220-1201 Practice Test 18 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A customer complains that their PC randomly shuts down after about 30 minutes of use, especially when playing games. The case feels warm to the touch. What should you check first?

Accepted Answer

Check CPU and GPU temperatures. Random shutdowns under load are classic symptoms of overheating. The warm case reinforces this, so checking CPU and GPU temperatures should be the first step to confirm thermal throttling or thermal protection.

Answer

Replace the power supply

Answer

Update the graphics driver

Answer

Run a memory diagnostic

Question 2

A user reports that their desktop PC emits a series of short beeps and fails to boot. The monitor shows no display, and the keyboard and mouse LEDs are off. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Loose or faulty RAM module. A series of short beeps during POST typically indicates a memory (RAM) failure. The lack of display and peripheral response points to a hardware fault that prevents the system from completing POST, and RAM is the most common culprit.

Answer

Faulty power supply unit

Answer

Defective hard drive

Answer

Overheated CPU

Question 3

A user's PC is running very slowly, and the hard drive activity LED is constantly lit even when idle. Task Manager shows 100% disk usage. Which component is most likely failing?

Accepted Answer

Failing hard drive. Constant 100% disk usage with no corresponding high CPU or memory usage is a classic sign of a failing hard drive, often due to bad sectors or mechanical wear. While a slow drive can be caused by malware or fragmentation, hardware failure is the primary suspect in this scenario.

Answer

Insufficient RAM

Answer

CPU overheating

Answer

Malware infection

Question 4

A user reports that their PC powers on for a second then immediately shuts off. This repeats in a loop. What is the most likely hardware issue?

Accepted Answer

Incorrectly installed motherboard standoffs causing a short. The power-on-then-off loop is a classic symptom of a short circuit or power issue, often caused by a loose standoff, improperly seated component, or a failing power supply. The most common cause is a short to ground from a motherboard standoff in the wrong location.

Answer

Defective CPU

Answer

Overheated GPU

Answer

Corrupted BIOS

Question 5

After replacing a motherboard, a technician finds that the PC will not power on at all. The power supply fan does not spin, and no LEDs light up. The PSU was working before the replacement. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The front panel power switch header is not connected correctly. No power at all after a motherboard swap strongly suggests an electrical connection issue. The most common cause is that the front panel power switch header is not connected correctly to the motherboard, or the PSU is not properly connected to the motherboard.

Answer

The power supply is dead

Answer

The CPU is not compatible with the new motherboard

Answer

The RAM is not seated properly

Question 6

A technician upgrades a PC from a traditional HDD to an NVMe SSD. After installation, the BIOS detects the SSD, but Windows does not appear in the boot menu. What should the technician do to resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Set the BIOS to UEFI boot mode and ensure the SSD is GPT partitioned. When migrating from an HDD to an NVMe SSD, the BIOS may detect the drive but the boot configuration may be missing or incorrect. The solution is to ensure the boot mode is set to UEFI (not Legacy) and that the drive is formatted with GPT, as NVMe drives require UEFI to boot.

Answer

Change the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE

Answer

Enable Legacy boot mode in BIOS

Answer

Update the chipset drivers

Question 7

A user reports that their PC randomly freezes for a few seconds and then resumes. This happens most often when opening large files or running multiple applications. Event Viewer shows no critical errors. Which component is most likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

Failing hard drive or SSD. Intermittent freezing under load without errors often points to a failing storage drive. Hard drives with bad sectors or a failing controller can cause the system to pause while retrying reads or writes. SSDs can also cause stuttering if their controller is failing or if TRIM is not functioning.

Answer

Insufficient RAM

Answer

Overheating CPU

Answer

Outdated network driver

Question 8

A user reports that their PC boots to a black screen with a blinking cursor after installing a new SSD. The BIOS detects the SSD, but the system does not load the operating system. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The boot order in BIOS is set to the old drive first.. A blinking cursor after POST often indicates the system cannot find a bootable operating system. This commonly happens when the boot order is incorrect or the new SSD is not set as the first boot device.

