Chapter 4
Henry is having a problem with the electrical system on his current laptop. The battery for the laptop will not charge. Henry took the AC adapter and battery from another laptop that is known to work, and put them in his current laptop, but still the battery will not charge. What possible actions can Henry take to make his laptop usable? (Select all that apply.)
-Henry can replace the laptop system board. -Henry can purchase a new laptop. -Henry can use the laptop only when it's connected to the power using the AC adapter.
When you turn on your computer for the day, you notice lights and fans but no beeps and no video. The Num Lock light does not come on. What might be the problem with your computer? (Select all that apply.)
-Motherboard has failed. -Processor has failed or is not seated properly. -RAM is not working properly.
When advising a customer on the purchase of a new power supply, you should explain that if the power supply runs at peak performance all the time, it will overheat. Additionally, power supplies can lose some capacity over time. Considering these conditions, you recommend that the customer purchase a power supply with a power rating higher than what the system currently uses. How much more wattage over peak do you recommend the customer purchase?
30% more
Gwen recently purchased a new video card, and after she installed it, she realized she did not have the correct connections and was not able to power the video card. What connector(s) should Gwen look for when purchasing a new power supply? (Select all that apply.)
8-pin PCI-E connector & 6-pin PCI-E connector
Kiera is building a new computer and wants to make sure she has an adequate power supply for all the new equipment she is purchasing. She will be installing three HDDs, with each using 25 watts. The processor she is using will need 125 watts. The motherboard will use 80 watts. RAM will require 3 watts for each of the four DDR3 DIMM modules. Her video card will need 400 watts to run at the maximum level. She wants to keep the cost as low as possible for the power supply. Which power supply would you recommend?
900W power supply
Paul is playing a game when his computer shuts down unexpectedly. Paul has noticed recently that his fans are running very loud. When Paul turns his computer back on, it starts to boot and then shuts off again. What is a possible problem with Paul's computer?
Computer is overheating.
Rebecca completed work on a computer and is verifying the functionality of the system when she finds a new problem. This problem is not urgent and can be easily fixed. The policy at Rebecca's company is that all problems need to be reported and given a priority code before they can be assigned to someone. What should Rebecca do about this new problem?
Determine whether fixing the first problem caused the second problem.
When Amy turns on her computer, she notices a burning smell. Smoke comes out of the case, and Amy immediately turns off her computer. What might be causing Amy's computer to emit smoke and a burning smell?
Power problem
Lin is booting up his computer, and during the boot process, the computer powers down. After several unsuccessful attempts to boot his computer, he decides that he needs to start the troubleshooting process. Lin thinks that the problem could be in the power supply, so he uses a power supply tester. The test shows that the power supply is functioning properly. What should Lin check next in the troubleshooting process?
RAM
George is involved with a project at work and notices that he has a pending update for his computer. George knows that updates are important, and he decides to take a break and complete the restart of the computer so that the update can install. After George restarts the computer, he notices that his AutoCAD program is running slowly. The issue continues to the point that George decides to call the technician and ask him to check what is going wrong on his computer. The technician tells George to turn the computer off and then on again and asks George how much RAM is counted. The amount of RAM is 8GB less than the amount that was installed on George's system. What hardware could be causing this problem? (Select all that apply.)
RAM & Motherboard
While you are working on your computer, it shuts down unexpectedly, and you detect a burning smell. When you remove the case cover, you notice a distended capacitor. What can you do to fix this problem?
Replace the motherboard.
Sara is having a tough time finding the cause of a problem on a computer she is troubleshooting. She found a possible problem but is not sure if she is correct. In case she is wrong, Sara does not want to test her theory, because doing so might worsen the problem. What would you advise Sara to do?
Research the problem on the Internet.
Sara works in the IT department for a large retail store. She has been testing a theory about why an error message keeps popping up on a coworker's computer when he tries to start Windows. She has hit a wall and doesn't know where to look next. Sara feels very frustrated with the problem. What should Sara do to help work out the solution?
Take a break and come back later.
Over the past week, every time Larry has started his computer, he has noticed that the time is not correct. Larry didn't consider this a problem because his computer was working properly. However, now Larry has decided that he should investigate why the time is not accurate. What can you tell Larry to check to find out why the clock does not keep the right time?
The CMOS battery is bad and needs to be replaced.
