220-1202 Scripting Basics Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is creating a PowerShell script that must be deployed via Group Policy to all workstations. The script should run in the user context and display a message if the user's password is about to expire within 7 days. The script must not show any PowerShell console window. Which scripting technique should be used?

Accepted Answer

Use a VBScript with a pop-up message box. Option B is correct because VBScript's `MsgBox` function creates a pop-up message box that runs in the user context without a console window, making it ideal for displaying password-expiry warnings via Group Policy. PowerShell scripts, even with `-WindowStyle Hidden`, briefly flash a console window unless compiled into an executable, which violates the requirement to show no console window. VBScript natively integrates with Windows Script Host (WSH) to produce a GUI pop-up without any console overhead.

Answer

Use the 'Write-Host' cmdlet to display the message

Answer

Use the '-NoProfile' parameter when starting PowerShell

Answer

Use a scheduled task with 'Run whether user is logged on or not'

Question 2

A help desk agent receives a call from a user who receives a 'file not found' error when running a PowerShell script that was working yesterday. The user says they didn't change anything. The script is stored on a network share. Which scripting concept is most likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

Execution policy. The most likely cause is the PowerShell execution policy, which controls whether scripts can run on a system. Even though the script worked yesterday, a Group Policy update, a system reboot, or a security change could have reset or tightened the execution policy to 'Restricted' or 'AllSigned' without the user's knowledge. Since the script is on a network share, the execution policy may also block scripts from remote locations (e.g., 'RemoteSigned' requires a trusted publisher for downloaded scripts), causing the 'file not found' error when PowerShell cannot execute the script due to policy restrictions.

Answer

File permissions

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Script syntax error

Answer

Network connectivity

Question 3

A technician is writing a Python script to automate the cleanup of user profiles on a Windows server. The script must iterate through all user profile folders in 'C:\Users', check the last modified date, and delete profiles older than 90 days. Which scripting concept is essential for this task?

Accepted Answer

A for loop to iterate over folders. This question tests understanding of loops, conditionals, and file system operations in a scripting language. A 'for' loop is needed to iterate through each folder, combined with an 'if' statement to check the date condition. Without a loop, the script would only process one folder. Error handling is important but not the core concept for iteration.

Answer

Error handling with try-except

Answer

A while loop with a counter

Answer

A function to calculate date difference

Question 4

A technician is writing a batch script to automate the installation of a software package on multiple Windows workstations. The script needs to check if the software is already installed before attempting installation. Which scripting construct should the technician use?

Accepted Answer

An if statement. This tests knowledge of conditional logic in scripting. An 'if' statement allows the script to check a condition (e.g., existence of a registry key or file) and execute code only if the condition is true or false. Loops are for repetition, and variables store data, not control flow.

Answer

A for loop

Answer

A variable

Answer

A while loop

Question 5

A system administrator is deploying a PowerShell script to 100 computers to change the local administrator password. The script must run once per computer and then exit. Which scripting technique ensures the script runs exactly once on each machine?

Accepted Answer

Write a registry key after successful execution. This question covers idempotency and run-once mechanisms. Using a registry key or a marker file to record that the script has executed prevents it from running again on reboot or reapplication. Loops and parameters don't enforce a single execution.

Answer

Use a for loop to run the script 100 times

Answer

Use a parameter to pass the computer name

Answer

Schedule the script to run daily

Question 6

A technician is writing a Python script to automate the installation of software on multiple Windows machines. The script needs to check if the software is already installed by looking for a specific registry key. If the key exists, the script should skip the installation. Which Python library and method should the technician use to read the registry?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'winreg' module with 'OpenKey' and 'QueryValueEx'. The `winreg` module is the standard Python library for accessing the Windows registry. `OpenKey` opens a specified registry key, and `QueryValueEx` retrieves the value data and type for a given value name. This allows the script to check for the software's registry key and conditionally skip installation if it exists.

Answer

Use the 'os' module with 'os.regread'

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Use the 'subprocess' module to run 'reg query'

Answer

Use the 'sys' module to access registry via system calls

Question 7

A user reports that a scheduled task runs a VBScript every morning, but the script fails with an 'ActiveX component can't create object' error. The script uses a COM object to interact with an application. What is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The COM object's DLL is not registered or the application is not installed. The 'ActiveX component can't create object' error occurs when the VBScript's CreateObject call fails because the COM class it references is not available. This typically means the DLL that implements the COM object is not registered (e.g., via regsvr32) or the application that provides the object is not installed on the system. Without the registered COM component, the script cannot instantiate the object, leading to this specific runtime error.

Answer

The script is running with insufficient permissions to create files

Answer

The script contains a syntax error in the CreateObject line

Answer

The scheduled task is set to run when the user is not logged in

Question 8

A technician needs to write a batch script that will copy a configuration file from a network share to the local system32 directory only if the file on the share is newer than the local copy. Which command should the technician use to perform this conditional copy?

Accepted Answer

xcopy \server\share\config.txt C:\Windows\System32\ /d /y. The 'xcopy' command with the /d switch copies files only if the source is newer than the destination. This is a common requirement for updating configuration files without overwriting newer local versions. The /y switch suppresses confirmation prompts.

