220-1201 Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user wants to boot their laptop from a USB flash drive to run a diagnostic tool. They have already inserted the USB drive and restarted the system. What is the most efficient way to temporarily change the boot order to boot from the USB drive?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Press the appropriate key to open the one-time boot menu and select the USB drive.. Most modern UEFI systems allow you to press a key (like F12, F2, Esc) during startup to access a one-time boot menu. This lets you select the boot device for that session without permanently changing the boot order.

Answer

Enter the UEFI setup and change the boot order permanently.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot in the UEFI settings.

Answer

Remove all other bootable drives from the system.

Question 2

A small office uses a network printer that supports both IPP and LPD printing. The printer is configured to use the default port for IPP. Which port must be open on the firewall for printing to work?

Accepted Answer

631. IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) uses TCP port 631 by default, as defined in RFC 2911. Since the printer is configured to use the default port for IPP, the firewall must allow inbound traffic on port 631 for printing to function.

Answer

515

Answer

9100

Answer

80

Question 3

A company is migrating a critical application from a physical server to a virtual machine. The application requires a static MAC address tied to its license. The technician performs a P2V migration and starts the VM, but the application fails to activate. The technician verifies that the VM has the same MAC address as the original physical server. What is the most likely cause of the activation failure?

Accepted Answer

The VM's BIOS UUID has changed from the physical server. Even with the same MAC address, the hypervisor presents a different hardware abstraction layer (e.g., motherboard chipset, BIOS) than the physical server. Many license activation mechanisms check multiple hardware identifiers, not just the MAC address.

Answer

The virtual switch is set to NAT, blocking the license server

Answer

The VM has insufficient RAM allocated

Answer

The hypervisor does not support the application's OS

Question 4

A user reports that their PC, which has 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, suddenly shows only 8 GB in Windows. The system boots normally. The technician checks the BIOS and sees 16 GB detected. What is the most likely cause of this discrepancy?

Accepted Answer

Integrated graphics is reserving 8 GB of system RAM for video memory.. When the BIOS detects full RAM but Windows shows less, it often indicates that a portion of RAM is reserved for hardware or is being used by the integrated GPU. This is common if the system uses integrated graphics and the BIOS allocates a fixed amount of system RAM for video memory. Another possibility is a 32-bit OS limitation, but that is rare with modern systems.

Answer

One of the RAM modules is faulty and not being recognized by Windows.

Answer

The system is using a 32-bit version of Windows, which has a 4 GB limit.

Answer

Windows has a memory leak that is using 8 GB of RAM.

Question 5

During a network upgrade, a technician needs to connect a legacy printer that only has a USB port to the network. The printer is in a location without a nearby computer. Which device should the technician use to enable network printing?

Accepted Answer

External print server. A print server is designed to connect a USB printer to a network, allowing it to be shared without a dedicated computer. A USB hub would not provide network connectivity, and a wireless bridge could work but is less direct. The correct answer is an external print server.

Answer

USB hub

Answer

Wireless access point

Answer

Network switch

Question 6

A small office experiences intermittent Wi-Fi drops on laptops but not on desktops connected via Ethernet. The wireless network uses 2.4 GHz. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A microwave oven is operating near the access point.. Microwave ovens operate at approximately 2.45 GHz, which falls within the 2.4 GHz ISM band used by Wi-Fi. When a microwave is running near an access point, it generates strong electromagnetic interference that can cause intermittent signal degradation or drops, affecting wireless clients like laptops but not wired desktops.

Answer

The access point is overheating.

Answer

The laptops have outdated Bluetooth drivers.

Answer

The Ethernet switch is failing.

Question 7

A 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?

Accepted Answer

Apply new thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink.. High CPU temperatures under load with dry thermal paste indicate poor heat transfer. Replacing the thermal paste is the most direct and effective solution, as it restores proper thermal conductivity between the CPU and heatsink.

Answer

Replace the CPU fan with a higher RPM model.

Answer

Underclock the CPU in BIOS.

Answer

Add an additional case fan.

Question 8

During a routine printer maintenance, you replace the toner cartridge in a laser printer. After reassembly, the printer displays 'Replace Toner' error even though the new cartridge is installed. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Remove the protective seal and reseat the cartridge. The 'Replace Toner' error after installing a new cartridge often means the cartridge is not properly seated or the protective seal was not removed. Removing the seal allows toner to flow, and reseating ensures the printer detects the cartridge correctly.

