220-1201 Practice Test 36 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a network upgrade, a technician needs to ensure that all devices on a small office LAN receive IP addresses automatically from a central server. Which protocol must be running on that server?

Accepted Answer

DHCP. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is the correct answer because it is specifically designed to automatically assign IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways, and other network configuration parameters to devices on a LAN. A DHCP server listens on UDP port 67 and responds to client requests on UDP port 68, enabling zero-touch IP configuration for all devices on the network.

Answer

DNS

Answer

HTTP

Answer

FTP

Question 2

A user reports that their fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet connection works but is slower than expected. The technician finds that the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) is connected to the router via a 100-meter Cat5e cable. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The Ethernet cable is damaged or has a bad termination.. The most likely issue is a damaged or poorly terminated Cat5e cable. A 100-meter Cat5e cable is within the maximum length specification for 1 Gbps (100 meters), so the length alone is not the problem. However, a damaged cable or bad termination can cause excessive packet loss, CRC errors, or auto-negotiation failures, resulting in slower throughput even though the link appears to be up.

Answer

The ONT is malfunctioning.

Answer

The Cat5e cable is too long for 1 Gbps.

Answer

The router is not configured for the correct speed.

Question 3

A user reports intermittent network drops. You suspect the issue might be with the network interface card (NIC) itself. You need to test the NIC's ability to send and receive data without connecting it to the network. Which tool should you use?

Accepted Answer

Loopback plug. A loopback plug (or loopback adapter) is the correct tool because it connects the transmit (TX) and receive (RX) pins of the NIC, allowing it to send data to itself. This tests the NIC's ability to transmit and receive frames without requiring a network connection, isolating the NIC as the potential fault point.

Answer

Cable tester

Answer

Toner probe

Answer

Multimeter

Question 4

A technician is tasked with building a high-performance workstation for a data scientist who uses large datasets. The workstation has a motherboard that supports quad-channel memory. The technician has four 16 GB DDR4-3200 modules. Which configuration will yield the best memory performance?

Accepted Answer

Install one module in each of the four channels (e.g., slots 1, 3, 5, 7) to enable quad-channel mode.. Quad-channel memory architecture requires that all four memory channels be populated with identical modules to achieve maximum bandwidth. Installing one module per channel (e.g., in slots 1, 3, 5, 7 or the designated quad-channel slots) allows the memory controller to access all four channels simultaneously, quadrupling the data transfer rate compared to single-channel. Using fewer modules or mismatched sizes would reduce the channel count or cause the system to run in a lower-channel mode.

Answer

Install all four modules in the same channel (e.g., slots 1, 2, 3, 4) to maximize density.

Answer

Install two modules in one channel and two in another, leaving the other two channels empty.

Answer

Install all four modules in the same slot using a special adapter.

Question 5

A technician is setting up a new Android tablet for a point-of-sale system. The tablet must stay on and connected to Wi-Fi at all times, even when the screen is off. Which setting should the technician adjust?

Accepted Answer

Configure 'Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep' to 'Always'.. The 'Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep' setting, when configured to 'Always', ensures the Wi-Fi radio remains active even when the screen is off. This is essential for a point-of-sale (POS) tablet that must maintain a constant network connection for transaction processing, regardless of the device's sleep state.

Answer

Disable the 'Adaptive battery' feature.

Answer

Set the screen timeout to 'Never'.

Answer

Enable 'Developer options' and set 'Stay awake'.

Question 6

During a network upgrade, a technician replaces an old 10/100 Mbps switch with a new gigabit switch. After the change, several users report that their internet connection is slow. The technician checks the switch and sees that some ports show 100 Mbps instead of 1000 Mbps. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The connected devices have 10/100 Mbps NICs. The most likely cause of the switch ports operating at 100 Mbps instead of 1000 Mbps is that the connected devices have 10/100 Mbps NICs. Gigabit Ethernet requires both the switch port and the connected device to support 1000BASE-T; if the NIC only supports 10/100, the switch will auto-negotiate down to the highest common speed, which is 100 Mbps. This explains why only some users experience slowness—those with older NICs are limited to 100 Mbps while others with gigabit-capable NICs get full speed.

Answer

The switch ports are configured for half-duplex

Answer

The Ethernet cables are Cat5 instead of Cat5e or Cat6

Answer

The switch has a faulty power supply causing reduced performance

Question 7

A user reports that their laptop battery no longer charges and the system only runs when plugged in. You test the AC adapter and it outputs correct voltage. Inside the battery, which component is most likely failed?

Accepted Answer

The battery management system (BMS) is faulty.. The battery management system (BMS) is the circuit board inside the battery pack that controls charging, monitors cell voltage and temperature, and communicates with the laptop. Since the AC adapter outputs correct voltage and the laptop runs on AC power, the BMS is the most likely failed component because it can prevent charging even if the lithium-ion cells are healthy. A faulty BMS may stop communicating with the laptop's embedded controller, causing the system to treat the battery as absent or non-functional.

Answer

The lithium-ion cells have degraded.

Answer

The DC jack on the laptop is loose.

Answer

The laptop's motherboard charging circuit is damaged.

