220-1201 Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is deploying a fleet of tablets that must connect to a corporate network using 802.1X authentication with certificates. After configuring the Wi-Fi profile, some tablets fail to connect. The technician verifies the SSID and security settings are correct. What is the most likely missing configuration?

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

Accepted Answer

The tablets are missing the root CA certificate in their trusted store.. 802.1X authentication using EAP-TLS requires the client to validate the server's certificate against a trusted root CA. If the root CA certificate is missing from the tablet's trusted store, the client cannot verify the RADIUS server's identity, causing the EAP-TLS handshake to fail. This is the most likely issue since the SSID and security settings are already confirmed correct.

Answer

The tablets have the wrong date and time set.

Answer

The tablets are using WPA2-Personal instead of WPA2-Enterprise.

Answer

The tablets have a static IP configured that conflicts with the DHCP scope.

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a smartwatch that will not sync with a smartphone via Bluetooth. The smartwatch pairs but data syncs only intermittently. The smartphone is an Android device with battery optimization enabled for the companion app. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone's battery optimization is preventing the companion app from running in the background.. Battery optimization on Android (Doze mode) restricts background app activity to conserve power. When the companion app is prevented from running in the background, it cannot maintain the persistent Bluetooth connection needed for continuous data sync, even though the initial pairing succeeds. This explains intermittent sync because the app is periodically killed or throttled by the OS.

Answer

The smartwatch firmware is outdated.

Answer

The Bluetooth radio is experiencing interference from other devices.

Answer

The smartwatch's battery is low.

Question 3

A user reports that their laptop can see several neighboring Wi-Fi networks but cannot see their own office's SSID, which is a 5 GHz-only network. Other users in the same office can connect without issue. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The laptop only supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.. The user's laptop can see neighboring 2.4 GHz networks but not the office's 5 GHz-only SSID, while other users connect fine. This indicates the laptop's wireless adapter lacks 5 GHz support, making option C correct because 5 GHz-only networks are invisible to 2.4 GHz-only adapters.

Answer

The router's SSID broadcast is disabled.

Answer

The laptop's wireless adapter is set to airplane mode.

Answer

The office router is using WPA3 encryption.

Question 4

A technician is replacing a power supply in an office desktop. The new PSU has a 24-pin main connector, but the motherboard has a 20-pin socket. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Separate the detachable 4-pin section from the 24-pin connector and use the remaining 20-pin part.. Most modern ATX power supplies use a 24-pin main connector whose last 4 pins are a detachable section, specifically designed so the same PSU can power older 20-pin motherboards. The technician simply separates that 4-pin block and plugs the remaining 20-pin portion into the socket, aligning the retention clip. This is the manufacturer-intended method and requires no adapter or modification.

Answer

Use a 24-pin to 20-pin adapter.

Answer

Force the 24-pin connector into the 20-pin socket.

Answer

Return the PSU and buy one with a 20-pin connector.

Question 5

During a network upgrade, a technician needs to allow remote desktop connections to Windows workstations from the internal network. Which port must be opened in the firewall?

Accepted Answer

3389. Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) uses TCP port 3389 by default. To allow remote desktop connections to Windows workstations from the internal network, the firewall must permit inbound traffic on port 3389. This is the standard port for RDP, which provides graphical remote access to Windows systems.

Answer

22

Answer

23

Answer

5900

Question 6

A technician is setting up a new file server and needs to assign it a static IP address. The network uses a subnet of 192.168.1.0/24, and the router's LAN IP is 192.168.1.1. The technician wants to ensure the server is reachable from all devices on the local network. Which of the following IP addresses should the technician assign to the server?

Accepted Answer

192.168.1.50. (192.168.1.50) is correct because it falls within the usable host range of the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet (192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254) and is not reserved for the network address or broadcast address. Assigning this static IP ensures the server is reachable from all devices on the local network, as it is on the same subnet as the router's LAN IP (192.168.1.1).

Answer

192.168.1.0

Answer

192.168.1.255

Answer

192.168.2.1

Question 7

A company wants to consolidate five physical servers into one host to reduce power and cooling costs. Each server runs a different operating system. Which virtualization technology should be used to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Use a Type 1 hypervisor like VMware ESXi on a single host. A Type 1 hypervisor like VMware ESXi runs directly on the host hardware and can host multiple virtual machines with different operating systems simultaneously, enabling consolidation of five physical servers onto one host. This reduces power and cooling costs by eliminating redundant hardware. Type 1 hypervisors are bare-metal and provide better performance and resource efficiency than Type 2 hypervisors, which run on top of an existing OS.

Answer

Install a Type 2 hypervisor on each physical server

Answer

Migrate all applications to a single OS using compatibility layers

Answer

Use containerization instead of virtualization

Question 8

A user complains that when they scan a double-sided document using the automatic document feeder (ADF) on their multifunction printer, the back sides of the pages are blank. The printer supports duplex scanning. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The scan mode is set to simplex instead of duplex. If only the front sides are captured when scanning double-sided documents through the ADF, the scanner is operating in simplex mode, which scans only one side. The printer supports duplex scanning, so the fix is to enable duplex (two-sided) scanning in the scan settings. Worn rollers, low resolution, or thick documents would cause jams, skew, or poor quality — not consistently blank back sides.

