220-1201 Practice Exam 2 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their Android smartphone's touchscreen is unresponsive after they dropped it in a puddle. The device powers on, but the display shows distorted colors and the touch input does not register at all. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

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

Accepted Answer

The digitizer and LCD have been damaged by liquid ingress. Water damage can cause short circuits and corrosion on the display digitizer and LCD panel, leading to both touch unresponsiveness and visual distortion. Powering on a wet device often worsens the damage. The correct answer focuses on the digitizer and LCD failure due to liquid ingress.

Answer

The device's battery is swollen and pressing against the display

Answer

The device's operating system has corrupted due to water exposure

Answer

The screen protector is trapping moisture and blocking touch input

Question 2

A user reports that their VoIP phone works but the connected PC cannot access the network. The phone is connected to the wall jack, and the PC is connected to the phone's passthrough port. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The switch port is not configured for the data VLAN, so the PC cannot get an IP address.. The VoIP phone and PC share a single physical switch port via the phone's passthrough port. For the PC to access the network, the switch port must be configured as a trunk (or access port with voice VLAN) carrying both the voice VLAN (for the phone) and the data VLAN (for the PC). If the switch port is not configured for the data VLAN, the PC will not receive an IP address from the DHCP server and cannot communicate on the network, even though the phone works because it uses its own voice VLAN.

Answer

The PC's network cable is faulty.

Answer

The VoIP phone's passthrough port is disabled.

Answer

The PC's network adapter is set to a static IP address that conflicts with the phone.

Question 3

A technician is configuring a new server and needs to install ECC (Error-Correcting Code) RAM. The motherboard supports both ECC and non-ECC DDR4 memory. The technician installs ECC RAM, but the system boots and reports that ECC functionality is disabled. What is the most likely reason for this?

Accepted Answer

The CPU does not support ECC memory.. ECC RAM requires a compatible CPU and motherboard chipset to function. If the CPU does not support ECC, the system may still boot with the RAM installed but will run it in non-ECC mode, disabling the error correction feature.

Answer

The ECC RAM is not seated properly.

Answer

The BIOS needs to be updated to enable ECC support.

Answer

ECC RAM requires a registered (buffered) type to function.

Question 4

A technician is building a new PC for a graphic designer who needs to run Windows 11. The technician installs a 2 TB NVMe SSD and 32 GB of RAM. During Windows installation, the installer reports that the drive cannot be used because it uses the MBR partition table. What UEFI setting or action should the technician change?

Accepted Answer

Convert the drive to GPT using the diskpart utility during installation.. Windows 11 requires UEFI with GPT partition table and Secure Boot. The error indicates the drive is using MBR, which is incompatible with UEFI. The technician should either convert the drive to GPT using diskpart or reinitialize it as GPT during installation.

Answer

Enable Legacy BIOS mode in the UEFI to support MBR.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot in the UEFI settings.

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version.

Question 5

After installing a second hard drive in a desktop PC, the system boots but the new drive does not appear in File Explorer. The drive is listed in Disk Management as 'Unknown' and 'Not Initialized'. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Initialize the disk in Disk Management.. This scenario tests initial steps for adding a new storage device. The drive must be initialized and partitioned before it can be used. The correct first step is to initialize the disk using a partition style like GPT or MBR.

Answer

Replace the SATA cable.

Answer

Format the drive immediately.

Answer

Update the motherboard chipset drivers.

Question 6

A technician is deploying a new VoIP phone and needs to ensure the Ethernet cable connecting the phone to the wall jack provides sufficient power for the phone to operate. The network switch supports Power over Ethernet (PoE). Which tool can verify that PoE is active on the cable?

Accepted Answer

PoE tester. A PoE tester is specifically designed to detect the presence and voltage of Power over Ethernet on a cable, confirming that the switch is delivering power. Unlike a standard cable tester, it checks for the DC voltage (typically 48V) that powers the VoIP phone, ensuring the phone will operate without needing a separate power adapter.

Answer

Multimeter

Answer

Cable tester

Answer

Loopback plug

Question 7

A customer reports that their desktop computer, used for video editing, frequently runs out of memory and slows down. They want to upgrade the RAM but are not sure which type is compatible. The motherboard manual lists support for DDR4-3200 and DDR4-2666. The system currently has two 8 GB DDR4-2666 modules installed. What is the best upgrade to maximize performance and capacity?

