220-1201 Practice Test 16 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their laser printer prints a 'PC LOAD LETTER' error message. The paper tray is full of A4 paper. What should the technician do to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Change the paper size setting in the printer driver to A4.. The 'PC LOAD LETTER' error indicates the printer expects letter-size paper but the tray is loaded with A4. The solution is to either change the paper size setting in the printer driver or load letter-size paper, depending on the user's needs.

Answer

Replace the toner cartridge.

Answer

Clean the paper pickup rollers.

Answer

Update the printer firmware.

Question 2

A small office has an inkjet printer that is printing blank pages even though the ink cartridges are full and properly installed. What is the most likely cause of this problem?

Accepted Answer

The printhead is clogged. When an inkjet printer prints blank pages despite full cartridges, the printhead nozzles are often clogged. Ink can dry and block the tiny nozzles, preventing ink from reaching the paper. Running the printer's cleaning cycle or manually cleaning the printhead usually resolves the issue.

Answer

The printer driver is corrupted

Answer

The paper type setting is wrong

Answer

The USB cable is faulty

Question 3

A small office is upgrading from 100Base-TX to 1000Base-T. The existing cabling is Cat5e, runs are under 50 meters, and terminations are T568B. After the upgrade, some workstations intermittently lose connectivity. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The terminations are not fully seated or have poor contact on some pairs.. This question tests understanding that Cat5e supports Gigabit Ethernet, but poor termination or cable damage can cause issues. The correct answer is that the terminations may have poor contact or are not fully inserted, as 1000Base-T uses all four pairs and is less tolerant of faults than 100Base-TX.

Answer

The cable runs are too long for 1000Base-T.

Answer

The T568B wiring standard is incompatible with 1000Base-T.

Answer

The network switch ports are set to 100 Mbps full duplex.

Question 4

A user reports that their multifunction printer is producing prints with faint, streaky text. The printer uses a toner cartridge and has been in service for two years. The technician has already run a cleaning cycle. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Check the toner cartridge level. This question tests troubleshooting of laser printer print quality issues. Faint, streaky text often indicates a low toner cartridge, especially after a cleaning cycle didn't help. The imaging drum or fuser could also be culprits, but checking toner level is the simplest next step.

Answer

Replace the fuser assembly

Answer

Update the printer firmware

Answer

Inspect the transfer roller

Question 5

During a routine hardware upgrade, you need to replace a power supply in a desktop that has a non-modular PSU. After disconnecting all cables, you notice the old PSU has a 20+4 pin main connector, but the new PSU has a 24-pin main connector. The motherboard has a 24-pin socket. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Connect the new PSU's 24-pin connector directly to the motherboard. A 24-pin connector is compatible with a 24-pin motherboard socket; the extra 4 pins are integrated. The 20+4 pin design was for backward compatibility with older 20-pin boards. No adapter is needed.

Answer

Use the 20+4 pin connector from the old PSU on the new motherboard

Answer

Remove the 4-pin section from the new PSU's 24-pin connector to make it 20-pin

Answer

Use a 24-pin to 20-pin adapter

Question 6

A user reports that their external monitor connected via USB-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode) works intermittently. When it does work, the resolution is limited to 1920x1080 even though the monitor supports 4K. The laptop supports USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The USB-C cable is not rated for video or high-speed data.. USB-C cables vary widely in capability; many only support USB 2.0 data speeds and lack the high-speed lanes needed for 4K video. For 4K over USB-C, the cable must be rated for DisplayPort Alt Mode and high bandwidth (e.g., USB 3.1 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3). A cable that only supports USB 2.0 will limit resolution and cause intermittent connectivity.

Answer

The laptop's USB-C port is damaged.

Answer

The monitor's USB-C input is set to a lower resolution in its OSD.

Answer

The graphics driver needs to be updated to support 4K over USB-C.

Question 7

After updating the firmware on a workstation, the system fails to boot and displays a 'Boot Device Not Found' error. The hard drive is detected in UEFI settings. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The boot mode changed from Legacy to UEFI (or vice versa). A firmware update can reset UEFI settings to defaults, including boot mode. If the drive was formatted for Legacy (CSM) but the system now defaults to UEFI, or vice versa, the bootloader won't be found. This tests understanding of boot mode compatibility.

Answer

The hard drive has failed due to the update

Answer

Secure Boot is blocking the bootloader

Answer

The CMOS battery needs replacement

Question 8

A technician is building a new workstation for a graphic designer. The user needs fast single-threaded performance for Adobe Photoshop. Which CPU characteristic should the technician prioritize?

