CompTIA A+ Practice Test B 901

Viserys just installed two new memory modules into his computer. His motherboard supports DDR3 RAM with a maximum bus speed of 1600 MHz. The memory modules he installed were mismatched; one operates at 1066 MHz and one at 1333 MHz. At what bus speed will the system function? 100 MHz/ 1066 MHz/ 1600 MHz/ 800 MHz

1066 MHz When mismatched RAM modules are installed, the system operates at the speed of the slower module; in this case, that's 1066 MHz.

A customer has requested a high-end gaming PC system. In designing the system, which of the following feature-sets of the power supply should be installed? (Select THREE). 24-PIN MAIN CONNECTOR/ 450 WATTS OF POWER/ DUAL 12v RAILS/ HIGH NUMBER OF CONNECTORS/ MINI MOLEX CONNECTOR/ MINI-ITX FORM FACTOR

24-PIN MAIN CONNECTOR DUAL 12v RAILS HIGH NUMBER OF CONNECTORS When purchasing a power supply for a gaming system, more is better. The components used in gaming systems often are not the onboard components, so it requires more connections for devices. In addition, the componenents themselves draw more power. Multi-rail systems in today's power supplies help to ensure when the system power is heavily loaded, the power supply can balance the need.

To connect to a PC using RDP, what port should you open? 21/ 3389/ 443/ 80

3389 Port 3389 needs to be open for Remote Desktop connections. Incorrect Answers: Port 21 is used for FTP, port 80 is for HTTP, and port 443 is for HTTPS.

Which of the following Wi-Fi standards operates at the shortest distance? 802.11A/ 802.11B/ 802.11G/ 802.11N

802.11A 802.11a works on the 5 GHz spectrum and, while it has fairly high bandwidth potential and uses an unused frequency, it also suffers from having to have almost line-of-sight communciations to be effective. Its distance limitation is 120 meters according to specficiation, but is most likely going to be even shorter than that because of walls and other interference. Incorrect Answers:802.11b/g both have a distance limitation of 140 meters, while 802.11n tops out at 250 meters.

A technician is replacing all of the access points in an office to increase the wireless speeds. The current location of the access points allows for wireless connectivity throughout the entire office. Which of the following 802.11 standards should be used? 802.11A/ 802.11AC/ 802.11B/ 802.11G/ 802.11N

802.11AC When replacing the access points to increase speed of the connection, it is best to use the latest generation of the standard. The standard offers backward compatibility to most previous standards.

Older laptop screens are backlit by which of the following technologies? A CCFL LAMP/ A GAS/ LEDs/ OLED

A CCFL LAMP Old laptop screens were lit by fluorescent (CCFL) lamps on the sides of the screen. Incorrect Answers:Plasma screens are lit by applying electrical charge to a plasma gas, but there hasn't ever (as far as I know) been a laptop with a plasma screen.LED and OLED screens are newer, more expensive technologies.

What is the simplest way to change the brightness on a laptop's monitor? FN KEY/ IN THE BIOS/ IN THE DEVICE MANAGER OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM/ IN THE VIDEO DISPLAY DRIVERS

Almost every laptop has a function key for controlling brightness. Incorrect Answers:Neither Device Manager nor BIOS contain settings for screen brightness. You might be able to change brightness in the display drivers, but that's not very simple.

Jan says that when she walks away from her laptop for a long period of time, she has to reconnect to the wireless network when she gets back. Which of the following will most likely correct this issue? ADJUST ADVANCED POWER SETTINGS/ DISABLE SCREENSAVER/ INSTALL A HIGHER-CAPACITY BATTERY/ REPLACE THE WI-FI CARD

ADJUST ADVANCED POWER SETTINGS In the advanced power settings, there should be a section to modify the power saving mode of your wireless adapter. Jan is most likely set to a power-saving mode that causes her Wi-Fi card to go to sleep after a period of time. Having this feature enabled will force her to reconnect every time she comes back to use her computer. Incorrect Answers:Disabling her screensaver will just keep the screen from being "saved." It doesn't affect the Wi-Fi adapter.There's nothing that really says the Wi-Fi card could be on its way to the "big network in the sky," but based on the information we are given about Jan's problem, we should most likely assume that it's a power management issue.Installing a higher-capacity battery will make the laptop heavier and last longer on a single charge, but it won't change how her W-iFi adapter is behaving.

What is the purpose of DHCP? ASSIGNS IP ADDESSES ON A NETWORK/ BLOCKS MAC ADDRESSES WITH SECURITY VIOLATIONS/ ENCRYPTS DATA ON A NETWORK/ TRANSLATES IP ADDRESSES TO DOMAIN NAMES

ASSIGNS IP ADDRESSES ON A NETWORK DHCP automatically assigns IP addresses to computers on a network.

Wearable technology devices used to track personal activity use what technology to determine user activity levels? ACCELEROMETER/ DIGITIZER/ GYROSCOPE/ INVERTER

An accelerometer is a device that detects its own acceleration and is used in mobile phones to determine the phone's orientation. Once the orientation is determined, the phone's software can react accordingly, such as by changing its display from portrait to landscape. Incorrect Answers:An inverter is an electronic device that changes current.A gyroscope is a disk that is free to spin on any orientation by itself.A digitizer is a device that is used to convert analog signals into digital signals.

What 802.11 wireless standard has the lowest throughput? A/ B/ G/ N

B 802.11 b has a throughput of only 11 Mbps.

Where would a technician enable USB 1.1 support? AGP/ BIOS/ HCL/ MBR

BIOS You would enable this feature in BIOS.

A technician is trying to reinstall Windows on a machine. He's already inserted the install disc in the optical drive, so what will he most likely have to configure next? BIOS PASSWORD/ BOOT SEQUENCE/ CLOCK SPEEDS/ FLASH BIOS FOR FIRMWARE UPGRADE

BOOT SEQUENCE To ensure that the computer boots to the installation media, the technician should check that the optical drive is at the top of the boot sequence.

