220-1201 Practice Test 43 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is replacing the display assembly on a laptop. After installing the new display, the laptop powers on but the screen remains black. The technician has verified the display cable is fully seated at both ends. What should the technician check next to diagnose the issue?

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

Accepted Answer

Check the backlight voltage or inverter board (if applicable).. A black screen with power but no display often indicates a backlight failure, not a complete display failure. The technician should check the backlight voltage or inverter board (if the display uses CCFL backlighting) to ensure the backlight is receiving power. Since the display cable is verified as seated, the next logical step is to isolate whether the issue is with the backlight circuit or the LCD panel itself.

Answer

Replace the LCD panel again, assuming the new one is defective.

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Update the graphics driver from the Windows Recovery Environment.

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Reseat the RAM modules to ensure proper boot.

Question 2

A technician is installing a new VoIP phone for a user. The user's desk already has a Cat6 wall jack, but the phone requires both network connectivity and a separate power source. The technician has a limited number of power outlets nearby. What is the simplest solution?

Accepted Answer

Use a Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector between the wall jack and the phone.. Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector allows both data and power to be delivered over the existing Cat6 cable, eliminating the need for a separate power outlet. The injector is placed between the wall jack and the phone, injecting power onto the Ethernet cable. This is the simplest solution because it reuses the existing cabling and requires no new power runs.

Answer

Run a new power extension cord from the nearest outlet.

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Replace the Cat6 cable with a USB-C cable for power.

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Install a wireless bridge to eliminate the cable.

Question 3

A technician is deploying a new SSD in a desktop PC. After installing the drive and connecting the SATA data and power cables, the system does not recognize the drive in the BIOS. All other drives are detected. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the SATA data and power cables. When a new drive is not detected, the most common cause is a loose or improper connection. The technician should reseat both the SATA data cable at the drive and motherboard, and the power cable from the PSU. If that fails, testing the drive in another port or with another cable is the next step.

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS

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Check if the drive needs to be initialized in Disk Management

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Replace the SATA controller

Question 4

A technician is upgrading a workstation by adding a second high-end GPU. The current power supply has a single +12V rail rated at 40A and two 6+2 pin PCIe power cables. What is the most important factor to check before proceeding?

Accepted Answer

The total power draw of the system does not exceed the PSU's +12V rail capacity.. The most critical factor is ensuring the total power draw of the system, especially the +12V rail, does not exceed the PSU's capacity. High-end GPUs draw most of their power from the +12V rail, and adding a second GPU can easily exceed a 40A (480W) limit, causing instability or shutdown. Checking this prevents overloading the PSU.

Answer

Whether the motherboard has enough SATA power connectors.

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The physical clearance inside the case for the second GPU.

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The operating system supports dual GPUs.

Question 5

A user reports that their computer will not boot and the motherboard's diagnostic LEDs show a CPU error. You reseat the CPU and check for bent pins, but the error persists. Which of the following should you check next?

Accepted Answer

The CPU power cable is not fully connected. A CPU error LED that persists after reseating the CPU and checking for bent pins strongly suggests the CPU is not receiving power. The 4-pin or 8-pin EPS/ATX12V CPU power connector on the motherboard must be firmly seated; if it is loose or missing, the CPU will not initialize and the board will flag a CPU fault. This is a common oversight during builds or after moving a system.

Answer

The RAM modules are in the correct slots

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The motherboard's BIOS is corrupted

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The CPU cooler is installed incorrectly

Question 6

A customer brings in a laptop that will not charge. The technician checks the AC adapter with a multimeter and gets 19V output. When the adapter is plugged into the laptop, the charging LED does not illuminate. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Test the DC jack for continuity. The AC adapter outputs the correct 19V, so the adapter itself is functional. Since the charging LED does not illuminate when connected, the fault likely lies between the adapter and the motherboard — most commonly the DC jack, which can suffer from broken solder joints, bent pins, or physical damage. Testing the DC jack for continuity verifies whether power can actually reach the motherboard.

Answer

Replace the laptop's battery

Answer

Update the laptop's BIOS

Answer

Replace the AC adapter with a universal one

Question 7

A user’s laptop is connected to a Wi-Fi network with a strong signal, but the user cannot access any network resources. The IP configuration shows an address of 192.168.1.50 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and a default gateway of 192.168.1.1. The technician pings the gateway successfully. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Check the DNS server settings on the laptop.. The laptop has a valid IP configuration and can ping the default gateway, indicating that local network connectivity is working. However, the user cannot access network resources, which suggests a problem with name resolution or routing beyond the local subnet. The next logical step is to check the DNS server settings, as incorrect DNS would prevent the laptop from resolving hostnames of network resources.

Answer

Replace the Wi-Fi adapter.

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Verify the SSID is correct.

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Disable the firewall temporarily.

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting an impact printer that is producing faint characters on multipart forms. The ribbon is new, and the print head is clean. The forms are properly aligned. Which adjustment should be made?

