CompTIA A+ 220-1101 Domain 5: Hardware and Network Troubleshooting

Which of the following is a benefit of good documentation?

It saves time and money in troubleshooting problems.

You are assisting Ann, who reports that the display on her company-issued smartphone is too dim to read in a dark room, even after she adjusts the brightness setting. Which of the following actions should you perform FIRST? (Select two.)

- Adjust the adaptive or automatic brightness control. - Adjust the battery saver setting.

Which of the following are critical times when memory problems manifest themselves? (Select two.)

- After you remove or install hardware - On the first boot of a new computer

You have just finished upgrading your desktop system's CPU. After running for about 15 minutes, the system spontaneously shuts down. Which steps should you take FIRST to begin troubleshooting the issue? (Select two.)

- Check the CPU fan power. - Make sure that you used thermal paste for the CPU.

A user hibernates a laptop after giving a video presentation. Now, when the system resumes, the display flickers for a moment, but remains blank. You suspect a bad graphics processing unit (GPU). Which of the following troubleshooting steps should you completed? (Select two.)

- Connect an external display device. - Toggle the dual display function key.

When you turn on your workstation, you immediately hear a grinding or clicking noise coming from inside the computer case. Which of the following are the MOST likely causes of this noise?

- Dust buildup that needs to be cleaned. - A wire hanging over a fan with the blades tapping on it.

Which type of software-generated problems can indicate that a software bug is causing a memory error? (Select three.)

- General-protection fault - Exception error - Page fault

You have just upgraded your computer's CPU. You consulted the motherboard documentation to make sure that the CPU was compatible with the motherboard. However, when you turn the system on, it locks up shortly after startup. Which of the following are the BEST steps to try first while troubleshooting this issue? (Select two.)

- Make sure that the CPU is seated properly, oriented correctly, and locked in to the socket. - Look for something that could be causing the new CPU to overheat.

You have just finished installing a new SATA hard disk in your computer. Now your SATA DVD drive does not work. Which of the following troubleshooting steps are BEST to try first? (Select two.)

- Make sure that the DVD power cable is connected. - Make sure that the DVD SATA cable is connected.

An employee submits a support ticket stating that their computer will not turn on. Which of the following troubleshooting steps should you take first? (Select two.)

- Make sure that the surge protector is turned on. - Make sure that the power cord is plugged in to the wall.

You work at a computer repair store. You have just upgraded the processor (CPU) in a customer's Windows-based computer. The customer purchased the latest AMD Ryzen processor, and you installed it in the computer. But when you power the computer on, you only see a blank screen. Which of the following is MOST likely causing the computer to display the blank screen? (Select two.)

- The CPU is not supported by the BIOS. - The CPU is bad.

You are troubleshooting a malfunctioning laptop computer. Nothing appears on the LCD display when the system is powered on. When you connect an external monitor to the system, the Windows desktop is displayed on the monitor properly. Which of the following is MOST likely causing this problem? (Select two.)

- The LCD assembly is malfunctioning. - The display output has been redirected to the external monitor port using an fn key.

For several years, your laptop's monitor has worked perfectly. However, shortly after turning on your laptop today, you notice that the dimness has increased on the screen. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause? (Select two.)

- The power adapter was accidentally unplugged. - The monitor's inverter has gone bad.

Lately, your computer has been spontaneously shutting down after only a few minutes of use. What is the likely cause? (Select two.)

- The power connector for the fan was not connected to the motherboard. - The heat sink and fan were not installed correctly.

Which of the following are the MOST likely signs that your computer might need more memory? (Select two.)

- Your hard drive is constantly operating as you work. - Your hard drive light on the system case is on for long periods of time.

The contrast on your projector's output is not displaying properly. In addition, the images continually flicker. What is the MOST likely cause of the projector's display problems?

A bulb is close to burning out.

A clicking noise in your computer has now evolved into a grinding noise. In addition, you are beginning to see frequent error messages while running software, and your computer occasionally freezes. What is the MOST likely cause of these issues?

A failing hard drive

While trying to use a projector for a presentation, you receive an error that states, "No signal detected." What is the MOST likely cause of this error?

A loose HDMI cable

After working without problems for a couple of years, your computer has begun to lock up. You suspect that it is a thermal issue, but you can't find any component that is not functioning correctly. You have not replaced the CPU or installed any new devices. The CPU cooling fan and the power supply fan are working properly. The lock-ups are happening with increasing frequency. Which of the following is the MOST common condition that explains these symptoms?

An accumulation of dust has gradually built up.