Accepted Answer

Replace the two 8 GB modules with two 16 GB DDR4-3200 modules.. Mixing RAM speeds forces all modules to run at the slowest speed, so adding DDR4-3200 modules would cause them to downclock to 2666 MHz, wasting potential performance. The best upgrade is to replace the existing modules with a matched kit of DDR4-3200 modules, ensuring full speed and capacity. This scenario tests understanding of RAM speed compatibility and the importance of matched modules for optimal performance.

Answer

Add two 8 GB DDR4-3200 modules to the existing RAM.

Answer

Replace the two 8 GB modules with two 16 GB DDR4-2666 modules.

Answer

Add two 16 GB DDR4-2666 modules to the existing RAM.

Question 8

A user reports that their LCD monitor intermittently goes black for 2-3 seconds, then returns to normal. This happens randomly, not during any specific activity. The monitor's power LED stays green during the blackouts. Which component is most likely failing?

Accepted Answer

The monitor's backlight or inverter is failing. A green power LED during blackouts indicates the monitor is receiving power and signal, but the backlight is failing. Intermittent backlight failure is a common issue in aging CCFL or LED-backlit LCDs, often due to failing capacitors or inverter. The correct answer identifies the backlight or inverter as the culprit, as the display logic is still working.

Answer

The video cable is loose

Answer

The graphics card is overheating

Answer

The monitor's power supply is failing

Question 9

A technician is setting up a new wireless network in a crowded office building. Users report that their laptops frequently disconnect from the Wi-Fi and have slow speeds, even when close to the access point. The technician scans the area and sees many overlapping Wi-Fi networks. What is the best solution to improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Change the access point to a less congested channel.. In a dense environment with many overlapping networks, channel congestion is a major cause of interference and disconnections. Changing the access point to a less congested channel reduces co-channel interference and improves stability and throughput.

Answer

Increase the transmit power of the access point.

Answer

Disable SSID broadcast to hide the network.

Answer

Replace the access point with a higher-gain antenna model.

Question 10

A user reports that their laptop cannot connect to the internet, but other devices on the same wired network work fine. The technician checks the IP configuration and sees the laptop has an IP address of 169.254.3.12. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is not responding. The IP address 169.254.3.12 falls within the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) range (169.254.0.0/16), which Windows assigns when a DHCP discovery broadcast fails to receive a response. Since other devices on the same wired network work fine, the issue is isolated to this laptop's inability to reach the DHCP server, most likely due to a local configuration problem or a faulty network interface.

Answer

The DNS server is unreachable

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

The network cable is faulty

Question 11

A user has a laptop that supports Thunderbolt 3 and wants to connect two external 4K monitors at full resolution. They currently have a single USB-C hub that only supports DisplayPort over USB-C. What is the most likely limitation?

Accepted Answer

The hub does not support Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth.. Thunderbolt 3 supports up to 40 Gbps bandwidth, which is required to drive two 4K monitors at full resolution (60 Hz) over a single connection. A standard USB-C hub that only supports DisplayPort over USB-C is limited to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) or USB 3.2 (20 Gbps) bandwidth, which is insufficient to carry two uncompressed 4K video streams simultaneously. Therefore, the hub itself is the bottleneck because it lacks Thunderbolt 3 controller and bandwidth capabilities.

Answer

The laptop's graphics card cannot drive two 4K monitors.

Answer

The monitors are not compatible with USB-C.

Answer

The user needs a USB-C to HDMI adapter for each monitor.

Question 12

A small business runs a legacy application that requires Windows 7. The company wants to upgrade all desktops to Windows 11 while still running that application. Which virtualization solution would allow the application to run on the new OS without compatibility issues?

Accepted Answer

Use a Type 2 hypervisor such as VirtualBox to run Windows 7 as a virtual machine. This scenario tests understanding of application virtualization, where a legacy OS runs as a guest on a modern host. Using a Type 2 hypervisor like VirtualBox allows Windows 7 to run inside Windows 11, solving the compatibility problem without hardware changes.

Answer

Install Windows 7 in a dual-boot configuration

Answer

Deploy Windows 11 and use Windows 7 compatibility mode

Answer

Replace the legacy application with a cloud-based alternative

Question 13

A technician is setting up a temporary network for a conference where attendees' laptops need to share files directly without any central access point or router. The conference room has no existing network infrastructure. Which network type should be configured, and what is a potential security risk?

Accepted Answer

Ad hoc network; each laptop connects directly to others, but encryption may not be enforced.. An ad hoc network (IBSS) allows laptops to communicate directly without a central access point, which matches the requirement for direct file sharing with no existing infrastructure. The security risk is that encryption (like WEP or WPA2-Personal) may not be enforced by default in ad hoc mode, leaving data transmissions vulnerable to eavesdropping.

