220-1201 Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user complains that their inkjet printer produces smudged output that rubs off when touched. The printer uses standard plain paper and the ink cartridges are original. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The paper type setting is incorrect for the media. Smudged output that rubs off on plain paper typically indicates the printer is applying too much ink for the media type. When the paper type setting is set to a glossy or photo paper mode, the printer lays down more ink than plain paper can absorb, causing smudging and poor adhesion. Correcting the paper type setting to 'Plain Paper' resolves the issue.

Answer

The printhead is misaligned

Answer

The ink cartridges are counterfeit

Answer

The fuser is malfunctioning

Question 2

A technician is upgrading a server that requires ECC (Error-Correcting Code) RAM. The technician has a box of non-ECC DDR4 modules from a desktop. Can these be used in the server?

Accepted Answer

No, because non-ECC RAM is not compatible with ECC-required systems.. Non-ECC RAM cannot be used in a server that requires ECC memory because ECC and non-ECC modules are not electrically compatible, and the server's memory controller expects ECC functionality. Using non-ECC RAM may cause the system to fail POST or operate unreliably.

Answer

Yes, as long as the speed and capacity match.

Answer

Yes, but only if the server's BIOS is set to ignore ECC errors.

Answer

No, because DDR4 desktop modules are physically larger than server modules.

Question 3

A technician is building a workstation for video editing and needs to configure a RAID array for maximum performance without redundancy. The motherboard supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. Which RAID level should the technician choose?

Accepted Answer

RAID 0. RAID 0 (striping) writes data across multiple disks with no mirroring or parity, delivering the highest read and write performance of the listed levels but providing zero redundancy. Since the requirement is maximum performance without redundancy, RAID 0 is the correct choice. A single disk failure in RAID 0 destroys the entire array, but that trade-off is explicitly acceptable here.

Answer

RAID 1

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RAID 5

Answer

RAID 10

Question 4

A small office server uses RAID 5 with three 1 TB hard drives. One drive fails and is replaced with a new 1 TB drive. During the rebuild process, the server becomes very slow and the RAID controller reports an error. What is the most likely cause of the slowdown?

Accepted Answer

The rebuild process is consuming all available disk I/O.. RAID 5 rebuild requires reading data and parity from all surviving drives to reconstruct the failed drive's contents, then writing that data to the replacement. This reconstruction saturates the disk controller and drive bandwidth, starving normal I/O and causing severe performance degradation. The controller error is likely a timeout or rebuild-related warning, not a hardware fault.

Answer

The new drive is not the same model as the others.

Answer

The RAID controller is overheating.

Answer

The new drive is not properly seated in the bay.

Question 5

A technician is troubleshooting a PC that randomly freezes during boot. The technician notices that the motherboard has a 24-pin ATX power connector and an 8-pin EPS12V connector. The power supply only has a 4+4 pin CPU power cable. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Combine the two 4-pin halves to form an 8-pin connector and attach it. The 4+4 pin CPU power cable is deliberately split so its two halves can be joined into a single 8-pin EPS12V connector for motherboards that require the full 8-pin CPU power. Combining the halves and attaching them to the 8-pin header delivers the required +12V rails and ground pins in the correct keyed orientation, resolving the boot instability caused by insufficient CPU power.

Answer

Connect only the 4-pin portion of the cable to the 8-pin header

Answer

Use a 6-pin PCIe power cable in the 8-pin CPU header

Answer

Leave the 8-pin header unconnected and rely on the 24-pin connector

Question 6

A customer complains that their computer takes a very long time to boot and sometimes shows a 'CMOS Checksum Error' before starting. What is the most likely hardware issue?

Accepted Answer

The CMOS battery is depleted. The CMOS battery (a CR2032 coin cell on the motherboard) powers the RTC and the CMOS SRAM that stores BIOS/UEFI settings, including system time and hardware configuration. When it depletes, settings are lost on power-off, producing the 'CMOS Checksum Error' at POST and forcing the system to re-detect hardware and prompt for setup, which dramatically lengthens boot time. Replacing the battery and reconfiguring BIOS resolves both symptoms.

Answer

The hard drive is failing

Answer

The RAM module is faulty

Answer

The UEFI firmware is corrupted

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a PC that randomly restarts under load. The CPU temperature is normal, but the system sometimes fails to POST with a 'CPU Overvoltage Error'. The motherboard is a few years old. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard VRM is failing. A 'CPU Overvoltage Error' at POST on an older motherboard points to a failing voltage regulator module (VRM) that is no longer delivering stable voltage to the CPU. Random restarts under load are consistent with VRM degradation, especially when the CPU temperature is normal. The VRM is the component responsible for converting the PSU's 12V rail to the low voltage the CPU needs.

Answer

The CPU is overheating due to a failing cooler

Answer

The power supply is delivering too much voltage

Answer

The BIOS needs to be updated to support the CPU

Question 8

During a routine hardware upgrade, a technician installs a new graphics card. The system powers on but no display appears. The old card works fine. What UEFI setting should be checked first?