One of your users suspects that the battery in their laptop computer is failing. You test it by using a known good power adapter long enough to receive a full charge. The battery reads that it is fully charged in Windows. You then disconnect the laptop from its power source and wait to see how long the battery lasts. The battery dies after only about 15 minutes. Which of the following actions will MOST likely fix this problem?

Assume that the battery is failing and replace it.

While running a graphics editing program on your Windows workstation, a screen suddenly pops up with an error message warning. You note the error message, but the only way to continue working is to reboot your system. What is this type of error screen called?

BSoD (Blue Screen of Death)

To improve system performance, you have configured a motherboard to run with a higher multiplier than what the CPU is specified to use. Since doing this, the system has become unstable and crashes frequently. Which of the following should you do to restore system stability?

Back off on the overclocking settings until the system runs in a stable manner.

You have just received a frantic call from a customer. She informs you that after turning her computer on, she received the following error: "The SMART hard disk check has detected an imminent failure." Which of the following is the best FIRST step to take?

Back up all important data and files.

While trying to start your Windows 11 system, you see the following error message: "Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware." Which of the following will MOST likely fix the problem?

Boot into the recovery environment and run the "bootrec /rebuildbcd" command.

Six months ago, you purchased a new laptop. Since then, you have noticed that the battery life has steadily gone down. When the battery was new, a full charge lasted about 10 hours. Now you are lucky to get two hours of life before the battery charge level drops below 5 percent. Which of the following is the BEST first step when trying to correct this issue?

Calibrate the battery.

You have purchased a 1600 x 1200 LCD monitor and connected it to the DVI-I port on your computer using a DVI-D cable. You configure the screen resolution at 1280 x 1024 with 24-bit color. The display output seems to be fuzzy and stretched. Which of the following BEST describes the action you should take to correct the problem?

Change the screen resolution to the native resolution of the monitor.

You have purchased an LED monitor and connected it to the DVI-I port on your computer using a DVI-D cable. You configure the screen resolution to 1440 x 900 with 32-bit color. The display on the screen seems to be pixilated. Which of the following solutions is MOST likely to fix this problem?

Change the screen resolution to the native resolution of the monitor.

A customer complains that a recently purchased monitor no longer displays a picture. You verify that the monitor is powered on and that the video cable is securely fastened to the video port. Which of the following actions is the BEST to take next?

Check the brightness and contrast settings using the monitor's controls.

You've just installed a new USB card reader on your Windows computer. Every time you perform a certain action using the card reader, you get an error message that you've never seen before. Which of the following actions should you perform FIRST?

Check the manufacturer's website for information about the error.

When booting your workstation, you hear a series of audible beeps, and the system locks up. What is the FIRST step you should take when troubleshooting this issue?

Check the motherboard documentation for POST errors.

You have just installed a new video card in a user's Windows workstation. When the system is powered on, the screen is blank. You have checked the video cable and verified that it is installed correctly. What should you do next?

Check to make sure that the video card is correctly installed on the system board.

You've just purchased 10 new notebook computers for your users. You are concerned that users will leave the notebooks on for long periods of time, which could result in display burn-in. What should you do to prevent this from happening?

Configure a screen saver on each computer.

You are currently running a video editing application on your Windows 11 laptop. The laptop includes both an SSD drive and a traditional hard drive. You run the video application on the hard drive, but you would like to install and run the app from the SSD drive to enhance performance speed. Which of the following should you do to protect the video application and associated data files from drive failure when you move them to the SSD drive?

Configure an automatic backup to the hard disk drive.

As an IT technician for your company, you have been notified that the Windows domain does not seem to be functioning properly. Being familiar with domains, you are fairly confident you know what the issue is. But just to be safe, you take the applicable time to gather additional information and to identify what, if anything, has changed. Which of the following is the BEST next step?

Create a hypothesis.

You are the manager in charge of maintaining desktop computers. A user reports that she can't turn her computer on. After some investigation, you find that the power supply is malfunctioning. Which of the following actions should you perform next?

Create an action plan.

You suspect that the power supply in your desktop PC is failing. You want to use a multimeter to test the power supply. Which multimeter setting should you use?

DC (Direct Current) volts

You are a first-line desktop support technician. A user reports that he cannot access several network files. After some investigation, you determine that the problem is with a network server. Which of the following actions should you perform next?

Determine if escalation is needed.

A user reports that she can't send print jobs to a specific printer. You are able to reproduce the problem on the user's computer. Which of the following actions should you perform next?

Determine whether anything has changed.

You are troubleshooting a company cell phone that is overheating. Which of the following is the FIRST action you should take to resolve the issue?