A user complains of a discoloration of the screen on their monitor after leaving their system on during vacation. This is an example of: BURN IN/ DEAD BACKLIGHT/ DEAD PIXELS/ EMI/ ESD

BURN IN Burn in on a monitor is a permanent discoloration of areas caused by prolonged display of an image that does not move. It creates a permanent ghost like image of the object. Screen savers were a common preventative solution to burn in.

A technician is tasked with setting up a new employee in a company with webmail on a tablet, phone, and laptop. Which of the following items can be synced to all three devices via webmail? (Select THREE). BOOKMARKS/ CALENDAR/ CONTACTS/ DOCUMENTS/ GAMING HIGH SCORES/ PROGRAMS

CALENDAR/ CONTACTS/ DOCUMENTS Documents, Calendar and Contacts can be synced through webmail. Although most data can be synced, there are limitations to items that can be synced by webmail. Incorrect Answers:Programs cannot be synced by webmail.Bookmarks can be synced with devices, not by webmail.

A customer wants to transfer data from the DVR to a DVD. What hardware will be required to enable the workstation to collect the data to archive to the DVD? CAPTURE CARD/ OPTICAL DRIVE/ THUNDERBOLT/ USB 3.0 EXTERNAL STORAGE

CAPTURE CARD A capture card acts as a receiver for data that is input to a system. It enables you to record the video that is playing on your system from an external video source. They are commonly used to to collect the video signals in gaming or other common video devices such as a DVD or camcorder.

Which of the following types of cable has a maximum speed of 10 Mbps? CAT3/ CAT5/ CAT5e/ CAT6

CAT3

A technician is connecting a PoE enabled phone and needs to run the drop from the switch that is 55 meters (180.4 feet) away. Which of the following cable types would be the MOST suitable for this purpose? CAT3/ CAT6/ COAXIAL/ FIBER

CAT6 PoE phones use an ethernet connection to provide telephone service. CAT5e/6 is the normal cabling used for PoE.

While investigating a 4-year-old PC that is taking an unusually long time to boot, a technician discovers that the BIOS is rediscovering the hardware system at every boot. What should the technician do to resolve the problem? AT THE OS LEVEL, LAUNCH DEVICE MANAGER AND RE-SCAN THE HARDWARE/ CHANGE OUT THE CMOS BATTERY ON THE MOTHERBOARD/ PRESS "F9" WHILE THE COMPUTER IS BOOTING, BUT BEFORE THE OS STARTS TO LOAD/ RESET THE BIOS USING THE CMOS RESET JUMPER

CHANGE OUT THE CMOS BATTERY ON THE MOTHERBOARD The CMOS battery is most likely dead or dying, so replacing it should fix the problem. The technician will also have to make any non-default CMOS settings that the user had previously set up.

Which of the following should be regularly scheduled to fix hard drive errors? ANTI-VIRUS SCAN/ CHECK DISK/ DEFRAGMENTATION/ SYSTEM RESTORE

CHECK DISK The Check Disk utility scans a hard drive for errors and repairs any that it finds Incorrect Answers:Defragmentation fixes what's called "file fragmentation," where individual files are stored in many different places on a drive.System Restore is used to take an OS install back to a previously-set snapshot in case of OS errors.An anti-virus scan simply scans for and removes viruses. It doesn't fix hard drive errors.

Where do you configure things like basic boot priorities, voltage parameters for the processor, and SATA options in a PC system? BIOS/ CMOS/ MBR/ VRAM

CMOS CMOS setup enables you to change BIOS settings, such as CPU voltage, SATA options, and boot priorities.

A user's computer will not boot. A technician notices four indicator lights on the backside of the computer. Two of the lights are green and two are amber. Which of the following documentation should the technician read to determine what the lights are indicating? ASSET MANAGEMENT/ COMPUTER MANUAL/ NETWORK DIAGRAM/ WIRING SCHEME

COMPUTER MANUAL The computer's manual should show the technician what the lights mean. Incorrect Answers:A network diagram shows the layout of a network, not what a computer's indicator lights mean.Asset management is the practice of keeping track of supplies or other assets.A wiring scheme is a detailed report of the wiring standards used in a network.

What tool is used to attach RJ-45 connectors to the ends of UTP cable? CABLE TESTER/ CRIMPERS/ LOOPBACK PLUG/ PUNCH DOWN

CRIMPER A crimper connects RJ-45 plugs to the end of a piece of UTP cable.

A user states that when she power on her computer, she receives a "Non-bootable drive" error. The user works with external storage devices to transport data to her computer. The user stated that the computer worked fine the day before. Which of the following should be checked first to resolve this issue? DEVICE BOOT ORDER/ HARD DRIVE CABLE/ JUMPER SETTINGS/ PXE BOOT SETTINGS

DEVICE BOOT ORDER It seems like the computer is trying to boot to the external drive instead of the system drive, so the user needs to set her boot order to prioritize the system drive above every other device. Incorrect Answers:A jumper issue would show up immediately after installing a drive, not suddenly at random.The user doesn't seem to be using the PXE to install Windows remotely, so changing the PXE settings wouldn't help.Again, a hard drive cable error would show up after installing a drive.

Ursula needs to configure a Cisco router using the serial port on her Vista laptop. The router documentation says the COM port needs to be set to: 9600 bits/sec, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit. Where does she go to make these settings for the serial port? CMOS/ SOUND CONTROL PANEL APPLET/ DEVICE MANAGER/ PHONE AND MODEM CONTROL PANEL APPLET

DEVICE MANAGER Device Manager. Go to the Ports setting and locate your serial port. Select Properties. Incorrect:Your CMOS will have settings to enable/disable the serial port as well as settings to set I/O addresses and IRQs, but there will not be settings for the COM port.The Sound Control Panel applet controls sound inputs and outputs, not COM ports.The Phone and Modem Control Panel applet sets up your telephony rules and tests your modems but does not deal with serial ports.