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a Samsung Galaxy tablet that has a cracked screen but still responds to touch. The user wants to transfer data to a new tablet. The technician connects the tablet to a PC via USB, but the PC does not recognize the device. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The tablet is in USB charging-only mode and cannot be changed due to the cracked screen. When a device's screen is cracked, the digitizer may still work, but the user might not be able to change USB settings from 'Charging only' to 'File transfer' if the touch input is needed for that selection. This is a common scenario where the default USB mode prevents data access.

Answer

The USB cable is defective

Answer

The tablet's USB port is damaged from the drop

Answer

The PC lacks the proper Samsung USB drivers

Question 9

A technician is troubleshooting a network where users intermittently lose connectivity to a critical database server. The technician notices that the server's IP address is being duplicated on the network. Which protocol is responsible for detecting and reporting this conflict?

Accepted Answer

ARP. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is responsible for detecting and reporting IP address conflicts. When a device sends an ARP probe or gratuitous ARP, it announces its IP address; if another device responds, a conflict is detected. This mechanism allows the operating system to alert the user or log the error, as seen in Windows with the 'IP address conflict' notification.

Answer

DHCP

Answer

ICMP

Answer

DNS

Question 10

A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that has a blinking battery light and will not power on, even when plugged into AC power. The technician has already verified the AC adapter is working on another laptop. Which component is most likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

The battery. A blinking battery light often indicates a battery or charging circuit error. Since the AC adapter is known to be good, the issue is likely with the laptop's internal battery, the DC jack, or the charging circuit on the motherboard. The battery is the most common failure point.

Answer

The CPU

Answer

The RAM

Answer

The hard drive

Question 11

A user reports that their smartphone's wireless charging pad stops charging after a few minutes. The phone charges fine with a cable. The charging pad works with another phone. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The phone case is too thick or contains metal.. Wireless charging relies on inductive coupling between the phone's receiver coil and the pad's transmitter coil. A thick case (especially one containing metal) can physically separate the coils beyond the effective range or cause eddy current losses that trigger thermal protection, causing the pad to shut down after a few minutes. The fact that the pad works with another phone and the phone charges via cable isolates the issue to the case, not the phone's battery or charging coil.

Answer

The charging pad is defective.

Answer

The phone's battery is faulty.

Answer

The phone's wireless charging coil is damaged.

Question 12

A user reports that their VoIP phone works but the PC connected to the phone's passthrough port has no network access. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

The Ethernet cable between the phone and the PC.. This question tests understanding of VoIP passthrough ports. The PC's lack of connectivity is often due to a faulty or unseated Ethernet cable between the phone and PC. The phone itself is working, so the upstream connection is fine.

Answer

The PC's IP configuration.

Answer

The VoIP phone's firmware version.

Answer

The switch port the phone is connected to.

Question 13

A customer complains that their computer will not turn on. The power supply fan does not spin, and the motherboard LED is off. The technician tests the power supply with a multimeter and gets 0V on all pins. What should the technician do next?

Accepted Answer

Check the wall outlet with a voltage tester.. A multimeter reading of 0V on all PSU pins indicates no power output, but this could be due to a dead PSU or lack of AC input. The most logical next step is to verify the wall outlet is supplying power using a voltage tester. If the outlet is good, then the PSU is faulty and should be replaced. Replacing the PSU without checking the outlet first may not resolve the issue if the outlet is dead.

Answer

Replace the motherboard.

Answer

Reseat the 24-pin power connector.

Answer

Replace the power supply with a known-good unit.

Question 14

A user is building a new gaming PC and wants to install 32 GB of DDR4 RAM in a dual-channel configuration. They have two 16 GB sticks. Which motherboard slots should they use to ensure dual-channel operation?

Accepted Answer

Slots 2 and 4 (alternating slots).. For dual-channel operation, memory modules must be installed in the correct slots, typically alternating colors or labeled as A2 and B2 (or slots 2 and 4) on most modern motherboards. This ensures the memory controller can access both sticks simultaneously, increasing bandwidth. The user manual or motherboard labeling is the definitive guide, but the common practice is to use the second and fourth slots from the CPU.

Answer

Slots 1 and 2 (adjacent to each other).

Answer

Slots 1 and 3 (alternating slots).

Answer

Any two slots will work; dual-channel is automatic.

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting a network where a user cannot access a web server at 10.0.0.50. The user's workstation has an IP of 10.0.0.25 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. The technician pings 10.0.0.50 and gets a reply, but the web page does not load. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Check if the web server's firewall is blocking HTTP/HTTPS traffic.. The ping reply confirms Layer 3 connectivity between the workstation and the web server, so the issue is not with IP routing or the default gateway. Since the web page does not load despite successful ICMP echo replies, the problem is likely at Layer 4 or above, such as the web server's firewall blocking HTTP (port 80) or HTTPS (port 443) traffic. The technician should check the server's firewall rules to ensure these ports are open.

Answer

Verify the default gateway on the workstation.

Answer

Change the workstation's IP address to a different subnet.

Answer

Replace the network cable between the workstation and switch.