Determine whether the battery is warped or swollen.

You notice that your applications are loading and running slowly when you switch between them. You also notice that your hard disk drive light is constantly lit. Which of the following is MOST likely the cause of these issues?

Disk thrashing

A user reports that the projector in the conference room has display issues when it is connected to his laptop. After identifying the cause and completely resolving the issue, the projector displays the images perfectly both on his laptop and on the projector. Which of the following troubleshooting strategies should you perform next?

Document the solution.

You have just installed a new video card in a user's Windows workstation. When the system is powered on, the screen displays in 16 colors at 640 x 480 resolution. Which of the following will BEST resolve this problem?

Download and install the latest driver from the video card manufacturer's website.

A user sends a print job to a network printer, and it prints page after page of random characters. He calls the help desk, and a technician discovers that the wrong printer driver had been loaded on the user's workstation. The technician loads the correct driver, verifies that the system works correctly, and documents the resolution. Which of the following actions should the technician perform next?

Educate the user as to how the problem was resolved and verify that they are satisfied with the results.

You are attempting to boot a new system. The boot fails, and the system sounds a beep code. Which of the following describes the MOST likely cause of this error?

Either no memory is installed or the memory was not detected.

Since it has no moving parts, a CPU will usually work properly for several years. Which of the following is a common factor that might cause a CPU to fail prematurely

Electrostatic discharge (ESD)

You are troubleshooting a malfunctioning LED display on a notebook computer system. As part of your troubleshooting, you attach an external monitor and find that it displays the output from the notebook. Which of the following is MOST likely causing your LED display to malfunction?

Failed backlight

You are troubleshooting a malfunctioning LCD display on a notebook computer system. After confirming that the notebook is receiving AC power, you plug in an external monitor. The external monitor does not display the output from the notebook after you press the fn key to toggle the display. Which of the following is MOST likely causing this issue?

Failed video adapter

Lately, you hear a clicking noise when reading or writing data from the hard disk. What is the MOST likely cause of the clicking?

Failing hard drive

As an IT technician for your company, you are in the process of setting up several servers in your network. During the process, one of the servers was misconfigured and is having trouble synchronizing information with the other servers. Which of the following is the BEST next step?

Gather information.

While you are answering help desk calls, a field customer calls and complains that he cannot print to a workgroup laser printer. Which of the following should be the first question you ask?

Have you ever successfully printed to that printer?

You are responsible for managing client workstations for your company. A frantic user calls you one morning exclaiming, "Nothing is working!" Which of the following actions should you perform FIRST?

Identify the problem.

Why is it important to have your mobile device charger plugged in while it is receiving an operating system update?

If the battery dies during the update, the operating system could become corrupted.

Your monitor is displaying images in strange colors. Which of the following is MOST likely the solution to this problem?

Increase the color depth.

You have installed a new computer with a quad-core 64-bit processor, 6 GB of memory, and a PCIe video card with 512 MB of memory. After installing the operating system, you see less than 4 GB of memory showing as available in Windows. Which of the following actions would MOST likely correct this issue?

Install a 64-bit version of the operating system.

You notice that your applications are loading and running slowly when you switch between them. You also notice that your hard disk drive light is constantly lit. Which of the following is the BEST option to stop this problem from happening frequently on your system?

Install more physical RAM.

Which of the following projector issues would MOST likely be caused by poor air flow through dirty vents in the projector?

Intermittent shutdowns

A technician is troubleshooting a computer that doesn't start up correctly. Which of the following could the technician use to troubleshoot the computer?

Known good spares

After installing two memory modules, you power on the system to check for errors. You find that the BIOS program recognizes only one of the memory modules. Which of the following is BEST to try first when troubleshooting this issue?

Make sure that both modules are seated properly in their slots.

You have just finished upgrading the 250-watt power supply in your desktop computer to a 450-watt power supply. Now the BIOS does not recognize one of the hard disk drives in the system during POST. Which of the following troubleshooting steps is the BEST to try first?

Make sure that the hard disk is connected to the power supply.

You're trying to connect a new USB device to your computer. You install the driver and then connect the device to an open USB port. The device does not work. Which of the following troubleshooting steps is the BEST to try first?

Make sure the USB device is plugged in properly.

Jared has just installed an additional HDD on his Windows computer for storing multimedia files. He inserts a DVD disc to watch a movie with his usual movie player software, but the movie fails to play. In fact, the player indicates that there is no DVD drive available. What is the BEST first step that Jared should take to resolve the issue?

Make sure the movie player is pointing to the correct drive letter for the DVD drive.