Accepted Answer

Higher clock speed (GHz). For applications like Photoshop that rely heavily on single-threaded performance, higher clock speed is more important than core count. This question tests the understanding of CPU performance metrics for specific workloads.

Answer

Maximum number of cores

Answer

Larger L3 cache size

Answer

Lower TDP

Question 9

A technician is troubleshooting a network drop where the link light on the switch port is solid but the computer shows 'Unidentified Network'. The cable run is 80 meters and uses Cat5e. The technician tests the cable and finds that pins 1 and 2 are swapped with pins 3 and 6 at one end. What is the most likely result?

Accepted Answer

The cable is wired as a crossover, which may cause the 'Unidentified Network' if Auto-MDIX is disabled.. This question tests understanding of Ethernet wiring errors. The correct answer is that a swap of pairs 1-2 and 3-6 creates a crossover cable, which may still work with Auto-MDIX, but if not, it can cause a 'No Link' or 'Unidentified Network' error.

Answer

The cable will work at 100 Mbps but not at 1000 Mbps.

Answer

The cable will not work at all because it is a crossover cable.

Answer

The cable will cause intermittent connectivity.

Question 10

A technician is installing a new network switch in a server room. The switch has 48 ports and needs to connect to the existing network backbone via fiber optic cable. The technician has a 10GBASE-SR SFP+ module. Which type of fiber optic cable should be used to ensure compatibility?

Accepted Answer

Multimode fiber (OM3). 10GBASE-SR is designed for multimode fiber (MMF) over short distances, typically up to 300 meters. Using single-mode fiber (SMF) would not work because the transceiver is optimized for multimode. The correct answer is multimode fiber (OM3 or OM4).

Answer

Single-mode fiber (OS2)

Answer

Cat6a twisted pair

Answer

Coaxial cable

Question 11

You are deploying 50 tablets for a school and need to secure them in kiosk mode so students can only access a specific learning app. Which hardware servicing step is essential before configuring the software?

Accepted Answer

Charge each tablet to at least 50% and apply all system updates.. This question tests understanding of device preparation for deployment. Before any software configuration, you must ensure the device has a full charge and is updated to avoid interruptions. Kiosk mode is set via software after the device is ready.

Answer

Install a screen protector on each tablet.

Answer

Remove the SIM card from each tablet.

Answer

Replace the stock ROM with a custom firmware.

Question 12

A user reports that their inkjet printer prints colors that are significantly different from what appears on the screen. The printer uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black cartridges. What should the technician do first to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Run the printer's color calibration utility. Color mismatch between screen and print is often due to lack of color management. The printer and monitor use different color spaces (CMYK vs. RGB). Calibrating the monitor and using ICC profiles ensures consistent color reproduction. This is the first step before replacing hardware.

Answer

Replace all ink cartridges with new ones

Answer

Clean the printhead

Answer

Change the paper type to photo paper

Question 13

A technician is building a workstation for video editing and needs to install two M.2 NVMe SSDs. The motherboard has one M.2 slot that supports both SATA and NVMe, and another that supports only SATA. When the technician installs both drives, only the NVMe drive is detected. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The second M.2 slot only supports SATA SSDs, not NVMe.. M.2 slots can have different interface support. If one slot only supports SATA, an NVMe SSD will not be recognized. This tests knowledge of M.2 slot compatibility.

Answer

The NVMe drive is not properly seated.

Answer

The BIOS needs to be updated.

Answer

The SATA SSD is defective.

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that powers on but displays nothing on the monitor. The monitor is on and connected via HDMI. The technician hears one short beep from the motherboard speaker. What should the technician do next?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the graphics card. One short beep typically indicates a successful POST, meaning the CPU, RAM, and motherboard are likely functional. The issue is therefore probably with the display subsystem: the video card or its connection. The technician should reseat the GPU or try a different video output port.

Answer

Replace the RAM modules

Answer

Test the monitor on another computer

Answer

Flash the BIOS

Question 15

A technician is tasked with selecting a CPU for a small form factor (SFF) office PC that must run quietly and efficiently. Which CPU characteristic is most important for this build?

Accepted Answer

Low thermal design power (TDP). In SFF builds, heat dissipation is limited, so a CPU with low TDP generates less heat, allowing for smaller, quieter cooling solutions. This tests understanding of how TDP impacts system design and noise levels.

Answer

Highest possible clock speed

Answer

Integrated GPU

Answer

Support for overclocking