Answer

Replace the fuser assembly

Answer

Clean the corona wire

Answer

Update the printer firmware

Question 9

A technician is deploying a new thin client in a hospital room. The thin client has a DisplayPort output, but the existing monitor only has a DVI-D input. The technician needs a single cable to connect them without adapters. Which cable type should be used?

Accepted Answer

DisplayPort to DVI-D cable. DisplayPort and DVI-D are both digital standards. A DisplayPort to DVI-D cable can directly connect the two, as DisplayPort is compatible with DVI-D signals. No active conversion is needed because both are digital.

Answer

DisplayPort to VGA cable

Answer

HDMI to DVI-D cable

Answer

DVI-D to DVI-D cable

Question 10

A technician is troubleshooting a network drop that was working yesterday but now shows 'No Link' on the switch port. The cable run is through a conduit in the wall. The technician tests the cable with a continuity tester and finds that pins 1, 2, 3, and 6 are good, but pins 4, 5, 7, and 8 show no continuity. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The cable is cut or crushed in the conduit, breaking the secondary pairs.. This question tests understanding of Ethernet pinout and fault isolation. The correct answer is that the cable is likely damaged or broken on the pairs used for 1000Base-T (all four pairs), but 100Base-TX only uses pairs 1-2 and 3-6. The symptom indicates a break in the cable affecting the secondary pairs.

Answer

The cable is only Cat5 and cannot support Gigabit.

Answer

The cable has a short circuit between pins 4 and 5.

Answer

The wall jack is wired for T568A but the patch panel is T568B.

Question 11

A user reports that their computer suddenly cannot find the boot device, and the BIOS shows the SATA mode is set to 'IDE' instead of 'AHCI'. The drive was previously working. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SATA mode was changed to IDE. If the SATA mode is changed from AHCI to IDE, the OS driver may not load, causing a boot failure. This can happen after a CMOS reset or accidental BIOS change. The question tests understanding of SATA controller modes and their impact on booting.

Answer

The hard drive has failed

Answer

The SATA cable is loose

Answer

The CMOS battery is failing

Question 12

A user reports that their PC's USB 3.0 ports are only operating at USB 2.0 speeds. The device works fine on another computer. The motherboard has both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 headers. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The USB 3.0 controller driver is not installed. USB 3.0 ports require a dedicated controller and proper driver support. If the USB 3.0 driver is missing or the controller is disabled in BIOS, the ports will fall back to USB 2.0 speeds. This is a common issue after a fresh OS install or BIOS reset.

Answer

The USB cable is too long

Answer

The front panel USB 3.0 header is loose

Answer

The motherboard's USB 3.0 controller is faulty

Question 13

A customer complains that their wireless network is slow and frequently drops connections. They live in a densely populated apartment building. The technician checks the wireless router and sees it is using channel 1. What is the most likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

There is interference from other wireless networks on the same channel. In a dense area, overlapping Wi-Fi channels cause interference. Channel 1 is commonly used, but if neighboring networks are also on channel 1 or 6, it can cause congestion. The correct answer is co-channel interference from neighboring networks. The technician should use a Wi-Fi analyzer to find a less congested channel.

Answer

The router is too far from the devices

Answer

The router's firmware is outdated

Answer

The router is using 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz

Question 14

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?

Accepted Answer

The replacement drive has a slightly smaller actual capacity than the original drives.. This question tests advanced RAID understanding. RAID 5 uses one drive's worth of capacity for parity, so three 1TB drives yield 2TB usable. The loss of 0.2TB suggests the replacement drive has slightly less capacity due to manufacturer differences or sector mapping.

Answer

The new drive has a different sector size (4K vs 512e).

Answer

The RAID controller is using some space for metadata.

Answer

The RAID 5 array is degraded and needs a second drive to be replaced.

Question 15

A customer reports that their desktop computer randomly shuts down when they run video editing software. The system has a high-end GPU and 32 GB of RAM. During troubleshooting, you notice the CPU temperature quickly rises to 95°C under load. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

CPU cooler fan failure or poor thermal paste application. Overheating is a common cause of random shutdowns, especially under heavy load. The CPU thermal protection mechanism triggers to prevent damage. This scenario tests the understanding of thermal management and its impact on system stability.

Answer

Insufficient power supply wattage

Answer

Faulty RAM module

Answer

Outdated BIOS firmware