You have just installed an SSD drive in your older Windows workstation. However, after you start Windows, you do not see the SSD drive listed in Windows Explorer. What should you do FIRST?

Make sure the power connectors on the SSD (Solid State Drive) drive are plugged in all the way.

You are in the process of configuring a new computer. The motherboard has four memory slots and supports dual-channel memory. You install two memory modules. When you boot the computer, the BIOS recognizes both modules, but the memory is not configured to run in dual-channel mode. What should you do to resolve the issue?

Move the modules to the correct motherboard slots.

Which tool would you use to measure electrical properties, such as voltage, amps, and resistance?

Multimeter

You have a DVD-ROM disc with no label, and you want to know if it has any important files on it. You insert the DVD-ROM into your optical media drive, and you double-click the drive letter to see the disc's contents. Which error message will you see if the DVD-ROM is not a valid disc?

No Media

Zoey has brought her computer in for servicing. When she dropped off her computer, she mentioned that it spontaneously reboots and freezes occasionally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of these problems?

Overheated CPU

Steve, a computer technician, receives a help desk ticket for a computer that will not start. When Steve powered the computer on, there was one long and two short beeps. Which of the following programs is reporting this error condition?

POST (Power On Self Test)

A user reports that her system is running slowly when saving files. You determine that you'll need to upgrade her hard disk. You identify the components that are required and schedule the repair for later that afternoon. Which of the following steps have you forgotten in your troubleshooting process?

Perform a backup.

Which pin on the power supply connector connects to the power good wire on the motherboard in order to indicate an appropriate action for the motherboard if the power disappears, quickly reappears, or does not appear at all?

Pin 8

After using your LCD monitor for about three months, you notice a small black dot in one area of the screen. Regardless of what is shown on the monitor, the dot remains the same color and in the same location. Which of the following is the BEST method for removing the black dot from the monitor?

Play a video designed to fix dead pixels.

Which of the following tools is specifically designed to test the DC voltage on a hard disk drive power connector?

Power supply tester

You have connected our laptop to a large TV for a presentation, but the second screen (the TV) only shows a copy of your desktop wallpaper and nothing else. What can you do to quickly enable projecting your display to the TV?

Press the Windows key + P twice

You are servicing a laptop that works properly when the power adapter is plugged in. Even though the battery icon shows that the battery is fully charged, when the laptop is unplugged, it immediately shuts down. Which of the following actions MOST likely resolves the issue?

Replace the laptop battery.

An employee calls to complain that their computer is behaving erratically. Some days, it functions correctly, and other days, it crashes frequently. Sometimes, the system won't boot at all. You open the system case and notice the following: - Two of the mounting screws are missing from the system hard disk drive. - The system uses memory modules from several different manufacturers with mismatched capacities. Several capacitors on the motherboard are bulging and have a brown liquid oozing from them. - The chassis fan on the front of the case is oriented to blow air into the system. What should you do?

Replace the motherboard.

Your system crashes at various times. It happens sometimes on startup, sometimes when running a software application, and sometimes when a certain group of applications is running. You suspect a malfunctioning CPU, but none of the common issues seem to be present. You have not configured overclocking. There is no overheating. The CPU is seated correctly and locked into its socket. What is the BEST step you can take to determine if the CPU is causing the system crashes?

Replace the suspect CPU with a known good CPU of the same make and model.

When playing videos games or watching movies on your workstation, Windows often freezes and requires that you reboot the system in order to continue. What is the BEST solution to resolve your display issues?

Replace the video card.

As a computer technician, you are troubleshooting a client's computer that is experiencing intermittent crashes and sudden reboots. The client reports that these issues started happening after a recent memory upgrade. You have already confirmed that the new memory modules are compatible with the system and are properly installed. What would be the next BEST step to diagnose the issue?

Run a memory diagnostic tool to check for any memory errors.

You have purchased an LED monitor and connected it to the HDMI port on your computer using an HDMI cable. You configure the screen resolution to 1280 x 1024 with 32-bit color. The geometry of the images displayed on the screen appear to be distorted. What should you do to correct the problem?

Set the display resolution to the native resolution of the monitor.

You have purchased an LED monitor and connected it to the HDMI port on your computer using an HDMI cable. You configure the screen resolution to 1280 x 768 with 32-bit color. The images displayed on the screen appear to be overly large. What should you do to correct the problem?

Set the display resolution to the native resolution of the monitor.

You recently upgraded a client's older workstation to Windows 11. The client has called to complain that the interface is very slow. For example, after clicking on the Start button, the Start menu slowly appears on the screen. Which of the following will MOST likely fix this problem without requiring a hardware upgrade?