Accepted Answer

Adjust the platen gap to bring the print head closer to the paper. For an impact printer producing faint characters on multipart forms, the platen gap should be adjusted to bring the print head closer to the paper. This increases the impact force, ensuring proper transfer through multiple copies.

Answer

Increase the print head temperature

Answer

Replace the platen

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Change the paper thickness setting to a thicker setting

Question 9

A technician is configuring a network for a municipal government that needs to connect public Wi-Fi hotspots across a city, covering an area of about 50 square kilometers. The network must be secure and provide internet access to citizens. Which network type should be deployed?

Accepted Answer

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is designed to cover a geographic area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, typically spanning a city or a large campus. For a municipal government connecting public Wi-Fi hotspots across 50 square kilometers, a MAN provides the necessary range and can utilize technologies like Metro Ethernet or fiber-optic rings to deliver secure, high-speed internet access to citizens.

Answer

Local Area Network (LAN)

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Wide Area Network (WAN)

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Personal Area Network (PAN)

Question 10

A customer complains that their LCD monitor shows a persistent dark shadow in the upper-left corner that does not change with different input sources. The monitor is three years old. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The monitor's backlight has failed partially.. A dark shadow that stays in the same spot regardless of input indicates a hardware defect, typically backlight failure or a damaged LCD panel. Backlight LEDs can fail over time, creating uneven illumination. Replacing the monitor is the standard fix because panel repair is often cost-prohibitive.

Answer

The monitor's resolution is set incorrectly.

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The video cable is loose or damaged.

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The graphics card is overheating and throttling.

Question 11

A technician is setting up a kiosk mode on an Android tablet for a retail display. The tablet will run a single app that customers use to browse products. After enabling kiosk mode via a third-party app, the tablet reboots and the kiosk app does not start automatically. What should the technician verify?

Accepted Answer

The kiosk app is set as the default home screen app.. When kiosk mode is enabled on Android, the device must designate the kiosk app as the default home screen app. This ensures that after a reboot, the Android launcher automatically starts the designated app instead of the system launcher. Without this setting, the tablet will boot to the default home screen, not the kiosk app.

Answer

The tablet is connected to Wi-Fi for app updates.

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The tablet's battery is fully charged.

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The kiosk app is installed on the SD card.

Question 12

A company has offices in two different cities and needs to connect their local networks so employees can access centralized resources. They require a secure, high-speed connection over a long distance. Which network type should be used?

Accepted Answer

Wide Area Network (WAN). A Wide Area Network (WAN) is the correct choice because it connects geographically separated networks over long distances, providing the secure, high-speed link required for centralized resource access between two cities. Technologies like MPLS, leased lines (e.g., T1/E1), or VPNs over fiber optic connections are commonly used to implement WANs for such inter-site connectivity.

Answer

Local Area Network (LAN)

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Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

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Personal Area Network (PAN)

Question 13

A customer reports that their laptop screen flickers intermittently, especially when they adjust the lid angle. The image is clear when the screen is at a specific angle but flickers or goes black at others. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The display cable is loose or damaged. The intermittent flickering that correlates with lid angle changes is a classic symptom of a loose or damaged display cable (e.g., LVDS or eDP ribbon cable). As the lid moves, the cable flexes, causing intermittent contact and signal loss, which results in flickering or a black screen at certain angles.

Answer

The LCD panel has a dead pixel

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The video card driver is outdated

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The inverter is failing

Question 14

A customer reports that their new Cat6a installation passes a cable certifier test but the link only negotiates at 100 Mbps. The cable run is 90 meters and uses standard T568B terminations. What is the most likely cause of the speed limitation?

Accepted Answer

The patch cables are Cat5e instead of Cat6a.. The cable certifier passes because the physical layer (Cat6a cabling) meets specifications for signal integrity and crosstalk. However, if the patch cables connecting the equipment to the structured cabling are Cat5e, they may not support the higher frequencies required for 1000BASE-T (up to 100 MHz for Cat5e vs. 500 MHz for Cat6a). This can cause the link to fall back to 100BASE-TX, which operates at lower frequencies and is more tolerant of the reduced performance of Cat5e patch cables.

Answer

The cable run exceeds the maximum length for Cat6a.

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The switch port is configured for 100 Mbps only.

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The cable is terminated in T568A instead of T568B.

Question 15

A company is upgrading its network to support 10 Gbps speeds for a server farm. The existing cabling is Cat6a, and the switches are Gigabit. The IT manager wants to minimize cost while achieving 10 Gbps. Which hardware change is required?

Accepted Answer

Install 10 Gbps switches and use the existing Cat6a cabling.. Cat6a cabling is rated to support 10 Gbps Ethernet up to 100 meters, so no cable replacement is needed. The bottleneck is the existing Gigabit switches, which must be upgraded to 10 Gbps switches to achieve the desired speed. This is the most cost-effective approach because it avoids the expense of new cabling.

Answer

Replace the Cat6a cabling with Cat7 cabling.

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Replace the switches with Gigabit models that have SFP+ ports for fiber.

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Add a repeater to boost the signal on the existing Cat6a cabling.