220-1201 Practice Test 34 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user's laptop screen flickers intermittently, but the external monitor works fine. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The display cable connecting the motherboard to the screen is loose or damaged.. The most likely cause is a loose or damaged display cable because the external monitor works fine, which rules out a GPU or driver issue. The display cable carries video signals from the motherboard to the LCD panel; intermittent flickering on the internal screen only indicates a physical connection problem at the hinge or connector. This is a common failure point in laptops due to repeated opening and closing.

Answer

The graphics driver is outdated.

Answer

The LCD panel is failing.

Answer

The inverter or backlight is failing.

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting an Android phone that fails to connect to a corporate Wi-Fi network using WPA2-Enterprise with PEAP. The phone connects to other Wi-Fi networks without issue. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The CA certificate for the network is not installed or trusted.. WPA2-Enterprise with PEAP requires the phone to validate the server's identity using a CA certificate. If the CA certificate is missing or untrusted, the EAP-TLS handshake fails, preventing connection even though the phone can connect to other (non-Enterprise) networks. This is the most common cause of such failures in corporate environments.

Answer

The Wi-Fi adapter is faulty.

Answer

The phone's date and time are incorrect.

Answer

The phone is using a static IP address.

Question 3

A company deploys tablets for inventory management. The tablets need to connect to a Bluetooth barcode scanner and also sync data to a cloud server over Wi-Fi. The Bluetooth connection drops every few minutes. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are interfering because both use the 2.4 GHz band.. The most likely cause is that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, and when a tablet is actively using Wi-Fi to sync data to a cloud server, the radio can cause interference with the Bluetooth signal, leading to periodic disconnections. This is a well-known coexistence issue, especially in dense environments where both radios are active simultaneously.

Answer

The barcode scanner's battery is low.

Answer

The tablets are too far from the barcode scanner.

Answer

The cloud server is not responding to sync requests.

Question 4

A network administrator notices that a critical database server is responding slowly. The server uses both TCP and UDP for different services. Which of the following is a characteristic of UDP that could explain performance issues under heavy load?

Accepted Answer

UDP does not guarantee packet delivery or order. UDP is a connectionless transport protocol that does not guarantee packet delivery, ordering, or error recovery. Under heavy load, if the database server receives UDP datagrams out of order or loses packets, the application layer must handle retransmissions and reassembly, which can degrade performance. This lack of reliability and flow control means UDP can overwhelm a server with traffic it cannot manage, leading to slow responses.

Answer

UDP retransmits lost packets automatically

Answer

UDP uses a three-way handshake to establish a connection

Answer

UDP provides flow control to prevent congestion

Question 5

A customer calls stating that their Android phone's messaging app is not receiving SMS messages from one specific contact, but all other contacts work. The phone has good signal strength. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The contact's number is blocked in the messaging app.. The most likely cause is that the contact's number has been blocked in the messaging app. Blocking a contact prevents SMS messages from that specific number from being delivered to the inbox, while all other contacts continue to work normally. This matches the symptom of a single contact failing to send SMS, with good signal strength and no carrier-wide issues.

Answer

The phone's SIM card is damaged.

Answer

The messaging app has a corrupted database.

Answer

The carrier is experiencing an outage in the area.

Question 6

A customer reports that their external USB 3.0 hard drive is only achieving transfer speeds of about 35 MB/s, far below the expected 5 Gbps. The drive is connected to a USB 3.0 port on the front of the computer case. What is the most likely cause of this performance issue?

Accepted Answer

The front-panel USB port is internally connected to a USB 2.0 header on the motherboard.. This question tests understanding of USB standards and cable/connector compatibility. USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) requires a cable with 9 pins, but if the case's front-panel header or cable is wired for USB 2.0 only (4 pins), the device will fall back to USB 2.0 speeds (480 Mbps, ~35 MB/s). The correct answer is that the front-panel USB port is internally connected to a USB 2.0 header.

Answer

The drive is formatted with FAT32 instead of NTFS.

Answer

The hard drive is failing and needs to be replaced.

Answer

The USB 3.0 driver is not installed in the operating system.

Question 7

A technician is setting up a new all-in-one PC for a reception desk. The PC has a touchscreen display. After installation, the touch function does not respond. The technician has verified that the display works and the OS is loaded. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Check if the touchscreen driver is installed in Device Manager. The most common reason a touchscreen fails to respond after a working display and OS load is a missing or incorrect driver. In Windows, the touchscreen driver appears under 'Human Interface Devices' in Device Manager; if it's not present or has a yellow exclamation mark, the OS cannot interpret touch input. Checking Device Manager is the quickest, non-invasive first step before considering hardware replacement.

Answer

Replace the touchscreen digitizer

Answer

Clean the screen with a microfiber cloth

Answer

Disable and re-enable the touchscreen in BIOS

Question 8

A technician is deploying a new virtual machine on a Type 2 hypervisor (hosted) for software testing. The host machine runs Windows 10 Pro with 16 GB RAM and a quad-core CPU. The test application requires 4 GB RAM and two virtual CPUs. After creating the VM with those settings, the technician notices the host becomes extremely sluggish even when the VM is idle. What is the most likely reason for this?