Answer

Infrastructure mode WLAN; configure a laptop as a software access point.

Answer

PAN network using Bluetooth; all laptops pair via Bluetooth.

Answer

Mesh network; each laptop acts as a node forwarding traffic.

Question 14

A user's iPhone connects to a public Wi-Fi hotspot but cannot load any web pages. The Wi-Fi icon shows full signal. Other devices on the same network work fine. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The iPhone is not accepting the captive portal's terms and conditions.. The most likely issue is that the iPhone has connected to the Wi-Fi network but has not completed the captive portal authentication process. Captive portals require users to accept terms and conditions or log in via a web page before internet access is granted. Since other devices work fine, the network itself is functional, and the iPhone's full signal indicates a good physical connection, pointing to a failure in the portal acceptance step.

Answer

The iPhone's DNS settings are misconfigured.

Answer

The iPhone's Wi-Fi antenna is faulty.

Answer

The public Wi-Fi network is using an incompatible security protocol.

Question 15

A technician is building a new PC for a video editing workstation. The selected components include an Intel i9-13900K, an NVIDIA RTX 4080, 64GB DDR5 RAM, three NVMe SSDs, and six case fans. What is the minimum recommended power supply wattage for this build?

Accepted Answer

1000W. High-end CPUs and GPUs like the i9-13900K and RTX 4080 can draw over 300W each under load, plus other components. A 1000W PSU provides sufficient headroom for peak power spikes and ensures stability during intensive tasks.

Answer

750W

Answer

850W

Answer

1200W

Question 16

A small office uses an inkjet printer that has started leaving horizontal white lines across printed documents. The printhead cleaning cycle has been run twice without improvement. Which step should be taken next?

Accepted Answer

Perform a manual printhead cleaning using distilled water or a cleaning solution. Horizontal white lines on inkjet output indicate clogged nozzles in the printhead. If cleaning cycles fail, a more thorough cleaning using a manual method or a printhead soak may be needed. Replacing ink cartridges or the entire printer would be premature, and adjusting print settings does not address the physical clog.

Answer

Replace the ink cartridges

Answer

Adjust the print quality settings to 'Best'

Answer

Replace the printer

Question 17

A technician is troubleshooting a system that experiences random lockups and blue screens. The technician suspects a CPU issue but has already run a stress test without errors. Which diagnostic step should the technician perform next to isolate the problem?

Accepted Answer

Run a memory diagnostic tool like MemTest86. Random lockups and blue screens can also be caused by memory errors. Running a memory diagnostic tool like MemTest86 will test the RAM for faults, which can produce symptoms similar to a failing CPU. This helps rule out memory before replacing the CPU.

Answer

Replace the CPU with a known good one

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version

Answer

Check the CPU voltage in BIOS and increase it slightly

Question 18

A user reports that their laptop can connect to the internet via Ethernet but cannot connect to any Wi-Fi networks. The wireless adapter is enabled and shows available networks, but connecting always fails. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The wireless security settings are incorrect.. When a device can connect via Ethernet but not Wi-Fi, the issue is usually with the wireless configuration or hardware, not the network itself. Incorrect wireless security settings, such as a mismatched encryption type or password, are a common cause of connection failure after the network is detected.

Answer

The DHCP server is out of IP addresses.

Answer

The wireless adapter driver is corrupted.

Answer

The router’s SSID is hidden.

Question 19

A technician is setting up a multifunction printer for a small business that wants to allow employees to print from their smartphones. The printer does not have Wi-Fi Direct, but it is connected to the company's wired network. Which solution would enable mobile printing?

Accepted Answer

Configure the printer to support AirPrint. This question tests knowledge of mobile printing solutions in a network environment. AirPrint is a built-in iOS feature that discovers printers on the same network via Bonjour. Google Cloud Print is deprecated, and Bluetooth or USB tethering are not suitable for a wired network.

Answer

Enable Bluetooth on the printer and pair it with each phone

Answer

Use a USB cable to connect each phone to the printer

Answer

Install Google Cloud Print on the printer

Question 20

A user's laser printer is producing pages with a repeating horizontal line defect every 3.75 inches. Which component is most likely causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

OPC drum. The distance between repeating defects often matches the circumference of a roller. In laser printers, the OPC drum is a common source of such defects. A defect repeating every 3.75 inches indicates a damaged component with a circumference of 3.75 inches. Some OPC drums have a circumference of approximately 3.75 inches (meaning a diameter of about 1.19 inches), making the OPC drum the most likely cause. Other components have different circumferences.

Answer

Fuser roller

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Toner cartridge