A technician user is building a system that requires turning off the onboard video and installing a higher end video card. When booting to the operating sytem, the card is not working correctly, although it was working fine on the test bench. Which of the following Windows utilities should the technician use to start troubleshooting the problem? COMPUTER MANAGEMENT/ DEVICE MANAGER/ SYSTEM CONFIGURATION/ TASK MANAGER

DEVICE MANAGER Device manager is the Windows utility used to view the hardware devices in your system, and determine if they are working properly. It will also allow you to modify the system's hardware settings. Incorrect Answers:Task Manager allows you to review software and operating system software that is currently running.System Configuration is a utiity that allows you to identify the problem with the Windows startup process.Computer Management is a collection of tools to manage a local or remote computer.

What feature enables a SOHO router to pass out IP addresses to network clients? DHCP/ MAC FILTERING/ PORT FORWARDING/ SSID BROADCAST

DHCP DHCP is in charge of passing out IP addresses automatically. Incorrect Answers:MAC filtering is a technique for blocking systems from joining a wireless network based on their IP addresses.SSID broadcast is the act of announcing a wireless network's name.Port forwarding makes it possible for Internet clients or services to make connections to a computer that is behind NAT.

A company is working on making the office more environmentally friendly, and would like to reduce the amount of paper consumed on a multi-function printer. What setting can be utilized to achieve this outcome? COLLATE/ DUPLEX/ ECONOMY INK ORIENTATION

DUPLEX Duplexing is the only option that will allow you to reduce the amount of paper during a print job. It allows for printing on the front and back of the page, which can cut paper consumption in half. Incorrect Answers:The orientation (portrait or landscape) will not always allow less paper usage.Collate papers only sets them in proper order in multipage jobs.Economy ink will only save your ink cost, it will not save paper.

How should a newly-installed serial port be configured? EIGHT DATA BITS, EVEN PARITY BITS/ EIGHT DATA BITS, NO PARITY, ONE STOP BIT/ SEVEN DATA BITS, EVEN PARITY, ONE STOP BIT/ SEVEN DATA BITS, NO PARITY, ONE STOP BIT

EIGHT DATA BITS, NO PARITY, ONE STOP BIT Serial ports should be configured with eight data bits, no parity, and one stop bit. The other choices will result in an improperly-configured serial port.

Tina's computer is connected to the small network in her new café. The PC has a printer attached via USB that she wants to share with the network. How can she accomplish this goal most efficiently? ENABLE PRINT SHARING/ INSTALL A PRINT SERVER/ INSTALL A USB HUB/ INSTALL SHARED PCL DRIVERS

ENABLE PRINT SHARING The simplest way to get the printer on the network is simply to share it by enabling print sharing.

A customer reports that their wireless laptop cannot connect after removing it from its carrying case. The laptop boots and the user is able to login. Which of the following should be checked first? AVAILABLE HARD DRIVE SPACE/ EXTERNAL WI-FI SWITCH/ LAPTOP BATTERY LEVELS/ STATUS IN DEVICE MANAGER

EXTERNAL WI-FI SWITCH It's highly likely that the Wi-Fi switch got knocked into the wrong position during transport. Just flip the switch back into the correct position and you're good to go! Incorrect Answers:It's possible that the wireless card got disabled in Device Manager somehow, it's far more likely that the Wi-Fi switch got turned to the wrong position.Hard drive space doesn't affect wireless connectivity.A low battery would prevent the PC from turning on at all, not just from connecting to a wireless network.

John's client needs to connect an external monitor to his laptop. Which connection types is the laptop most likely to have to accomplish this goal? (Select TWO). HDMI/ PS/2 / PCA/ SERIAL/ VGA

HDMI & VGA Most laptops have a VGA port. Many new ones also have an HDMI port. Incorrect answers:PS/2 ports enable you to connect a keyboard or pointing device (like a mouse) to a computer. Serial ports are ancient and were used to connect mice. RCA jacks are for audio, not video.

What is it called when logical cores appear as real physical cores to an operating system? 64-BIT ARCHITECTURE/ HYPERTHREADING/ MMU VIRTUALIZATION/ XD BIT

HYPERTHREADING Hyperthreading is when one CPU core tricks the operating system into thinking that there are two processors.

You are trying to connect your laptop to your new 52" LED TV using an HDMI connector. When you connect everything, you immediately noticed that you get video on the screen, but there is no sound. What is the MOST likely cause of this? THE HDMI CABLE YOU INSTALLED DOESN'T MEET SPECIFICATION/ THE SPEAKERS IN YOUR TV ARE NOT COMPATIBLE/ YOU NEED TO INSTALL A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION/ YOU NEED TO SELECT HDMI AUDIO ON YOUR LAPTOP

Go to the Sound applet in the Control Panel and ensure your sound card is using the HDMI to output sound. You probably just need to select or enable it. Incorrect Answers:Speakers are speakers. They don't care if it's a digital signal or an analog signal. As long as you have the right connectors, you'll be good to go.You don't need a third party application to take advantage of HDMI.All HDMI cables can send video and audio over the same cable.

When walking past a server with a RAID 5 array, a technician hears a loud clicking noise. Which of the following could most likely occur? BSOD/ HARD DRIVE FAILURE/ OS NOT FOUND ON BOOT/ RAID ARRAY FAILURE

HARD DRIVE FAILURE A clicking hard drive means a dying hard drive. Get that hard drive out of the raid and replaced as quick as possible! Incorrect Answers:None of the other answers cause clicking.

What connector would you find only on a coaxial cable? F/ RJ-11/ RJ-45/ ST

F The F connector is the one you use to connect your cable box or cable modem to the wall. RJ-11 connectors are used on telephone cords.ST connectors are for fiber-optic cables.RJ-45 connectors are for Ethernet cables.

What type of device should be placed in a DMZ? BACKUP SERVER/ GAMING SERVER/ SMARTPHONE/ WIRELESS PRINTER

GAMING SERVER When setting up a gaming server, it's important to make it as easy as possible for others to connect. Putting the server in a DMZ does this.

