Practice 220-1201 Core PC Hardware Troubleshooting questions with full explanations on every answer.
Start practicing
Core PC Hardware Troubleshooting — choose a session length
Free · No account required
Click any question to see the full explanation and answer options, or start a focused practice session above.
A technician is troubleshooting a PC that boots to a black screen with a blinking cursor after the BIOS screen. The system has a single SSD with the OS installed. The BIOS detects the SSD. What is the most likely cause?
2A user reports that their PC randomly restarts during boot-up, sometimes before the Windows logo appears. They have already tried reseating the RAM. Which component should be tested next?
3A technician is deploying a new SSD in a desktop PC. After installing the drive and connecting the SATA data and power cables, the system does not recognize the drive in the BIOS. All other drives are detected. What should the technician check first?
4A user reports that their PC emits a continuous series of short beeps and will not display anything on the screen. The system was working fine after a recent RAM upgrade. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
5A client brings in a desktop that will not power on. The technician verifies the power cord is connected and the PSU fan does not spin when the power button is pressed. What is the most appropriate next step?
6A technician is configuring a new workstation for video editing. After installing a high-end GPU and additional RAM, the system powers on but the screen is blank. The motherboard has diagnostic LEDs; the VGA LED is lit. What is the most likely issue?
7A user complains that their computer randomly shuts down after about 30 minutes of gaming. The case feels warm to the touch, and all fans are spinning. Which component is most likely causing the shutdowns?
8A customer reports that their desktop PC emits a series of three long beeps and then nothing appears on the screen. The system was working fine yesterday. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
9A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that powers on but displays nothing on the monitor. The monitor is on and connected via HDMI. The technician hears one short beep from the motherboard speaker. What should the technician do next?
10A customer says their laptop battery no longer charges. The laptop works when plugged into AC power, but the battery icon shows '0% available (plugged in)'. What is the most likely cause?
11A user reports that their PC boots to a black screen with a blinking cursor after installing a new SATA SSD. The old hard drive is still connected. What is the most likely issue?
12A user's PC is running very slowly, and the hard drive activity LED is constantly lit even when idle. Task Manager shows 100% disk usage. Which component is most likely failing?
13After replacing a motherboard, a technician finds that the PC will not power on at all. The power supply fan does not spin, and no LEDs light up. The PSU was working before the replacement. What is the most likely cause?
14A user reports that their PC randomly freezes for a few seconds and then resumes. This happens most often when opening large files or running multiple applications. Event Viewer shows no critical errors. Which component is most likely causing the issue?
15A technician upgrades a PC from a traditional HDD to an NVMe SSD. After installation, the BIOS detects the SSD, but Windows does not appear in the boot menu. What should the technician do to resolve this?
16During a deployment, you install a new graphics card into a desktop PC. After powering on, the system boots but the display is blank. The monitor is known to work, and the card's fans spin. What should you check next?
17A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that will not boot. The power LED is on, fans spin, but there is no display and no beep codes. The CPU and RAM have been reseated, and the motherboard appears to have power. What should the technician check next?
18A customer complains that their PC randomly shuts down after about 30 minutes of use, especially when playing games. The case feels warm to the touch. What should you check first?
19A user reports that their PC powers on for a second then immediately shuts off. This repeats in a loop. What is the most likely hardware issue?
20A user reports that their desktop PC emits a series of short beeps and fails to boot. The monitor shows no display, and the keyboard and mouse LEDs are off. What is the most likely cause?
21A technician is troubleshooting a PC that will not boot after a power surge. The motherboard has a built-in diagnostic LED that shows a red light near the DRAM slot. The user had recently upgraded the RAM. What is the most likely cause?
22A customer brings in a PC that was working fine until they moved it to a new desk. Now it powers on but immediately shuts off after 2 seconds. The technician notes that the CPU fan does not spin at all. What is the most likely cause?
23A customer complains that their computer will not turn on. The power supply fan does not spin, and the motherboard LED is off. The technician tests the power supply with a multimeter and gets 0V on all pins. What should the technician do next?
24A user's PC randomly restarts during heavy workloads, such as video rendering. The CPU temperature reads 95°C under load. The heatsink fan is spinning, but the thermal paste appears dry and cracked. What is the most effective first step?
25A customer reports that their desktop PC emits a series of long, continuous beeps and the screen remains blank. They recently installed a new graphics card. What is the most likely cause?
26A technician is deploying a new workstation in a retail store. After connecting all peripherals and power, the system powers on but the monitor shows 'No Signal'. The monitor is connected via VGA to the motherboard. What should the technician check first?
27A technician is troubleshooting a PC that boots to a blue screen with the error 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE' after a user attempted to clone their HDD to an SSD. The BIOS detects both drives. What is the most likely cause?
28A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that shuts down abruptly after 10 minutes of use. The CPU fan is spinning, but the heatsink feels cool to the touch. What is the most likely cause?
29A user reports that their PC emits a single short beep and then nothing happens. The screen remains blank, and the keyboard and mouse do not light up. What is the most likely issue?
30A user reports that their PC boots to a black screen with a blinking cursor after installing a new SSD. The BIOS detects the SSD, but the system does not load the operating system. What is the most likely cause?
The Core PC Hardware Troubleshooting domain covers the key concepts tested in this area of the 220-1201 exam blueprint published by CompTIA. Courseiva provides free domain-focused practice, mock exams, missed-question review, and readiness tracking across all 220-1201 domains — no account required.
The Courseiva 220-1201 question bank contains 30 questions in the Core PC Hardware Troubleshooting domain. Click any question to see the full explanation and answer breakdown.
Start with a 10-question focused session to identify your baseline accuracy in this domain. Read every explanation — even for questions you answer correctly — to understand the reasoning. Once you score consistently above 80%, move to a 20–30 question session to confirm depth before moving to the next domain.
Yes — the session launcher on this page draws questions exclusively from the Core PC Hardware Troubleshooting domain. Choose 10, 20, 30, or 50 questions for a focused session, or click individual questions to review them one by one.
Save your results, see per-domain analytics, and get readiness scores — free, for every certification.
Sign Up FreeFree forever · Every certification included