Accepted Answer

Change the primary video adapter from onboard to PCIe. When a new PCIe graphics card is installed but no display appears, the most likely cause is that the UEFI/BIOS is still configured to use the onboard/integrated video adapter as the primary display output. Changing the primary video adapter setting from onboard to PCIe (or PEG) directs the system to initialize and output video from the discrete card. This is a common first check before more invasive troubleshooting.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot

Answer

Enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module)

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version

Question 9

A technician is building a new workstation for video editing and needs to ensure the power supply can handle dual GPUs and multiple hard drives. Which specification is most critical to check when selecting a PSU?

Accepted Answer

The combined amperage on the +12V rail(s).. The combined amperage on the +12V rail(s) is the most critical specification because modern GPUs and hard drives draw most of their power from the +12V rail. Dual GPUs can require significant current on +12V, and if the PSU cannot supply enough amperage, the system may be unstable or fail to power on. Total wattage alone does not guarantee sufficient +12V capacity.

Answer

The total wattage rating of the power supply.

Answer

The number of SATA power connectors.

Answer

The physical form factor (ATX, SFX, etc.).

Question 10

A customer wants to add a dedicated graphics card to their PC for gaming. The motherboard has one PCIe x16 slot, but it is currently occupied by a Wi-Fi card. The customer asks if they can use the PCIe x1 slot for the graphics card. What should the technician advise?

Accepted Answer

No, the graphics card requires a PCIe x16 slot. A dedicated graphics card requires a PCIe x16 slot for full performance and physical compatibility; PCIe x1 slots are physically shorter and cannot accommodate a standard graphics card. Even if a riser or adapter were used, the x1 slot provides only one lane of bandwidth, severely bottlenecking the GPU. Therefore, the technician should advise that the graphics card requires a PCIe x16 slot.

Answer

Yes, but the graphics card will run at reduced performance

Answer

Yes, but only if the motherboard supports SLI

Answer

No, because the Wi-Fi card must stay in the x16 slot

Question 11

During a hardware installation, a technician needs to connect the front panel USB 3.0 ports of a new case to the motherboard. The motherboard has a 20-pin USB 3.0 header. Which cable from the case should be connected to this header?

Accepted Answer

A 20-pin (19-pin) USB 3.0 cable. The motherboard's 20-pin USB 3.0 header (often described as 19-pin because one pin is keyed/blocked) is designed to connect to the case's front-panel USB 3.0 cable, which terminates in a matching 20-pin (19-pin) connector. This is the standard internal USB 3.0 front-panel header defined by the Intel specification.

Answer

A 9-pin USB 2.0 cable

Answer

A 4-pin power LED cable

Answer

A 10-pin audio cable

Question 12

A technician is configuring a new workstation and needs to ensure the system can address more than 4 GB of RAM. The motherboard supports 16 GB of DDR4 memory. Which UEFI setting must be verified to ensure the OS can use all installed memory?

Accepted Answer

Enable the 'Memory Remap' feature in the UEFI.. To address more than 4 GB of RAM on a 64-bit system, the UEFI must have Memory Remap (also called Memory Hole Remapping or Above 4G Decoding) enabled. This feature remaps PCI memory holes above the 4 GB boundary so the operating system can access the full physical memory. Without it, a portion of RAM is shadowed by device memory and becomes unusable.

Answer

Set the boot mode to Legacy BIOS instead of UEFI.

Answer

Disable the integrated graphics in the UEFI.

Answer

Change the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID.

Question 13

A user reports that their new laptop can connect to the office Wi-Fi but cannot access any internet sites. Other devices on the same network work fine. Which tool should be used first to verify the laptop's IP configuration?

Accepted Answer

ipconfig. The user's laptop can connect to Wi-Fi but cannot access internet sites, while other devices work fine. This points to a local configuration issue, not a network-wide problem. The `ipconfig` command (or `ifconfig` on Linux/macOS) is the first tool to verify the laptop's IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server settings, as a misconfigured IP (e.g., APIPA address 169.254.x.x) or missing gateway would prevent internet access despite a successful Wi-Fi association.

Answer

Ping

Answer

Tracert

Answer

Netstat

Question 14

A technician is configuring a mobile hotspot on a smartphone to provide internet access to a laptop. The laptop connects to the hotspot's Wi-Fi network but cannot access the internet. The smartphone has a cellular data connection. Which of the following should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone's mobile data is enabled. The smartphone's mobile data must be enabled for the hotspot to relay internet traffic from the cellular network to tethered clients. Even though the laptop successfully associates with the hotspot's Wi-Fi SSID, the hotspot acts only as a local router/NAT gateway; without an active cellular data connection on the phone, there is no upstream path to the internet. Checking mobile data first isolates the most likely single point of failure before investigating client-side configuration.

Answer

The laptop's IP address configuration

Answer

The laptop's firewall settings

Answer

The smartphone's Wi-Fi is turned on

Question 15

A user reports that their laptop's Wi-Fi connection drops every 10 minutes, but reconnects immediately. The technician notices that the laptop is connected to a 5 GHz SSID. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The user is at the edge of the 5 GHz coverage area.. The most likely cause of intermittent Wi-Fi drops that reconnect immediately on a 5 GHz SSID is that the user is at the edge of the 5 GHz coverage area. 5 GHz signals have shorter range and poorer wall penetration than 2.4 GHz, so the laptop may lose connection and then quickly reconnect when the signal briefly improves or when it roams. This matches the symptom of drops every 10 minutes.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi driver is outdated.

Answer

The access point is configured with a short DHCP lease time.

Answer

There is interference from a microwave oven.