What would you need to upgrade an onboard NIC so that you can connect to a gigabit network? CONVERT THE USER TO WIRELESS/ FLASH THE BIOS TO UNLOCK THE ETHERNET PORT/ INSTALL A 10/100/1000 NIC/ UPDATE THE DRIVERS FOR THE ONBOARD PORT

INSTALL 10/100/100 NIC To connect to a faster network, it's highly likely that you'll have to install a faster NIC.There's not much else you can do about it.

A user reports that the Web browser shortcut key on his laptop's keyboard isn't working. What would a technician do to resolve the problem? INSTALLING ACPI DRIVERS FROM A MANUFACTURER'S WEB SITE/ INSTALLING AHCI DRIVERS FROM A MANUFACTURER'S WEBSITE/ INSTALLING BLUETOOTH DRIVERS FROM A MANUFACTURER'S WEBSITE/ INSTALLING HOTKEY DRIVERS FROM A MANUFACTURER'S WEBSITE

INSTALLING HOTKEY DRIVERS FROM A MANUFACTURER'S WEBSITE To get the user's special hotkeys working, the tech needs to install drivers for them.

A user calls the helpdesk and states that they are receiving an IP conflict error on their computer. The user is on a company network that uses DHCP. The technician verifies the PC is using DHCP to obtain TCP/IP settings. Which of the following commands should the helpdesk technician use to resolve this issue? (Select two.) IPCONFIG /ALL IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS IPCONFIG /REGISTERDNS IPCONFIG /RELEASE IPCONFIG /RENEW

IPCONFIG /RELEASE IPCONFIG /RENEW The IPCONFIG /RELEASE command releases a computer's IP address, and the IPCONFIG /RENEW command gets the computer a new one. Incorrect Answers:The IPCONFIG /REGISTERDNS command refreshes a computer's DHCP lease.The IPCONFIG /ALL command displays a comprehensive list of a computer's IP information.IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS deletes a computer's DNS cache.

A user working on a presentation needs to print several color copies of the same contract to go to various departments and customers. Which of the following printers will be the QUICKEST? 3D PRINTING/ IMPACT PRINTING/ LASER PRINTING/ THERMAL PRINTING

LASER PRINTING Laser printers produce a high quality and high speed output of both text and graphics. They are available in monochrome and color printing. Although other technologies can provide color printing, laser is the faster of the technologies.

Which of the following display types relies on CCFL backlights to display an image on the screen? CRT/ LCD/ LED/ PLASMA

LCD Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) are commonly used in LCD technology to help illuminate your screen. If the CCFLs were to go out, the image would be so faint as to render the screen unusable.

Danerys needs high-powered but perfectly quiet cooling for a HTPC she's building. What's her best option? ADDITIONAL FANS/ LIQUID BASED/ SIDE PANEL SLOTS/ THERMAL PASTE

LIQUID BASED Liquid cooling is both powerful and quiet. Perfect for a home theater PC!

Which of the following components would be most useful in building a silent gaming PC capable of overclocking? LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM/ LOW-RPM FANS/ PASSIVE COOLING SYSTEM/ THERMAL PASTE

LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM A liquid cooling system enables users to overclock their PCs to extreme speeds without adding any obnoxious fan noise.

What tool could a technician use to test a NIC that is not receiving an IP address? CABLE TESTER/ ESD MAT/ LOOPBACK PLUGS/ TONER PROBE

LOOPBACK PLUGS A loopback plug is used to perform a loopback test, which checks a NIC's connectivity. Incorrect Answers:An ESD mat is used to prevent static discharge when working on electronics.A cable tester tests the status of networking cables.Toner probes are used to find the port on a switch or patch panel that a particular cable goes to.

If you bought an ATX case, which of the following motherboard form factors should you purchase? BTX/ ITX/ MICRO ATX/ ULTRA ATX

MICRO ATX Micro ATX motherboards can fit inside ATX cases.

Which of the following hardware would you use to test to see if your PSU was supplying electricity to the motherboard and all of its peripherals? ANTI-STATIC STRAP/ CMOS HEALTH MONITOR/ DEVICE MANAGER/ MULTIMETER

MULTIMETER The multimeter is the tool used to see the proper voltages coming from the PSU and into the motherboard. It should read 12v, 5v, and 3.3v. Incorrect Answers:The Device Manager will not let you know the status of your power supply.The anti-static wrist strap is one tools you would actually never want to use around troubleshooting a power supply issue. The last thing you want to do is ground yourself when working around electricity!The CMOS Health monitor is actually not a bad spot to look for the status of your power supply. It should give some interesting figures on it. However, we are looking for a hardware device that we can use to test the PSU, not software built-in to the computer.

An iOS tablet user needs more storage. What external storage devices are available in this case? eSATA DRIVE/ NOTHING/ SD CARD/ THUMB DRIVE

NOTHING

Which of the following displays would provide the BEST range of visible colors? CRT/ LCD/ OLED/ PLASMA

OLED OLEDs are able to use LEDs that generate both light and color when supplied a current. This gives the display better perfomance, and a smaller size.

What type of network is centered around an individual? CLOUD/ LAN/ MAN/ PAN

PAN A personal area network, or PAN, is a small network consisting of devices like wireless headsets, cell phones, and music players.

A client has an issue with large files taking a long time to open or save. As time goes by, the issue worsens. The client has hundreds of GBs of files that are still in the process of backing up. The technician has verified that the hard drive is healthy and there are no signs of failure. Which of the following troubleshooting steps should the technician perform NEXT? PERFORM A CHKDSK ON THE HARD DRIVE/ PERFORM A SCAN OF THE HARD DRIVE FOR DISK FRAGMENTATION/ REFORMAT THE DRIVE WITH NTFS AND REINSTALL THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE/ UPDATE THHE MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS

PERFORM A SCAN OF THE HARD DRIVE FOR DISK FRAGMENTATION Disk fragmentation happens to a hard drive over time as you save, change, or delete files. Disk defragmentation is the process of consolidating fragmented data on a hard drive, so it will work more efficiently. Incorrect Answers:Motherboard drivers will not allow your files to save and open faster. Drivers allow your devices to communicate.Chkdsk scans and repairs hard drives for file system errors. It can help in data loss, but not file access speed.Reformatting the drive may help, but is destructive to the system and unnecessary.

