220-1201 Practice Test 49 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user complains that their computer randomly shuts down after about 30 minutes of gaming. The case feels warm to the touch, and all fans are spinning. Which component is most likely causing the shutdowns?

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

Accepted Answer

Overheating CPU or GPU. Random shutdowns under load, especially with a warm case, strongly suggest overheating. The CPU or GPU thermal protection is triggering to prevent damage. Cleaning dust from heatsinks and fans, and ensuring proper airflow, is the first step.

Answer

Failing hard drive

Answer

Insufficient RAM

Answer

Loose power cable

Question 2

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

Answer

Check if the drive needs to be initialized in Disk Management

Answer

Replace the SATA controller

Question 3

A user reports that their PC's USB 3.0 ports are only operating at USB 2.0 speeds. The device works fine on another computer. The motherboard has both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 headers. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The USB 3.0 controller driver is not installed. USB 3.0 ports require a dedicated controller and proper driver support. If the USB 3.0 driver is missing or the controller is disabled in BIOS, the ports will fall back to USB 2.0 speeds. This is a common issue after a fresh OS install or BIOS reset.

Answer

The USB cable is too long

Answer

The front panel USB 3.0 header is loose

Answer

The motherboard's USB 3.0 controller is faulty

Question 4

A user reports that their computer does not power on at all. The technician verifies the power cord is connected and the wall outlet works. When the PSU is turned on, no fans spin and no LEDs light up. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Check if the power supply's on/off switch is set to the '1' (on) position.. The power supply switch is a simple but common oversight; if it is in the off (0) position, no power reaches the system. Always verify this before more complex troubleshooting. Other steps like testing the PSU with a multimeter or paperclip test come after confirming the switch is on.

Answer

Replace the CMOS battery.

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules.

Answer

Test the PSU with a multimeter.

Question 5

A technician is selecting a power supply for a workstation that will run 24/7 in a dusty environment. The PSU will be installed in a case with limited airflow. Which PSU feature is most important to prioritize for long-term reliability in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

A fan with a fluid dynamic bearing and a dust filter.. In dusty environments with limited airflow, a PSU with a high-quality, sealed bearing fan (e.g., fluid dynamic bearing) and a dust-resistant design (e.g., honeycomb grill, dust filters) is critical. Additionally, a higher efficiency rating (e.g., 80 Plus Gold or better) reduces heat output, easing thermal stress. The most important single feature is the fan's reliability and the PSU's ability to handle particulate ingress.

Answer

A high total wattage rating to ensure headroom.

Answer

A modular cable design for easier cable management.

Answer

An 80 Plus Bronze efficiency rating.

Question 6

A technician is replacing a power supply in an office desktop. The new PSU has a 24-pin main connector, but the motherboard has a 20-pin socket. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Separate the detachable 4-pin section from the 24-pin connector and use the remaining 20-pin part.. Modern ATX power supplies often have a 24-pin connector that is backward compatible with 20-pin motherboards; the extra 4 pins can be slid or snapped off. This allows the PSU to work without modification. Forcing the 24-pin into a 20-pin socket could damage the board.

Answer

Use a 24-pin to 20-pin adapter.

Answer

Force the 24-pin connector into the 20-pin socket.

Answer

Return the PSU and buy one with a 20-pin connector.

Question 7

A user reports that their computer emits a loud, high-pitched whine when under load, but is silent at idle. The system is stable. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The power supply or GPU is experiencing coil whine due to electrical resonance.. Coil whine is a common phenomenon in power supplies and graphics cards when current flow causes inductor coils to vibrate at a frequency within human hearing. It is not a sign of failure unless accompanied by other symptoms.

Answer

The power supply fan bearing is failing, causing noise only when spinning faster.

Answer

The CPU cooler fan is unbalanced and vibrating against the case.

Answer

The hard drive is making noise as it reads data during gaming.

Question 8

A customer reports that their desktop PC will not power on at all. The power supply fan does not spin, and no LEDs light up. You have verified the wall outlet is working. Which motherboard component is most likely preventing the system from starting?

Accepted Answer

Front panel header. The CMOS battery is not involved in the power-on process; it only maintains BIOS settings. The chipset and CPU are not directly responsible for the initial power-up sequence. The power-on process begins with the power button connecting to the front panel header, and if that connection is faulty, the motherboard never receives the signal to start the PSU.