Answer

The ADF rollers are worn out

Answer

The scan resolution is set too low

Answer

The document is too thick for the ADF

Question 9

A 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?

Accepted Answer

Overheating CPU or GPU. Overheating CPU or GPU is correct because the symptom pattern — shutdown after ~30 minutes of gaming (a sustained high-load workload), a warm case, and all fans spinning — is the classic signature of thermal shutdown. Modern CPUs and GPUs have thermal protection that forces an automatic power-off when junction temperatures exceed safe limits (typically ~95-105°C for CPUs, ~90-100°C for GPUs). Gaming loads both components heavily, so heat accumulates until the protection trips.

Answer

Failing hard drive

Answer

Insufficient RAM

Answer

Loose power cable

Question 10

A company plans to migrate a physical server running a legacy application to a virtual machine to reduce hardware costs. The application requires direct access to a proprietary PCIe card installed in the physical server. Which virtualization feature must the hypervisor support to allow the VM to use this card?

Accepted Answer

PCI passthrough (VT-d/IOMMU). PCI passthrough (also called VT-d or IOMMU-based device assignment) allows a hypervisor to give a VM direct, exclusive access to a physical PCIe device such as a proprietary card. The hypervisor uses the IOMMU to remap DMA so the VM can drive the device natively without emulation. This is the only listed feature that enables direct hardware access to a PCIe card from within a VM.

Answer

Virtual machine snapshots

Answer

Virtual switch VLAN tagging

Answer

Virtual machine migration (vMotion)

Question 11

A small office has several desktop PCs that are experiencing intermittent blue screen errors, especially when running multiple applications. The IT support team suspects faulty RAM. Which tool should they use to test the memory modules?

Accepted Answer

Windows Memory Diagnostic.. Windows Memory Diagnostic is the built-in Windows tool designed specifically to test RAM modules for faults by writing and reading patterns to memory and reporting errors. It runs outside the normal OS environment (via a reboot into the diagnostic), which allows it to test memory without interference from loaded drivers or applications. Intermittent BSODs under multitasking load are a classic symptom of failing RAM, making this the correct diagnostic tool.

Answer

Task Manager.

Answer

CHKDSK.

Answer

System Configuration (msconfig).

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a DSL connection that keeps disconnecting. The modem shows the DSL light blinking. After checking the phone line, they find a filter is missing on a nearby phone handset. How does this cause the issue?

Accepted Answer

The missing filter allows voice frequencies to interfere with DSL frequencies. DSL operates at frequencies above the voice band (typically 25 kHz to 1.1 MHz for ADSL), while analog phone handsets use the 0–4 kHz range. A missing filter (microfilter) allows the phone handset's impedance changes and noise from voice-band signals to reflect onto the DSL line, causing crosstalk and signal-to-noise ratio degradation. This interference triggers frequent retrains and disconnections, visible as a blinking DSL light.

Answer

The phone handset draws too much power from the line

Answer

The filter is needed to amplify the DSL signal

Answer

The phone handset creates a short circuit without the filter

Question 13

You are building a workstation for video editing and need to install a dedicated GPU in the primary PCIe x16 slot. After installation, the system boots but the GPU is not detected in Device Manager. The GPU works fine in another PC. What should you check on the motherboard?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard's BIOS setting for the PCIe slot. If a known-good GPU is not detected in Device Manager when installed in the primary PCIe x16 slot, the most likely motherboard-side cause is a BIOS/UEFI configuration issue — such as the slot being disabled, the primary display adapter set to iGPU, or PCIe bifurcation/lane assignment misconfigured. The GPU itself is proven working in another PC, so the fault lies in how the motherboard is presenting or enabling that slot. Checking the BIOS setting for the PCIe slot is the correct next step.

Answer

The PCIe slot's power delivery from the PSU

Answer

The CMOS battery voltage

Answer

The CPU fan header

Question 14

A user reports that their external hard drive, formatted as NTFS, is not showing up in Windows Explorer but is visible in Disk Management as 'Not Initialized'. The drive was working yesterday. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The drive's partition table is corrupted.. When a drive appears in Disk Management as 'Not Initialized,' Windows can see the physical disk but cannot read a valid partition table (MBR or GPT) on it. Since the drive worked yesterday and is now visible at the hardware level, the most likely cause is corruption of the partition table rather than a hardware failure. Initializing the disk would write a new partition table, but data recovery should be attempted first because initialization can destroy recoverable partition metadata.

Answer

The USB cable is defective.

Answer

The drive needs a new driver.

Answer

The drive has a physical head crash.

Question 15

A user reports that their laptop screen flickers intermittently, especially when the lid is moved. The flickering stops when an external monitor is connected. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The display cable is loose or damaged.. Intermittent flickering that correlates with moving the lid and disappears when an external monitor is used points to the internal display cable (LVDS/eDP) being loose or damaged at the hinge. The external monitor bypasses the laptop's internal panel and cable entirely, which is why the symptom vanishes. This is the classic hinge-area cable fault pattern.

Answer

The graphics driver is outdated.

Answer

The inverter board is failing.

Answer

The LCD panel is failing.