220-1201 Practice Exam 52 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A laptop's touchpad is not working correctly; the cursor jumps erratically. You have already updated the driver and checked for debris. What hardware component should you inspect or replace next?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the touchpad ribbon cable on the motherboard.. When a touchpad cursor jumps erratically after the driver has been updated and debris ruled out, the next most likely hardware fault is a loose or damaged ribbon cable connecting the touchpad to the motherboard. Reseating that cable restores a clean signal path and is the correct next diagnostic step before replacing larger assemblies. This is a low-cost, high-probability fix that technicians should attempt before escalating to component replacement.

Answer

Replace the entire keyboard assembly.

Answer

Replace the laptop's LCD screen.

Answer

Reinstall the operating system.

Question 2

A user wants to securely transfer files to a remote server using a command-line tool. Which port is the default for SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)?

Accepted Answer

22. SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) operates over the SSH protocol, which uses TCP port 22 by default. Unlike FTP or FTPS, SFTP does not use separate control and data channels; it encapsulates all file operations within a single encrypted SSH session. This makes port 22 the correct default for SFTP transfers.

Answer

21

Answer

20

Answer

990

Question 3

A technician is deploying a wireless network in a large warehouse. The warehouse has metal shelving and concrete walls. The technician needs to ensure coverage throughout the area. Which antenna type should be used for the access points to maximize coverage in this environment?

Accepted Answer

Directional antenna. In an environment with obstacles like metal and concrete, omnidirectional antennas may not penetrate well. Directional antennas can focus the signal in a specific direction, helping to overcome obstacles and extend range. The correct answer is a directional antenna, such as a Yagi or panel antenna.

Answer

Omnidirectional antenna

Answer

Dipole antenna

Answer

Rubber duck antenna

Question 4

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that displays a blank screen on boot. The monitor's power LED is on (green), but no image appears. The PC beeps once during startup, and the hard drive activity light flashes. Which component is most likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

The video card. The single beep and hard drive activity indicate that the POST (Power-On Self-Test) has passed for the CPU and RAM, isolating the issue to the video subsystem. Since the monitor's power LED is green (receiving power) but no image appears, the most likely faulty component is the video card, which is responsible for generating the display signal.

Answer

The CPU

Answer

The RAM

Answer

The monitor's power supply

Question 5

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that will not power on. The power supply unit (PSU) has a 24-pin main connector and a 4+4 pin CPU connector. The motherboard has a 24-pin ATX connector and an 8-pin EPS connector. How should the technician connect the CPU power?

Accepted Answer

Combine the 4+4 pin into an 8-pin EPS connector. The 4+4 pin CPU connector can be combined into an 8-pin EPS connector, which matches the motherboard's 8-pin EPS connector. This provides adequate power to the CPU.

Answer

Connect the 4+4 pin as a 4-pin connector only

Answer

Use a 6+2 pin PCIe power connector

Answer

Leave the CPU power unconnected

Question 6

A small office uses a single router with a built-in DHCP server. The office has 15 devices that need IP addresses. The router's default subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. How many usable IP addresses are available for devices on this subnet?

Accepted Answer

254. The subnet mask 255.255.255.0 corresponds to a /24 prefix, which provides 256 total addresses (2^8). However, the first address (network address) and the last address (broadcast address) are reserved, leaving 254 usable IP addresses for devices. This is a fundamental IPv4 subnetting rule defined in RFC 791.

Answer

255

Answer

256

Answer

15

Question 7

A technician is setting up a new network printer for a department. The printer needs to be accessible to all users on the same subnet without a dedicated print server. Which configuration method should the technician use?

Accepted Answer

Assign a static IP address to the printer. Assigning a static IP address to the printer ensures it has a permanent address on the network, allowing all users on the subnet to connect directly. DHCP could change the IP, breaking connections. A static IP is the simplest method for direct network printing without a server.

Answer

Connect the printer via USB to a user's workstation and share it

Answer

Use DHCP with a short lease time

Answer

Install a print server on a domain controller

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that has a blank screen after the user closed the lid and then reopened it. The laptop's power LED is on, and the fan is spinning. Pressing keys does not wake the display. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Perform a hard reset by holding the power button for 10-15 seconds. This scenario describes a classic 'lid sensor' or 'display not waking' issue. The laptop is on (power LED, fan), but the display is blank. The first step should be to perform a hard reset by holding the power button to force a shutdown, then power on again. This can clear a hung state.

Answer

Replace the LCD panel

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules

Answer

Check the laptop's lid sensor for damage

Question 9

A technician is upgrading a server CPU and needs to select a processor that supports ECC memory. Which CPU feature is required for ECC support?

Accepted Answer

Memory controller. ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory support depends on the CPU's integrated memory controller, which manages the memory bus and performs the error detection and correction. Without a memory controller that supports ECC, the CPU cannot generate or check the ECC parity bits, regardless of other features. Integrated GPU, Hyper-Threading, and overclocking are unrelated to ECC functionality.