Phil wants to add a new video card, and he is sure the power supply is sufficient to run the new video card. But when he tries to locate the power connector for the new video card, he does not find a 6-pin PCI-E power connector. He has several extra cables for hard drive power cables from his power supply that he is not using. What is the least expensive way for Phil to power his video card?
Use a SATA to 6 pin PCI-E adapter.
You decide to add three new hard drives to your computer so that you can increase the amount of storage on it. When you install the hard drives, you find enough SATA connections on the motherboard, but it is short one SATA power connector. What is the easiest way to add a SATA power connector to the system? (red black and yellow SATA connector wires)
Use the Molex connector.
James added a new video card and needs to get a power supply that will have enough power to run the new card. When researching the new power supply, what feature does James need to look for to make sure he has enough power to run his computer with the new video card?
Wattage
Your customer wants to build a new computer and needs to make sure he orders the correct power supply for his machine. What should you tell him to check to make sure he orders the correct power supply? (Select all that apply.)
Wattage requirements Form factor Number of hard drives Video requirements
The battery indicator light is on, even though your laptop is plugged into an AC adaptor. To determine why you are not getting power from the AC adapter, which of the following should you check? (Select all that apply.)
Whether the AC adapter is plugged into a live electrical outlet. Whether the AC adapter is connected properly to the laptop. Whether the DC jack is loose.
Heather is troubleshooting a computer at her worksite. She has interviewed the computer's user and is currently trying to reproduce the problem the user described. Heather is in which step of the troubleshooting process?
a. Establish a theory of probable cause.
William has been working on a problem with a computer at his company for several hours and still can't ascertain the problem. The computer will not turn on, and William has tried everything he can think of to fix the computer. He has replaced the power cord, the power supply, and even the power strip the computer is plugged into. William decides that it must be the motherboard and takes the computer to his shop to replace the motherboard on the computer. When he plugs the computer in, it turns on. The problem was not the computer—someone had turned off the switch for the wall outlet that the power strip was plugged into. Where in the troubleshooting process could William have discovered this problem? (Select all that apply.)
a. Identify the problem. b. Establish a theory of probable cause. c. Test the theory to determine cause.
Thomas came into work this morning and turned on his computer and nothing happened. He immediately called the help desk, and you were sent to fix his computer. While talking with Thomas about his computer, you find out that when he turns on the computer, he has lights and fans, but nothing else happens. He also tells you that nobody else has done anything with his computer. Nothing has been added or changed, since it worked the day before. You decide to try to re-create the problem, and when you turn on the computer, there are lights and fans, but no beeps and no video. You notice that the keyboard light does not come on. What can you determine about the problem with Thomas's computer? (Select all that apply.)
a. Motherboard has failed. c. Processor has gone bad or is not seated properly.
You go to work after a long weekend and try to turn on your computer. When you push the button on the desktop, the system does not start to boot. The monitor turns on and displays a message saying that there's no signal. When you push the desktop button again, you notice that the lights on the computer are turning on, but you don't hear any sounds coming from the desktop. What is a possible problem with your computer?
a. Power cord is unplugged.
You notice that your computer is running slow and decide to reboot the computer to see if that will fix the problem. During the reboot, you notice that the amount of RAM shown during the RAM count is not the same as it was the day before. What might cause this problem?
a. RAM module has become unseated.
You are troubleshooting a computer that your client said turns off during normal operation. While you are trying to identify the problem, the client also informs you that if he waits a while, the computer will turn back on and run normally for a bit. You open the system and immediately notice a large dust buildup around the processor fan and heat sink. What problem can you detect on the computer and confidently report to your client?
a. System is overheating.
Landon starts his computer and receives the error message, "Hard drive is not found." In a panic, he calls you because he did not back up his data and has numerous important files on his hard drive. During your investigation, Landon tells you he was watching a movie on his computer the previous night. What might be the problem with Landon's computer?
b. Boot priority is set to the DVD drive.
When you verify a system is functioning properly, you determine that the problem could have been prevented. What should you do to help the computer's user avoid having the same problem again?
b. Instruct the user on how to prevent the problem.
Your computer system loses power while you are working on a project for a very important client. When the computer restarts, you hear continuous beeps coming from your computer, and the monitor is showing no signal. What do the beeps mean?
b. POST has failed, and you should research the BIOS beep codes.
When testing your theory, you discover that you are wrong.
c. Establish a new theory of probable cause.