Accepted Answer

The host machine’s CPU does not support Intel VT-x or AMD-V.. Type 2 hypervisors rely on hardware virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) to run virtual machines efficiently. If the host CPU does not support these extensions (or they are disabled in the BIOS), the hypervisor falls back to software emulation, which imposes heavy overhead on the host CPU. This overhead is present even when the VM is idle because the hypervisor must constantly manage emulated instructions. With the host running Windows 10 Pro and a quad-core CPU, the software emulation can cause the host to become sluggish. Allocating only 4 GB RAM to the VM leaves 12 GB for the host, which is sufficient for Windows 10 Pro and typical background processes, so option C is unlikely to be the cause.

Answer

The hypervisor does not support hardware acceleration for the guest OS.

Answer

The technician allocated too much RAM to the VM, leaving insufficient memory for the host OS.

Answer

The virtual switch is misconfigured, causing network loops.

Question 9

A server with a RAID 6 array of six 2 TB drives experiences a double drive failure. After replacing both drives, the technician starts the rebuild process, but the array status shows 'Degraded' and the rebuild fails. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A third drive has developed bad sectors.. RAID 6 can tolerate two drive failures, but if a third drive fails or has bad sectors during rebuild, the array may fail. The most likely cause is that a third drive developed bad sectors during the rebuild, preventing successful reconstruction. This highlights the risk of rebuild stress on older drives.

Answer

The new drives are not the same capacity as the originals.

Answer

The RAID controller firmware is outdated.

Answer

The rebuild process was interrupted by a power outage.

Question 10

A customer reports that they cannot send emails from their desktop email client, but they can receive emails. The email server is running on the local network. Which port is most likely blocked on the firewall?

Accepted Answer

25. Port 25 is the default SMTP port used for sending email. If the firewall blocks outbound or inbound traffic on port 25, the desktop email client cannot establish an SMTP connection to the local email server, preventing email transmission while still allowing reception via other protocols.

Answer

110

Answer

143

Answer

993

Question 11

A customer reports that their desktop PC randomly shuts down when playing a graphically intensive game. The system has a 500W power supply, a high-end GPU, and a CPU with a 125W TDP. What is the most likely cause of the shutdowns?

Accepted Answer

The power supply is undersized for the system's peak power demands.. The random shutdowns under load suggest the power supply cannot deliver enough wattage to sustain peak power draw from the GPU and CPU. A 500W PSU may be insufficient for a high-end gaming system, causing voltage drops or thermal overload protection to trigger. Upgrading to a higher-wattage PSU with adequate +12V rail capacity would resolve the issue.

Answer

The GPU is overheating due to poor case airflow.

Answer

The motherboard's VRM is failing due to age.

Answer

The RAM is faulty causing memory errors during gaming.

Question 12

A customer reports their desktop PC is running extremely slow, especially when multiple applications are open. They mention they recently upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The system has 4 GB of RAM. What should you recommend as the most effective first step to improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade the RAM to at least 8 GB.. Windows 11 has a minimum requirement of 4 GB of RAM, but 8 GB is recommended for typical multitasking. Upgrading the RAM directly addresses the bottleneck caused by insufficient memory, which is the most likely cause of the slowdown with multiple applications.

Answer

Disable visual effects in Windows to reduce memory usage.

Answer

Increase the size of the page file on the hard drive.

Answer

Reinstall Windows 10 to reduce system resource requirements.

Question 13

A user reports that their computer randomly freezes and displays a blue screen error with the message 'MEMORY_MANAGEMENT'. They recently installed a new 8 GB DDR4 module alongside the existing 8 GB module. Both modules are from different manufacturers and have different CAS latencies. What is the most likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The RAM modules have mismatched CAS latencies, causing timing conflicts.. Mixing RAM modules with different specifications, especially CAS latency, can cause timing mismatches that lead to system instability and blue screen errors like MEMORY_MANAGEMENT. The system tries to run both sticks at the same timings, which can fail if the modules are not compatible.

Answer

The new RAM module is defective.

Answer

The RAM is not seated properly in the slot.

Answer

The motherboard does not support 16 GB of RAM.

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a high-end workstation that randomly freezes during heavy 3D rendering. The motherboard has an X299 chipset with an LGA 2066 socket. The CPU temperature is normal, and the RAM passes MemTest86. Which motherboard component is most likely causing the instability?

Accepted Answer

The chipset heatsink is clogged with dust. Random freezes under heavy load, with normal CPU temps and good RAM, often point to the chipset overheating. The chipset (e.g., X299) manages high-speed data transfer between the CPU, GPU, and storage; if its heatsink is clogged or the fan fails, it can overheat and cause system instability. This is a common issue in workstations with heavy I/O demands.

Answer

The CPU power phase controller

Answer

The BIOS is outdated

Answer

The PCIe slot is failing

Question 15

A customer reports that their new Gigabit Ethernet connection is only achieving 100 Mbps speeds. The cable run is about 75 meters through a drop ceiling. The technician checks the patch panel and wall jack terminations, which appear correct. What is the most likely cause of the speed issue?

Accepted Answer

The cable is shielded (STP) and the connectors are unshielded (UTP).. The most likely cause is that the cable is shielded (STP) but the connectors are unshielded (UTP). When STP cable is used with UTP connectors, the shielding is not properly grounded, leading to signal interference and degradation. This often results in the link falling back to 100 Mbps. The 75-meter run is within the 100-meter limit for Gigabit, and terminations appear correct, so the shield mismatch is the primary suspect.

Answer

The cable run exceeds the maximum length for Gigabit Ethernet.

Answer

The cable is Cat5 or lower, which cannot support Gigabit Ethernet at that distance.

Answer

The wall jack is wired for T568B but the patch panel uses T568A.