Johan needs to finish a presentation before his plane lands, but the underside of his laptop is scorching his legs. What should he do? ASK THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT FOR A PILLOW/ NOTHING, ALL LAPTOPS ARE WARM AT THE BOTTOM/ PLACE THE LAPTOP ON A HARD, SMOOTH SURFACE/ PUT THE LAPTOP INTO SLEEP MODE

PLACE THE LAPTOP ON A HARD, SMOOTH SURFACE Laptops need a flat, smooth surface for proper airflow. Incorrect Answers:Nothing, all laptops are warm on the bottom. Most laptops get a little warm, but he shouldn't be burned by one!Ask the flight attendant for a pillow. A pillow is the last thing his laptop needs.Put the laptop into sleep mode. This would cool it down, but then he couldn't finish his work.

What would you use to test all of your computer's hardware before you installed Windows 7? ANOTHER PC/ BIOS/ MBR/ POST CARD

POST CARD A POST card can be installed in your computer and it will ensure that all of your devices are working correctly on bootup. Incorrect Answers:Another PC won't really help in seeing if your new hardware truly works together. Sometimes having another computer around can be useful for diagnosing piece-by-piece, though.The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is a service or firmware that gives your computer the basic instructions to turn on.The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the special section of code located on your boot sector. It is loaded when loading your operating system, such as Windows 7.

A technician has been dispatched to a customer site to diagnose an issue where the computer turns off intermittently. Upon arriving at the site, the technician detects a smoke smell coming from the computer. Which of the following is the best solution? INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL CASE FAN FOR PROPER VENTILATION/ POWER DOWN THE SYSTEM AND REPLACE THE CPU/ POWER DOWN THE SYSTEM AND REPLACE THE POWER SUPPLY/ REMOVE THE SIDE PANEL FOR PROPER VENTILATION

POWER DOWN THE SYSTEM AND REPLACE THE POWER SUPPLY The power supply, being the part of your computer that is directly plugged into a power outlet at all times, is the most likely suspect if you get a smokey smell coming from your computer. Incorrect Answers:The CPU can potentially overheat, but modern CPUs have special circuitry designed to shut them down before they start burning. If it's not the power supply, though, it's probably the CPU.Since this is probably a power supply issue, proper ventilation of the case won't help a lot.

A technician installed a second hard drive in a computer. Upon restart, a message appears stating, "Primary drive 0 not found. Press F1 to continue." Which of the following should the technician check first? IF COMPUTER CAN BOOT INTO SAFE MODE/ IF THE BIOS BOOT SETTINGS ARE CORRECT/ PROPER DRIVE INSTALLATION (E.G. CABLES/ JUMPERS)/ THAT NTLDR AND BOOT.INI ARE NOT MISSING

PROPER DRIVE INSTALLATION (E.G. CABLES/ JUMPERS) Error messages after a drive installation is a good sign that you might have installed the drive improperly. Incorrect Answers:A newly-installed drive wouldn't have NTLDR or boot.ini on it.A computer that can't find its hard drive won't be able to boot into Safe ModeIf everything's installed properly, then you'd check the boot settings in BIOS. But not first.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING TOOLS WOULD BE USED TO CONNECT CAT5e CABLING TO A PATCH PANEL? CRIMPER/ LOOPBACK PLUGS/ PUNCH DOWN/ TONE PROBE

PUNCH DOWN A punch down tool presses the individual strands of wire into a patch panel. Incorrect Answers:A tone probe helps network techs find the port to which a particular Ethernet cord is attached.Loopback plugs help test a NIC.A crimper is used to attach RJ-45 plugs to an Ethernet cable.

Which of the following is the best tool for a technician to use to make sure that network wires are securely fastened in a wall jack? CRIMPER/ PUNCH DOWN/ SMALL FLAT SCREWDRIVER/ WIRE STRIPPERS

PUNCH DOWN A punch down tool will securely fasten wires to a wall jack or a patch panel. Incorrect Answer:A crimper is used to attach RJ-45 plugs onto Ethernet cables. They don't attach wires to wall jacks directly.Neither a screwdriver nor wire strippers will do the job.

The technician is dispatched to look at a user's laptop. The user reports the system shuts down after 30 minutes of field use. The technician notices the battery is not fully charging. Which of the following should the technician perform to resolve this? CHANGE THE POWER SETTING ON THE LAPTOP TO USE LESS POWER/ DISCHARGE THE BATTERY USING A STATIC MAT/ REMOVE THE BATTERY AND CONNECT IT TO A COMMERCIAL BATTERY CHARGER/ REPLACE THE BATTERY

REPLACE THE BATTERY The first thing to do in this case is to replace the problem battery with another one to see if that battery starts charging. Incorrect Answers:It's far easier and more helpful to test a new battery than to use a commercial charger.Putting a battery on an anti-static mat won't actually discharge it.Changing the power settings just delays fixing the problem.

A technician is dispatched to a location that has multiple laser printers. One of the network printers is printing what appears to be a shadow image. The technician could solve this issue by: REPLACING THE DRUM/ REPLACING THE FUSER/ REPLACING THE NETWORK CABLE/ RUNNING CALIBRATE

REPLACING THE DRUM A malfunctioning photosensitive drum can cause image ghosting, so replacing the drum might fix things. Incorrect Answers:A broken fuser causes smudged printouts.If the drum is broken, running calibrate won't fix things.Network errors don't cause ghosting.

