Comp TIA ITF+ Module 3 Answers to Review Questions

If you have made changes to a file and want to keep both the original file and the modified version, what command should you use?

Save As.

You want to purchase a flat-panel monitor that can show widescreen movies. You are considering models with native resolutions of 1400x1050 and 1920x1200. Which should you choose?

1920x1200 as this is a widescreen format.

What, if any, type of printer uses a fuser?

Laser printer—the fuser bonds the toner to the surface of the paper using high heat and pressure.

What type of component provides a passive cooling solution?

A heatsink or heat spreader removes heat from the component by convection with no power required. However, it is usually necessary to cool the heatsink or heat spreader itself and this is likely to require active cooling (a fan).

How is a Windows library different from a folder?

A library acts as a virtual folder by displaying the contents of multiple folders, which could be located on different drives.

What is a typical speed for a modern CPU to run at?

Around 2 GHz; budget models might run as low as 1 GHz while the fastest run up to about 3 GHz.

A user has two USB drives connected to her PC. She complains that when she copies large files to both drives at the same time, it seems to take much longer. Why might this be?

Bandwidth on the USB bus is shared between all devices.

What is the file path to the Documents folder for a user named "David," assuming Windows is installed to a hard disk with a single partition using the default settings?

C:/Users/David/Documents

What are the four inks used to produce color prints?

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK).

You are configuring dual monitors positioned side-by-side. You want to increase the amount of screen space available. Which multiple display option should you set?

Extend the displays.

What view options could you use to show files of a particular type sorted by date?

Group the files by file type then sort by date.

How would you access the system setup program on a PC?

Historically, by pressing the appropriate key during startup (ESC, DEL, F1, F2, or F10). Modern PCs often use fast boot modes that require some other means of booting to the firmware setup program.

What is the main advantage of using a CPU in 64-bit mode?

Makes more system memory accessible. A 64-bit CPU and OS is also required to run 64-bit applications, but there are not too many of these yet. 64-bit software is more reliable and a bit faster than 32-bit software.

What type of file system must the partition that Windows files are installed on use?

NTFS.

In Windows, you can access data via letter-labeled "drives." Do these correspond exactly to physical disks?

Not necessarily in the case of hard disks, which can be configured with multiple partitions, each of which can be assigned a drive letter. Optical drives and flash memory cards cannot be partitioned however.

You need to configure settings for an input device. What should be your first step?

Open the Settings app or Control Panel.

What function of a scanner would you use if you want to convert a letter that someone has mailed to you into a computer-editable document?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

What basic command demonstrates that a printer is connected properly to a computer and that its driver is installed correctly for Windows?

Print Test Page.

You want to configure a printer to use both sides of the paper (duplex) by default. You have alt-clicked the printer object—which command should you select to proceed?

Printing preferences.

What default installation folders contain system and application files that should not normally be deleted or modified manually?

The 'Windows' and 'Program Files' folders.

What computer component is most restrictive in terms of determining upgrade potential for a desktop computer?

The motherboard—it is difficult and expensive to replace.

True or false? If your PC does not have a flash memory card reader, you should be able to connect the camera itself to the PC over USB to copy images off the card.

True—must cameras support USB connections.

True or false? A single layer Blu-ray Disc has greater capacity than a duallayer, double-sided DVD.

True—the capacity of a single layer Blu-ray disc is 25 GB compared to 17 GB for a dual-layer, double-sided DVD.

What type of wired interface is a printer MOST likely to use?

Universal Serial Bus (USB).

What is a zip file?

file archive containing other files in a compressed format.

What type of component provides persistent storage?

A mass storage device such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD), or flash memory. You could also mention optical discs (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray).

Which Windows interface is used for advanced management and troubleshooting of devices?

Device Manager is used to update drivers and obtain more advanced troubleshooting information. The basic user interface is either Devices and Printers or the device pages in the Settings app, depending on the Windows version.

True or false? If you want to configure the DPI of a display device, you would do so via the Personalization app.

False—Dots Per Inch (DPI) or scaling is configured via Display properties. Personalization is for configuring themes and the appearance of the desktop.

True or false? A plug-in card is always required to support PC sound.

False—sound functions are often provided by the motherboard chipset.

True or false? HDMI is the only type of display interface that supports High Definition picture resolutions.

False—there is also DisplayPort and Thunderbolt and some DVI formats also support HD resolutions.

True or false? Mice and keyboards must be connected to a computer via PS/2 ports.

False—they are now much more likely to use USB or wireless (Bluetooth or other RF) interfaces.

What sort of device could you use to expand the storage capacity of a smartphone?

Flash memory card.

Your computer has 4 SATA ports. How many hard drives can be installed?

Four—each SATA port can be used to connect one drive.

Why can't you use memory modules designed for a desktop computer in a laptop?

Laptops use a smaller form factor called SO-DIMM while desktops use DIMMs.

What type of mouse would you recommend for someone who uses their computer principally to play computer games and why?

Laser mouse—this registers cursor movements more quickly and accurately.

What sort of device would you need to transfer data from a "Memory Stick?"

Memory card reader/multi-card reader. Do note that Memory Sticks are no longer in production so you could struggle to locate a suitable reader.

You have a motherboard that is designed for DDR2 memory that works at a bus speed of 533 MHz. You have some DDR3 memory modules that also work at a bus speed of 533 MHz. Are the modules compatible with the motherboard?

No—DDR3 modules cannot be used in DDR2 slots.

You want to purchase a computer with a fast graphics interface. What type of expansion slot should you look for?

PCIe x16—this is a type of PCI Express slot that uses 16 'lanes'. Each lane can transfer 250 MBps (or 500 MBps for PCIe 2 and 1 GBps for v3).

True or false? USB cables have the same connectors at either end.

Partly false—the connectors for the host (PC) and device use different form factors (there are also normal size and mini or micro device connectors). A new reversible Type C connector is starting to be used however.

You are considering buying a new display device. The model you are considering accepts digital inputs only. Your computer's graphics adapter has a blue port with 15 holes. Would this flat-panel be a wise purchase?

Probably not, as this connector is VGA, which supports analog output only. It is possible to buy converters however.

Why should you be more careful about deleting files from a USB flash drive than from the main hard drive?

The files will not be recycled so there is no possibility of retrieving them if you change your mind (at least, not without using specialist data recovery software).

You need to plug a microphone into a computer to make a recording. How would you identify which jack to use?

The jack should be color-coded (pink). There may be an icon to represent usage though. If neither is present, check the system documentation.

A friend is asking for your help in using her computer. When he presses the key marked @, a different symbol appears. What could be the cause?

The keyboard is set to use a UK layout—you can correct this using the Language Bar.

A hard drive is rated at 10,000 RPM. What is the significance of this statistic?

The number of revolutions per minute (RPM) is one of the basic factors determining the speed of the drive. 10,000 rpm represents good performance (15K rpm is the best available).

What kind of data would you expect to find in a file with a TIFF extension?

This is an image file format.

What do you need to know to connect to a device that is configured over the network?

Typically the Internet Protocol (IP) address of its management page. Some devices may use a name to locate the page instead. You are also likely to be prompted for a user name and password.

What type of connector would you use for an external hard drive to connect to a Windows PC?

USB. Firewire, eSATA, or Thunderbird are also possible but not nearly so popular. Most drives are now USB3 or USB3.1. Note that you can plug a USB3 drive into a USB2 port, so long as you have a USB3 device cable.