Answer

The SSD is not compatible with the motherboard.

Answer

The SATA cable is faulty.

Answer

The SSD needs to be partitioned.

Question 9

A user reports that their PC emits a single short beep and then nothing happens. The screen remains blank, and the keyboard and mouse do not light up. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The graphics card is not fully inserted into the PCIe slot.. A single short beep typically indicates a successful POST on many BIOS versions. If the system beeps but then fails to display anything, the issue is likely with the video subsystem, such as a faulty graphics card or loose connection.

Answer

The RAM is not seated properly.

Answer

The power supply is delivering insufficient power.

Answer

The motherboard CMOS battery is dead.

Question 10

A technician is troubleshooting a PC that will not boot after a power surge. The motherboard has a built-in diagnostic LED that shows a red light near the DRAM slot. The user had recently upgraded the RAM. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The new RAM module is not compatible with the motherboard.. A red LED near the DRAM slot indicates a memory-related issue. After a power surge, the RAM could be damaged, or the new RAM might have been improperly seated. However, since the user recently upgraded, the most likely cause is that the new RAM is not compatible or is faulty.

Answer

The power surge damaged the motherboard's memory controller.

Answer

The power surge corrupted the BIOS firmware.

Answer

The RAM is not seated in the correct slots for dual-channel mode.

Question 11

A customer brings in a PC that was working fine until they moved it to a new desk. Now it powers on but immediately shuts off after 2 seconds. The technician notes that the CPU fan does not spin at all. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The CPU fan header is disconnected from the motherboard.. Immediate shutdown after power-on is often a protection mechanism triggered by a missing CPU fan signal. The CPU fan not spinning at all suggests the fan connector is loose or unplugged, which is common after moving a PC.

Answer

The power supply is failing under load.

Answer

The CPU is not seated properly.

Answer

The case power button is stuck in the pressed position.

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a PC that boots to a blue screen with the error 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE' after a user attempted to clone their HDD to an SSD. The BIOS detects both drives. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SATA controller mode in BIOS is set to IDE, but the SSD requires AHCI.. The 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE' error typically indicates that the boot loader cannot access the storage device. After cloning, this often occurs because the boot mode (UEFI vs. Legacy) or SATA controller mode (AHCI vs. IDE) is mismatched between the old and new drives.

Answer

The SSD is not properly connected to the SATA port.

Answer

The boot order is set to the HDD instead of the SSD.

Answer

The SSD is not partitioned correctly.

Question 13

A customer reports that their computer with a RAID 5 array is running very slowly during file transfers. The system uses three 1 TB SATA hard drives. The technician runs a diagnostic and finds that one drive has a high number of reallocated sectors. What is the most likely cause of the performance issue?

Accepted Answer

One of the drives is failing and the array is operating in degraded mode.. In a RAID 5 array, if one drive is failing (e.g., high reallocated sectors), the array may still be operational but performance degrades significantly because the controller must reconstruct data on the fly from parity information. This scenario tests understanding of RAID 5 behavior during drive degradation.

Answer

The RAID controller is overheating.

Answer

The array is configured with the wrong stripe size.

Answer

The operating system is defragmenting the array.

Question 14

A technician is setting up a new file server with four 4 TB SATA SSDs. The customer requires maximum read performance and fault tolerance for up to two drive failures. Which RAID level should the technician choose?

Accepted Answer

RAID 6. RAID 6 stripes data and uses dual parity, allowing up to two drive failures while maintaining good read performance. This question tests knowledge of RAID levels and their fault tolerance capabilities.

Answer

RAID 0

Answer

RAID 1

Answer

RAID 5

Question 15

A user complains that their external USB hard drive is not recognized when plugged into a Windows 10 workstation. The technician checks Device Manager and sees an unknown device with a yellow exclamation mark. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Update the driver for the unknown device.. A yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager typically indicates a driver issue. The first logical step is to update or reinstall the driver for the unknown device. This tests basic USB troubleshooting.

Answer

Replace the USB cable.

Answer

Format the external drive.

Answer

Disable the USB root hub in Device Manager.