After upgrading a motherboard BIOS of a computer running multiple hard drives, the system will no longer boot to the operating system. Upon boot, it displays "Operating system not found". Which of the following is the FIRST thing the technician should review? CHECK THE HARD DRIVE MANUFACTURER IN THE BIOS/ REVIEW THE BOOT SEQUENCE SETTINGS IN THE BIOS/ THE HARD DRIVE JUMPER SETTINGS/ THE MOTHERBOARD POWER CONNECTION ON THE HARD DRIVE.

REVIEW THE BOOT SEQUENCE SETTINGS IN THE BIOS. The BIOS upgrade may have reset the default boot order sequence to the manufacturer's default. Since there have not been any hardware changes, the first thing to review is the updated BIOS settings for the boot sequence.

What type of connector goes between a DSL modem and the wall? LC/ RJ-11/ RJ-45/ SC

RJ-11 Correct Answer:DSL modems use RJ-11 connectors. Incorrect Answers:RJ-45 connectors go from the DSL modem to the router or computer.LC and SC connectors are used by fiber-optic cables.

Of the following connectors, which would you most likely find on a piece of twisted-pair wire? BNC/ RJ-45/ SC/ ST

RJ-45 connectors are the only choices that you might potentially find on a twisted-pair wire. Incorrect Answers:BNC connectors are found on coaxial cable.SC and ST connectors are found on fiber-optic wires.

Craster comes into the shop complaining that his laser printer is having trouble picking paper up from the first paper tray. What should a technician replace first? IMAGING DRUM/ ROLLERS/ TONER/ TRANSFER BELT

ROLLERS The rollers are responsible for picking paper up out of the paper tray. Replacing the rollers should fix Craster's printer problem.

A technician is about to put a computer back into service that has not been turned on for many months. It was healthy when taken out of service and boots quickly without any problems. Which of the following actions would be a good place to begin computer maintenance? (Select two.) CONFIGURE THE FIREWALL TO ACCESS THE INTERNET/ DEFRAGMENT THE HARD DRIVE/ RUN A FULL ANTI-VIRUS SCAN/ RUN ANTI-VIRUS UPDATES/ RUN WINDOWS UPDATE

RUN ANTI-VIRUS UPDATES/ RUN WINDOWS UPDATE If you haven't used a computer in a while, make sure to run Windows and anti-virus updates to make sure your computer isn't vulnerable. Incorrect Answers:You probably didn't get any viruses while your computer was powered down.If the computer is running slowly, then you might want to defragment your hard drive. Otherwise you probably don't need to.You probably don't need to configure the firewall.

What is a common way to calibrate a barcode reader after installing it? ADJUST JUMPER SWITCHES/ ENABLE THE CODE READER IN THE BIOS/ SCAN IN PROGRAM CODES/ USER DEVICE MANAGER TO ENABLE I/R PORTS

SCAN IN PROGRAM CODES Many barcode readers come with a set of program codes that help calibrate the device.

What type of computer is most likely to use ECC RAM? DESKTOP/ LAPTOP/ SERVER/ TABLET

SERVER Servers have to operate with as few errors as possible, so ECC RAM is a necessity.

In a SOHO wireless network, which of the following prevents unauthorized users from accessing confidential data? CHANGE SSID NAME/ ENABLE MAC FILTERING/ REDUCE BROADCAST POWER/ SET ENCRYPTION

SET ENCRYPTION Setting encryption on your Wi-Fi network keeps unwanted people out and keeps your private info private. Incorrect Answers:Reducing the broadcast power on your WAP will just make the range and speed of your network worse.Changing the SSID name won't necessarily keep anyone out of your network.Enabling MAC filtering will keep unwanted users off your network, but all the data you transmit will be in the clear unless you encrypt your network, so anyone with a network scanner could read your packets.

If you want to securely transfer a large file, what is the best protocol to use? FTP/ SFTP/ SSH/ TELNET

SFTP SFTP combines the transferring ease of FTP with security to keep your files from prying eyes. Incorrect Answers: Telnet enables you to connect to a remote computer using a text-based interface.SSH is the encryption protocol used by SFTP, but SSH itself doesn't transfer files.FTP isn't secure. At all.

What form factor of memory is found in laptops? SDRAM/ SO-DIMM/ RAMBUS/ DIMM

SO-DIMM SO-DIMMs are a small form-factor type of RAM stick, found primarily in laptops and small desktops. Incorrect Answers:While SDRAM is often found in laptops, it isn't a form factor.RAMBUS is an outdated technology and is not found in laptops.DIMMs are found in desktop PCs.

Which of the following components must be installed while a laptop is completely powered off? EXPRESS CARD 54 DEVICE/ PCMCIA DEVICE/ SO-DIMM CHIP/ USB EXPANSION HUB

SO-DIMM CHIP To install SO-DIMM RAM chips into a laptop, you must turn the laptop off. Incorrect Answers:PCMCIA cards, Express cards, and USB hubs can all be installed while the laptop is running.

An Internet browser's cookie could be classified as which of the following? PHISHING/ ROOTKIT/ SPYWARE/ WORM

SPYWARE Cookies can be used to track your Internet browsing behavior, and, as such, can be used as spyware. Incorrect Answers:A rootkit is malware that hides itself from the usual detection methods. They're damaging and hard to find, but cookies are not rootkits.Phishing is the act of using e-mail to pretend to be a trusted authority in the hopes of obtaining sensitive information voluntarily from victims.A worm is a piece of malware that replicates through networks.

After an installation of a video adapter, the screen on a Windows 7 system doesn't display anything after POST. Which of the following Windows 7 functions will resolve this? COMPUTER MANAGEMENT/ DEVICE MANAGER/ STARTUP REPAIR/ TASK MANAGER

STARTUP REPAIR Try booting into startup repair in order to repair or install video drivers. Incorrect Answers:Component Management is a made up answer.You can't get into Device Manager or Task Manager if there's nothing on the screen!

Which of the following devices is most likely to come standard with a solid state hard drive? DESKTOP PC/ LAPTOP/ STORAGE SERVER/ TABLET

TABLET Tablets frequently use SSDs since they use very little power, take up very little space, and are very resilient. Incorrect Answers:The other answers might have SSDs, but they rarely come standard with them.