Set the visual effects for best performance.

Which of the following is the FIRST thing you should do if your laptop battery appears swollen or feels hot?

Shut off the laptop and unplug it.

After arriving at work, you turn on your computer to begin your day. Instantly, you see smoke and smell a strange odor coming from the computer. Which of the following would be the MOST important action to take first?

Shut off the system immediately.

Travis, a long-haul truck driver, reports that when driving on remote highways, his smartphone battery drains faster than normal, and his phone calls often cut out. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the fast battery drain?

Signal drop or weak signal

A user reports that he is unable to access data on an external hard drive. You investigate the problem and determine that the USB cable connection to the hard drive is damaged. You replace the cable. Which of the following actions should you take next?

Test the solution.

A user reports that her monitor has stopped working. While troubleshooting the issue, you discover a bad video card in the system. You replace the card and connect the monitor cable to the card. Which of the following actions should you perform NEXT in your troubleshooting strategy?

Test the solution.

When you try to boot your computer, it hangs after POST. When you access the UEFI setup program, you see that the date is several years behind, and the time is set to 12:01 a.m. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this behavior?

The motherboard battery has failed.

You are troubleshooting a malfunctioning laptop computer system. The customer has indicated that the screen is always dark and difficult to read, even while the system is plugged into a wall outlet. You checked the system and determine that the backlight isn't working. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

The LCD cutoff switch is stuck in the Off position.

Your laptop's LCD screen is beginning to flicker and dim. You have checked the brightness setting to make sure that it is configured correctly. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of your screen issue?

The LCD screen inverter is failing.

While presenting a high-definition video through a projector, you find that the audio is not in sync with the video. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

The audio file is being processed faster than the video file.

Your company's graphic designers were given laptop computers several months ago. The laptops have a 500-GB SSD drive for the operating system and applications and a 1-TB hard drive for storing media files. Now, a few of the graphic designers are complaining about slow performance on their SSD drives. What is the MOST likely cause of the slow performance?

The designers are storing media files on the SSD drive.

Your projector is displaying the colors on the screen incorrectly. What is the MOST likely reason for this problem?

The source computer's resolution settings do not match the projector's resolution settings.

There are critical times when memory problems often manifest themselves. Match each critical time on the left with the corresponding cause of the memory problems on the right

This event can require more memory and can cause problems if there is not enough memory when it occurs: - Software installation Memory is not properly seated, is missing, or the motherboard is defective: - First boot of a new computer Incompletely or improperly doing this can cause errors that appear to be memory-related: - Hardware installation or removal The memory is incompatible and was not installed and configured properly: - Memory upgrade

You are an IT technician for your company. One of your employees calls and tells you that every time they turn their computer on, they hear three beeps. Which of the following BEST describes the information you should relay to this employee about the beeping?

Three repeated beeps may mean different things. They need to reference the motherboard documentation.

After starting your Apple iMAC computer, you immediately experience the Spinning Pinwheel of Death (SPoD) crash screen. Which of the following should you do FIRST to try to resolve the problem?

Try to reboot the computer.

You work in the computer repair department of a large retail outlet. A customer comes in with a workstation that randomly shuts down. You suspect that the power supply is failing. What should you do first to troubleshoot the issue?

Use a known good spare to swap with the existing power supply.

You are an IT technician for your company. One of the employees has a computer that continually reboots when it's powered on. He has asked you to fix it. You suspect that the power supply may be failing. Which of the following is the BEST initial step to determine whether the power supply is causing the reboots?

Use a multimeter to test the power supply.

Your Windows 11 system powers on, but there is no image on your display. You have not installed a new video card, and have already checked to make sure that the monitor is connected properly to the computer, is plugged in, and is turned on. Which of the following is the BEST next step you should take to try to resolve the issue?

Verify that the BIOS/UEFI is configured to use the correct video adapter.

A few of your employees have complained that their computers sometimes shut down spontaneously. You have noticed that these employees all work in a part of the building where the air conditioning does not adequately cool the room. These employees also use CPU-intensive programs. You suspect that the spontaneous shutdowns are caused by overheating. Which of the following is the simplest way to monitor the temperature of these computers' CPUs?

View the temperature from within the BIOS.

You have purchased a refurbished Windows laptop and have just plugged the power adapter into the wall socket to begin charging the battery. However, after several hours of charging, the laptop does not turn on. What is the MOST likely cause of the power issue?

You have been given the incorrect adapter.

After installing a new RAM module, you boot your 64-bit system, but the display remains blank. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

You have installed a non-parity RAM on an ECC system.