A technician is configuring a new workstation for video editing. The user needs fast read/write speeds for large project files. Which storage technology should be selected for the primary drive?
A technician is setting up a new RAID 0 array with two 500 GB SSDs for a gaming PC. After installation, the system shows only 500 GB of usable space. What is the most likely cause?
A user wants to upgrade their laptop from a traditional HDD to an SSD for faster boot times. They have a SATA III interface available. Which type of SSD should you recommend for the best performance without requiring an adapter?
A user complains that their computer with a 256 GB NVMe SSD is running out of storage space. They want to add more internal storage but only have one M.2 slot. What is the best solution to expand capacity without sacrificing performance?
A customer reports that their desktop PC with a 1 TB HDD is running very slowly, especially when opening large files. They mention that the drive light is constantly active even when the system is idle. What is the most likely cause of this performance issue?
A client wants to add a second internal hard drive to their desktop for additional storage, but all SATA ports on the motherboard are already used. What is the best solution?
A technician is troubleshooting a server that uses a RAID 5 array with three 2 TB HDDs. The array reports 4 TB of usable space. One drive fails. What is the immediate impact on data availability?
During a hardware installation, you are tasked with setting up a RAID 1 array in a server using two identical 4 TB HDDs. After configuration, the total usable capacity is only 4 TB. Is this expected behavior?
A user reports that their computer will not boot and displays an 'Operating System Not Found' error. They recently installed a new SATA SSD and connected it to the motherboard. What is the most likely cause?
A customer complains that their external USB 3.0 hard drive is only transferring files at USB 2.0 speeds (about 30-40 MB/s). They have confirmed the drive supports USB 3.0. What is the most likely cause?
A technician is configuring a workstation for a graphic designer who needs to work with large 4K video files. The motherboard supports SATA III and has one M.2 slot. Which storage configuration will provide the best performance for this workload?
A customer reports that their external USB hard drive is not recognized when plugged into the front USB ports of their desktop, but it works fine on the back ports. What is the most likely cause?
A user wants to add a second hard drive to their desktop for extra storage, but the computer only has one SATA data cable available. The technician has an extra SATA power cable from the power supply. What is the most practical solution?
A technician is installing a new M.2 NVMe SSD into a desktop motherboard that has two M.2 slots. After installation, the system boots but the new drive is not detected in the BIOS. What should the technician check first?
A user reports that their computer with a 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD is running out of space on the C: drive (SSD). The user wants to move the 'Users' folder to the HDD to free space. What is the best method to accomplish this without data loss?
A user wants to upgrade their laptop from a 500GB 5400 RPM HDD to a faster storage solution without increasing power consumption. Which drive type should you recommend?
A user complains that their external hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer, but it appears in Device Manager as a connected device. What is the most likely issue?
A technician is building a new workstation for video editing and needs to choose a storage configuration that offers the best read performance for large media files. Which setup should they select?
A technician is troubleshooting a server that uses a RAID 5 array with three 1TB HDDs. One drive fails, and the technician replaces it with a new 1TB HDD. After rebuilding, the array reports only 1.8TB of usable space. What is the most likely cause?
A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that will not boot from a brand new M.2 NVMe SSD. The drive is detected in the BIOS/UEFI, but the system skips it and tries to boot from other devices. The technician has already verified that the drive is properly seated and the BIOS is up to date. What should the technician check next?
A technician is building a high-performance workstation for video editing. The user needs fast read/write speeds for large 4K video files and wants the OS and applications on the same drive. The motherboard has one M.2 slot (PCIe 4.0 x4) and four SATA III ports. Which storage configuration should the technician recommend?
A user reports that their laptop's 1TB hard drive is making a clicking sound and the system is running very slowly. The technician runs a diagnostic and finds multiple bad sectors. What should the technician do first?
A technician is configuring a RAID array in a server that requires both high performance and fault tolerance. The server has four identical 2TB SATA HDDs. The RAID controller supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. Which RAID level should the technician choose to meet both requirements?
A customer reports that their external USB 3.0 hard drive is only achieving transfer speeds of about 35 MB/s, far below the expected 5 Gbps. The drive is connected to a USB 3.0 port on the front of the computer case. What is the most likely cause of this performance issue?
A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that has a 256GB SATA SSD (C:) and a 1TB SATA HDD (D:). The user reports that the system is running very slowly, and the C: drive is nearly full. The technician runs a disk cleanup and removes temporary files, but the C: drive still has only 5GB free. What should the technician do to resolve the performance issue without replacing the SSD?
A customer complains that their external USB hard drive is not recognized when plugged into any port on their laptop. The drive spins up and its LED lights up. The drive works fine on another computer. What is the most likely issue?
A small business owner wants to add a second internal hard drive to a desktop computer for nightly backups. The existing drive is a 2.5-inch SATA SSD. The motherboard has one free SATA port and one free power connector from the PSU. Which type of drive should the technician install to maximize compatibility and reliability?
A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that fails to boot after the user installed a new M.2 NVMe SSD. The computer powers on, but the screen remains black and no BIOS splash screen appears. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
A technician is tasked with upgrading a desktop computer that has a 500GB SATA SSD and a 2TB SATA HDD. The motherboard has one M.2 slot (PCIe 3.0 x4) and four SATA III ports. The user wants faster boot times and application loading. Which upgrade will provide the most noticeable performance improvement?
More Storage Devices questions available in the full practice test.