You turn on your computer and you get a "Date and Time Not Set" message on the screen immediately after the manufacturer's logo. What is the most likely cause of this message? THE COMPUTER WAS INCORRECTLY SHUT DOWN/ THE CR-2032 BATTERY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED/ THE OS HAS STOPPED SYNC'ING WITH THE TIME SERVER/ THE SYSTEM BIOS IS CORRUPTED

THE CR-2032 BATTERY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED The technical name for a CMOS battery is a CR-2032. You can pick them up cheaply at your local Radio Shack or electronics store. When you see the message, "Date and Time Not Set," it usually always points to the CMOS forgetting what time it is because its battery has run out of juice. Get a new one and you'll be good to go! Incorrect Answers:If you incorrectly shut down your computer, you'd get a message stating something about how Windows experienced an improper shutdown and now needs to do some CHKDSK scans to make sure your files are intact.While it may be possible that your operating system isn't syncing up with the time server, we haven't even gotten to a place to view the operating system. We're still trying to get past this bootup error message.The BIOS is most likely not corrupted. This is an error message due to a failure in the CMOS battery.

Which of the following choices is true of an asynchronous digital subscriber line connection? THE DATA DOWNLOAD SPEED IS FASTER THAN THE DATA UPLOAD SPEED/ THAT DATA THROUGHPUT SPEED DIRECTION CAN BE SELECTED BASED ON THE USER'S DIRECTION/ THE DATA UPLOAD SPEED IS FASTER THAN THE DATA DOWNLOAD SPEED/ THE DATA UPLOAD SPEED IS THE SAME AS THE DATA DOWNLOAD SPEED

THE DATA DOWNLOAD SPEED IS FASTER THAN THE DATA UPLOAD SPEED As with basically every type of Internet connection, ADSL connections have faster downloads than uploads.

A user states that their old notebook loses connectivity to the Internet several times a day at work and at home. The issue started after the wireless card was replaced. Which of the following items is most likely causing the issue? THE DRIVERS FOR THE NIC NEED TO UPDATED/ THE KEYBOARD IS FAULTY AND TURN THE WIRELESS NIC ON AND OFF/ THE MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS ARE NOT CURRENT/ THE WIRELESS ON/OFF SWITCH IS NOT IN THE ON POSITION

THE DRIVERS FOR THE NIC NEED TO UPDATED It's possible that the drivers for the NIC aren't working properly, so updating them might help. Incorrect Answers:The motherboard drivers probably won't have any effect on Internet connectivity.If the wireless switch was set to off, then there wouldn't be any Internet connectivity at all.A faulty keyboard would most likely not cause this problem.

You are troubleshooting a laptop that was just recently diagnosed with trouble holding power. When you turn the laptop on to troubleshoot, you notice that even while connected to the AC power adapter, the laptop will still use battery power. What could be causing something like this to happen? (Choose two.) THE BATTERY IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE LAPTOP/ THE INTERNAL POWER CIRCUIT ON THE MOTHERBOARD IS FAULTY/ THE LCD'S POWER INVERTER IS MALFUNCTIONING/ YOU HAVE SELECT A POWER SCHEME IN YOUR OS THAT DISABLES CHARGING

THE INTERNAL POWER CIRCUITY ON THE MOTHERBOARD IS FAULTY/ THE POWER ADAPTER THAT PLUGS INTO THE WALL IS MALFUNCTIONING The internal power circuity and the power adapter are the two pieces to this mystery that need to be checked out. Either one could be at fault, or worse... both! Incorrect Answers:If the LCD's power inverter was malfunctionng, we would have a working laptop, we just wouldn't see anything on the laptop's screen.There is no power scheme in your OS that will disable battery charging.The battery being incompatible with system is unlikely. Laptops always come with a battery when purchased. Batteries are also very proprietary to the unit they are meant for.

Having purchased a 4 GB SO-DIMM to install in his graphics workstation, a client finds himself unable to install the RAM. What is the most likely explanation for this? GRAPHIC WORKSTATIONS REQUIRE FLASH MEMORY/ THE MEMORY IS INCOMPATIBLE FOR THE WORKSTATION/ GRAPHIC WORKSTATIONS REQUIRE SOLID STATE MEMORY/ THE WORKSTATION HAS NO AVAILABLE MEMORY SLOTS

THE MEMORY IS INCOMPATIBLE FOR THE WORKSTATION A graphics workstation most likely requires a plain old DIMM. SO-DIMMs are for laptops.

A user describes a loud clicking noise coming from their system, and are unable to boot their computer to the operating system. The technician determines the loud clicking noise to be from the hard drive. What is MOST likely creating the noise? BAD SPINDLE MOTOR BEARINGS/ SOLID STATE RED/WRITE SCRATCHING THE PLATTER SURFACE/ THE MOTION OF THE READ/WRITE HEAD ARMATURE PARALLEL TO THE PLATTER/ YOUR SYSTEM ATTEMPTING TO CONNECT TO THE DRIVE

THE MOTION OF THE READ/WRITE HEAD ARMATURE PARALLEL TO THE PLATTER Traditional hard drives use platters that spin and use read/write heads on actuator arms to read the top and bottom of the platters. The arms are controlled by a servo motor. All these moving metal parts can wear down over time and break. Incorrect Answers:Your system uses electronic signal and no audible sound occurs. Solid state drives do not use moving parts.The hard drive does not have spindle motor bearings.

A client is having problems with the back cover to their cell phone. It always comes off, and is difficult to seat properly when putting it on the phone. Which of the following is MOST likely the problem? A BENT CHARGING PORT IS PREVENTING IT FROM SEATING/ A MICROSD CARD IS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY/ THE BATTERY IS PREVENTING IT FROM SEATING/ THE PHONE HAS A REPLACEMENT NON-OEM COVER.