Answer

CMOS battery

Answer

Chipset heatsink

Answer

CPU socket

Question 9

A company plans to migrate a physical server running a legacy application to a virtual machine to reduce hardware costs. The application requires direct access to a proprietary PCIe card installed in the physical server. Which virtualization feature must the hypervisor support to allow the VM to use this card?

Accepted Answer

PCI passthrough (VT-d/IOMMU). Direct access to physical hardware like a PCIe card requires hardware passthrough technology, such as Intel VT-d or AMD IOMMU. This allows a VM to directly control the device without going through the hypervisor. The correct answer tests knowledge of advanced virtualization features for hardware compatibility.

Answer

Virtual machine snapshots

Answer

Virtual switch VLAN tagging

Answer

Virtual machine migration (vMotion)

Question 10

A user reports that a VM running Linux suddenly displays a 'Kernel Panic' error after the technician applied a snapshot and then reverted to it. The snapshot was taken while the VM was running. What is the most likely cause of the kernel panic?

Accepted Answer

The snapshot captured the VM in a state where the file system was inconsistent (e.g., during a write operation).. Taking a snapshot of a running VM captures the state of the virtual disk and memory, but if the file system is in an inconsistent state (e.g., during a write operation), reverting to that snapshot can cause corruption. The correct answer identifies that the snapshot was taken at an inopportune time, leading to file system inconsistency.

Answer

The snapshot file became corrupted due to insufficient disk space.

Answer

The VM’s virtual disk was configured as thin provisioned and ran out of space.

Answer

The hypervisor’s time synchronization caused a clock skew.

Question 11

A small office has an all-in-one printer that supports scanning to email, but users report that scanned documents are not being delivered. The printer's network settings show a valid IP address, and the SMTP server address is correct. What should the technician check next to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Check the SMTP authentication credentials configured on the printer. This question tests understanding of multifunction device network configuration, specifically scanning to email. The most likely cause is incorrect authentication credentials for the SMTP server, as the printer must log in to send email. Checking network connectivity or DNS would be secondary if the IP is valid and the server address is correct.

Answer

Verify the printer's DNS settings

Answer

Replace the printer's toner cartridge

Answer

Reboot the network switch

Question 12

A technician is configuring a new VM for a developer who needs to test software on Windows 10. The host runs Hyper-V on Windows Server 2019. The developer requests that the VM have 8 GB RAM and 4 virtual CPUs. After creating the VM, the technician finds that the VM will not start and displays an error: 'The virtual machine could not be started because the hypervisor is not running.' What is the most likely solution?

Accepted Answer

Enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V in the host’s BIOS/UEFI settings.. Hyper-V requires the Windows Hyper-V role to be installed and the hardware virtualization features (VT-x/AMD-V) to be enabled in the BIOS. If the hypervisor is not running, it is often because virtualization is disabled in BIOS or the Hyper-V role is not properly configured. The correct answer addresses enabling virtualization in BIOS.

Answer

Install the latest Windows updates and reboot the host.

Answer

Change the VM’s generation from Generation 2 to Generation 1.

Answer

Reinstall the Hyper-V role from Server Manager.

Question 13

A company uses virtual machines for its production environment. A technician needs to perform maintenance on the host server without disrupting the VMs. The technician wants to move the VMs to another host in the cluster while they are running. Which feature must be configured to allow this?

Accepted Answer

Live migration (vMotion). Live migration (vMotion in VMware, live migration in Hyper-V) allows moving running VMs between hosts with zero downtime. This is a key feature for high availability and maintenance. The correct answer directly names this feature.

Answer

Virtual machine snapshots

Answer

Virtual switch trunking

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 14

A user complains that their external USB hard drive is making a clicking sound and is no longer recognized by any computer. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The drive has experienced a mechanical failure.. Clicking sounds from a hard drive typically indicate a mechanical failure, such as a stuck read/write head or damaged platters. This is a classic sign of a failing drive, not a software or connection issue.

Answer

The USB cable is damaged.

Answer

The drive has suffered a logical failure.

Answer

The drive's enclosure is faulty.

Question 15

A user complains that when they scan a double-sided document using the automatic document feeder (ADF) on their multifunction printer, the back sides of the pages are blank. The printer supports duplex scanning. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The scan mode is set to simplex instead of duplex. This scenario tests knowledge of duplex scanning settings on a multifunction device. The ADF is feeding pages correctly, but the printer is set to simplex scanning, which only scans one side. Changing the scan mode to duplex will resolve the issue.

Answer

The ADF rollers are worn out

Answer

The scan resolution is set too low

Answer

The document is too thick for the ADF