blank screen asking for the administrative password appears to be a BIOS password required to be entered before the laptop is allowed to boot from the hard disk. Your best option is to clear the CMOS forcibly to remove the BIOS password from a workstation or laptop. To clear the CMOS, you must remove the CMOS battery from your computer, wait a few minutes, reinsert the CMOS battery, and then attempt to power on the computer again. This will cause the information stored in the CMOS (for example, BIOS settings and passwords) to be erased and restored to its default configuration. Removing and reinserting the laptop's battery will not reset the BIOS password. Disconnecting and reconnecting the hard drive will not reset the BIOS password.
A customer contacts the service desk because their laptop will not power on when plugged in, and the battery is dead. The service desk replaces its battery, connects it to a different power adapter, and the laptop works all day until the battery runs out. Now, the laptop won't turn on, and the battery won't charge. Which of the following do you recommend to solve this issue? Connect the laptop to a 220v outlet Replace the DC jack Replace the battery Replace the power adapter
This scenario indicates that the DC jack is faulty. Since the battery was replaced and the laptop continues to work, this indicates it isn't a battery issue but is, instead, most likely a DC jack issue. The DC jack often gets broken on a laptop, and if the jack is broken, the device cannot charge or receive power from the power adapter or wall outlet.
Which of the following types of USB connections can support data rates of up to 480 Mbps? USB 3.0 USB 2.0 USB 1.0 USB 1.1
USB 2.0 can support data rates up to 480 Mbps. Universal serial bus (USB) is the main type of connection interface used on desktops and laptops. A larger Type A connector attaches to a port on the host; Type B and Mini- or Micro-Type B connectors are used for devices. USB 1.1 supports 12 Mbps while USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps and is backward compatible with 1.1 devices which run at a slower speed. USB devices are considered hot-swappable and each device can draw up to 2.5 W of power over a USB port. USB 3.0 and 3.1 define 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) and 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) rates and can deliver up to 4.5 W of power.
Which of the following types of USB connections can support up to 4.5 watts of power per connected device? USB 1.0 USB 2.0 USB 1.1 USB 3.0
USB 3.0 can support providing up to 4.5 watts of power per connected device. Universal serial bus (USB) is the main type of connection interface used on desktops and laptops. A larger Type A connector attaches to a port on the host; Type B and Mini- or Micro-Type B connectors are used for devices. USB 1.1 supports 12 Mbps while USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps and is backward compatible with 1.1 devices which run at the slower speed. USB devices are considered hot-swappable and each device can draw up to 2.5 W of power over a USB port. USB 3.0 and 3.1 define 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) and 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) rates and can deliver up to 4.5 W of power.