THE PHONE HAS A REPLACEMENT NON-OEM COVER A non-OEM replacement cover is the likely cause. Incorrect Answers:MicroSD cards are generally ports that are on a side of a device, and would not interfere with the cover.The battery are all interior on a device, so they would not cause issues with the seating of the back coverCharging ports are internal ports that would not interfere with the back cover.

A technician recently installed a new video card in a PC that has integrated video on its motherboard. When the technician turns on the PC, there is no video. Which of the following is most likely the cause? THE INCORRECT VIDEO CARD DRIVER ARE INSTALLED/ THE MOTHERBOARD BIOS VERSION IS OUT OF DATE/ THE POWER CONNECTOR FOR THE VIDEO CARD IS UNPLUGGED/ THE VIDEO CARD IS UNSUPPORTED BY THE MOTHERBOARD

THE POWER CONNECTOR FOR THE VIDEO CARD IS UNPLUGGED It's likely that the technician forgot to attach the video card to the power supply. It's amazing how easy that is to do. Incorrect Answers:Updating BIOS firmware won't help with this problem.If there's no video at all, it's not a driver issue.The general rule with video cards is that if you can plug it into the motherboard, the motherboard supports it.

A technician receives a report from a client that is having issues with colors on a monitor. The technician notices that the monitor does not appear to have any red hues. The technician sees that the monitor has two types of inputs. VGA is currently in use, and the HDMI cable is not. The technician powers down the system and switches from using the VGA cable to the HDMI cable and the issue is resolved. Which of the following was MOST likely the issue? HDMI WAS THE ORIGINAL DISPLAY CONFIGURATION/ THE MONITOR DID NOT SUPPORT VGA INPUT/ THE VGA CABLE HAD DAMAGED PINS/ THE VIDEO CARD DRIVERS NEED TO BE UPDATED.

THE VGA CABLE HAD DAMAGED PINS Since the HDMI cable resolved the issue, the cable was damaged. Incorrect Answers:Display configuration will adjust when a new type is connected.The VGA cable had already been in use.Since the cable resolved the issue, the drivers were not outdated.

Which of the following is the very first layer in transferring heat away from the CPU? CASE FAN/ HEAT SINK/ LIQUID COOLING/ THERMAL PASTE

THERMAL PASTE Thermal paste facilitates heat transfer between the CPU and the heatsink. Without thermal paste, a CPU has difficulty transferring heat across the microscopic gaps in the surface of the CPU and heatsink.

Arya wants to open an Internet café and is looking to purchase computers so that customers can browse the Internet. What type of computer would you recommend she buy? GAMING PC/ MEDIA PC/ THICK CLIENT/ THIN CLIENT

THIN CLIENT Thin clients are great for browsing the Internet, word processing, and not much else. But they're cheap and great for public spaces.

What would a technician use to trace a cable back to its port in a patch panel? CABLE TESTER/ LOOPBACK PLUG/ MULTIMETER/ TONER PROBE

TONER PROBE A toner probe and tone generator can trace a cable to its port. Incorrect Answers:A cable tester analyzes a cable's characteristics.A multimeter measures voltage, resistance, and current.A loopback plug tests a NIC's physical connectivity.

A technician is changing out a toner cartridge in a high-volume printer. As they are removing the empty cyan cartridge, a large amount of blue powder falls out onto the rollers in the immediate area. Which of the following should the technician do next? IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE SCENE AND SOUND AND EMERGENCY TO SECURITY/ USE A TONER VACUUM TO REMOVE THE SPILLED TONER FROM THE UNDESIRED SURFACES/ USE COMPRESSED AIR TO REMOVE THE SPILLED TONER FROM THE UNDESIRED SURFACES/ USE THE MAINTENANCE KIT TO REMOVE AND REPLACE THE AFFECTED PARTS

USE A TONER VACUUM TO REMOVE THE SPILLED TONER FROM THE UNDESIRED SURFACES A toner vacuum will clean out the spilled toner in no time.

What is the simplest way to prevent unauthorized users from joining a wireless network? INSTITUTE MAC FILTERING/ SET UP STATIC IP ADDRESSES/ UPDATE ROUTER FIRMWARE/ USE WIRELESS ENCRYPTION

USE WIRELESS ENCRYPTION Setting wireless encryption on a network will prevent anyone who doesn't know the network password from joining the network. Incorrect Answers:Updating router firmware is probably a good idea, but it won't keep unauthorized users off your network.MAC filtering is great for keeping people out of your network, but it's not exactly simple.Static IP addresses won't help you here.

Which of the following technology converts light into digital information? DIGITIZER/ INVERTER/ MICROPHONE/ WEBCAM

WEBCAM The webcam converts light into digital information. Incorrect Answers:Microphones convert waves to digital information. Digitizers convert analog information to digital information.An inverter converts electrical current.

Of the available choices, which is the least secure form of encryption? AES/TKIP/WAP/WEP

WEP WEP encryption is easily crackable, and is not at all recommended for a network unless there are no other options. Incorrect Answers:WAP stands for wireless access point, which is the device that sends out a wirelss signal.AES is the encryption algorithm used by WPA2.TKIP is the encryption algoritm used in WPA.

After connecting a laptop to an external monitor, no display is detected and the monitor goes into sleep mode. Which of the following should be attempted first to correct the problem? (Select two.) CHANGE THE INPUT MODE ON THE MONITOR/ REBOOT THE OPERATING SYSTEM/ RELOAD THE DISPLAY ADAPTER DRIVERS/ TOGGLE THE DISPLAY USING THE KEYBOARD SHORTCUT/ VERIFY NETWORK CONNECTIVITY

You should first try to change the input mode on the monitor, ensuring that it's looking at the correct video source. Also make sure that your laptop is actually outputting to an external display by using the keyboard's external display toggle. Incorrect Answers:Rebooting probably won't help. It might be OK to try eventually, but not before the correct solutions.Reloading the display drivers won't help.Network connectivity has nothing at all to do with this problem.