Answer

copy /y \server\share\config.txt C:\Windows\System32\

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robocopy \server\share C:\Windows\System32 config.txt /mir

Answer

move /y \server\share\config.txt C:\Windows\System32\

Question 9

A company uses a login script that sets environment variables and maps drives based on the user's department. The script works for most users, but some report that the drive mappings are missing. The script is written in batch and uses 'if' statements to check department codes. What is the most likely cause of the intermittent failures?

Accepted Answer

The department codes in the script do not match the actual codes due to case sensitivity. Batch file 'if' statements are case-sensitive by default when comparing strings. If the script checks for department codes like 'SALES' but the actual environment variable or user input contains 'sales' or 'Sales', the comparison fails and the drive mapping block is skipped. This explains why the issue is intermittent — it depends on how the department code is stored or passed.

Answer

The script runs too early before the network is fully initialized

Answer

The script is using 'setx' instead of 'set' for environment variables

Answer

The user accounts lack permission to run login scripts

Question 10

A user reports that their Windows 10 computer runs a script every time they log in that maps a network drive, but the drive mapping fails intermittently. The script uses the 'net use' command. Which scripting element should be added to handle the failure gracefully and retry the mapping?

Accepted Answer

An exit code check and a loop to retry the mapping. This question tests basic error handling in scripting. Adding error-checking logic, such as checking the exit code of 'net use' and retrying if it fails, makes the script more robust. A simple 'if errorlevel' or 'if %errorlevel% neq 0' construct allows the script to retry the command instead of failing silently.

Answer

A comment line explaining the net use syntax

Answer

A variable to store the drive letter

Answer

A 'pause' command after the net use line

Question 11

A security incident occurred where an attacker modified a PowerShell script on a file server to include malicious commands. The script is executed daily by a scheduled task. Which scripting security best practice could have prevented this attack?

Accepted Answer

Use a digital signature to sign the script and enforce execution policy. Option C is correct because enforcing an execution policy that requires scripts to be digitally signed ensures that only scripts signed by a trusted publisher can run. If the attacker modified the script, the digital signature would become invalid, and the execution policy would block the script from running, preventing the malicious commands from executing.

Answer

Store the script in a hidden folder

Answer

Set the script file to read-only

Answer

Compile the script into an executable

Question 12

A company's login script uses a batch file that calls multiple other scripts. Recently, the script stopped working after a Windows update. The technician discovers that the script uses 'call' to run sub-scripts, but one of the sub-scripts contains an 'exit' command that terminates the entire batch process. How should the technician modify the sub-script to prevent this?

Accepted Answer

Change 'exit' to 'exit /b'. The 'exit' command without parameters terminates the entire command interpreter (cmd.exe), which kills the parent batch file as well. Using 'exit /b' instead exits only the current batch script or subroutine, returning control to the calling script. This preserves the intended flow when sub-scripts are invoked via 'call'.

Answer

Replace 'exit' with 'goto :eof'

Answer

Remove the 'exit' command entirely

Answer

Use 'endlocal' before 'exit'

Question 13

A technician is tasked with creating a PowerShell script that will parse a CSV file containing user information and create local user accounts on a Windows 10 machine. The CSV has columns: 'Username', 'FullName', 'Password'. The script must skip any row where the 'Username' is empty. Which control structure should the technician use to handle this requirement?

Accepted Answer

An 'if' statement to test whether the Username property is not empty. Option C is correct because the requirement is to conditionally skip rows based on a property value. An 'if' statement in PowerShell allows you to test whether the 'Username' property is empty or null using a condition like `if ($_.Username -ne '')` and then skip the row with `continue` or simply not process it. This is the most direct and efficient control structure for a simple boolean check on each row.

Answer

A 'for' loop with a counter to skip empty rows

Answer

A 'switch' statement to match usernames

Answer

A 'try/catch' block to handle errors when creating the account

Question 14

A technician is writing a PowerShell script to check the status of a Windows service on multiple remote computers. The script must output the service name and status for each computer where the service is running. Which cmdlet combination should the technician use to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Get-Service -ComputerName $computers | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq 'Running'}. Option A is correct because Get-Service with the -ComputerName parameter can query multiple remote computers directly, and piping its output to Where-Object with the condition {$_.Status -eq 'Running'} filters only services whose Status property equals 'Running'. This meets the requirement to output the service name and status for each computer where the service is running, as Get-Service returns objects containing both Name and Status properties by default.

Answer

Invoke-Command -ComputerName $computers -ScriptBlock {Get-Service} | Select-Object Status

Answer

Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -ComputerName $computers | Where-Object {$_.State -eq 'Running'}

Answer

Get-Service -Name * -ComputerName $computers | Format-Table -AutoSize

Question 15

A technician needs to deploy a PowerShell script to 50 Windows 10 workstations that will install a security update silently. The script must run with administrative privileges. Which method should the technician use to ensure the script executes properly without user interaction?

Accepted Answer

Run the script via 'powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File script.ps1' from an elevated command prompt. Option B is correct because running 'powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File script.ps1' from an elevated command prompt bypasses PowerShell's execution policy for that session and ensures the script runs with administrative privileges. This combination allows silent, unattended execution of the security update installation across multiple workstations without user interaction.

Answer

Double-click the script file on each workstation

Answer

Use the 'Start-Process' cmdlet without elevation

Answer

Copy the script to the Startup folder