Answer

Integrated GPU

Answer

Hyper-Threading

Answer

Overclocking capability

Question 10

A technician is setting up a new RAID 0 array with two 500 GB SSDs for a gaming PC. After installation, the system shows only 500 GB of usable space. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The RAID controller is set to RAID 1 instead of RAID 0.. RAID 0 (striping) combines multiple disks into a single logical volume, aggregating their capacity. With two 500 GB SSDs in RAID 0, the total usable space should be approximately 1 TB. If only 500 GB is shown, the most likely cause is that the RAID controller is configured for RAID 1 (mirroring), which uses both disks but only provides the capacity of one disk (500 GB) for redundancy.

Answer

One of the SSDs is not detected by the system.

Answer

The SSDs are different brands and incompatible.

Answer

The operating system does not support RAID 0.

Question 11

During a network upgrade, a technician installs a new 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) access point in a conference room. Users now report intermittent disconnections on their older laptops. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The channel width is set too wide for older clients.. Older Wi-Fi clients that do not support 802.11ax may struggle with wide channel widths (e.g., 80 MHz or 160 MHz) because their radios are designed for narrower channels and may not properly interpret or coexist with the wider transmissions. This can cause intermittent disconnections as the AP and client negotiate incompatible channel settings. Reducing the channel width to 20 or 40 MHz typically restores stability for legacy clients.

Answer

The access point is overheating.

Answer

The DNS server is misconfigured.

Answer

The power over Ethernet (PoE) injector is faulty.

Question 12

A technician is setting up a conference room and needs to connect a laptop to a projector that only has a VGA input. The laptop has an HDMI output. Which adapter should the technician use?

Accepted Answer

HDMI to VGA adapter. The laptop has an HDMI output and the projector only accepts VGA, so the correct adapter is HDMI to VGA. This converts the digital HDMI signal to the analog VGA signal required by the projector.

Answer

HDMI to DVI adapter

Answer

USB-C to VGA adapter

Answer

DisplayPort to VGA adapter

Question 13

A customer reports that their new laptop cannot connect to the company's Wi-Fi network, but other devices connect fine. You need to check if the laptop's wireless adapter is functioning properly and can see available networks. Which tool should you use?

Accepted Answer

Wi-Fi analyzer. A Wi-Fi analyzer (option C) is the correct tool because it can scan for available wireless networks, display their SSIDs, signal strengths, and channels, and verify whether the laptop's wireless adapter is detecting any networks at all. This directly addresses the need to check if the adapter is functioning and can see the company's Wi-Fi, isolating the issue to the laptop's wireless hardware or configuration rather than the network itself.

Answer

Cable tester

Answer

Loopback plug

Answer

Multimeter

Question 14

A user complains that their computer, which uses a RAID 1 mirror with two identical HDDs, is running very slowly. The OS is installed on the array. The technician checks and finds that one drive has a high number of bad sectors. What should be done to restore performance and data safety?

Accepted Answer

Replace the failing drive with a new one and rebuild the array.. In a RAID 1 mirror, both drives normally serve reads in parallel, so a drive with a high number of bad sectors forces the controller to retry reads and rely on the healthy mirror, degrading performance. Replacing the failing drive and rebuilding the array restores the mirror to a healthy state, recovering both performance and redundancy. Simply removing the drive would eliminate fault tolerance and leave the system vulnerable to a single point of failure.

Answer

Remove the failing drive and continue with the good drive only.

Answer

Defragment both drives.

Answer

Reformat the array and reinstall the OS.

Question 15

A small business wants to move its on-premises file server to the cloud to reduce hardware maintenance costs. They need full control over the operating system and applications running on the server. Which cloud service model should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized compute, storage, and networking resources where the customer manages the operating system, middleware, and applications. Since the business needs full control over the OS and applications, IaaS is the correct model.

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 16

A user's laptop screen has a small crack in the corner, and the display shows lines and discoloration in that area. The rest of the screen works. What is the most cost-effective solution?

Accepted Answer

Replace the LCD panel.. The LCD panel contains the glass substrate and liquid crystal layer that physically cracks, causing localized lines and discoloration. Replacing just the LCD panel (the display assembly) is the most cost-effective solution because it restores full functionality without the expense of a new laptop or the inconvenience of a permanent external monitor. The display cable is unlikely to cause a crack or localized discoloration, as cable damage typically affects the entire screen or causes intermittent issues.

Answer

Replace the entire laptop.

Answer

Replace the display cable.

Answer

Use an external monitor permanently.

Question 17

A user complains that their desktop PC loses network connectivity intermittently, especially when the printer on the same desk starts printing. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The network cable is run too close to power cables.. Intermittent network connectivity that correlates with printer activity strongly suggests electromagnetic interference (EMI) from power cables affecting the unshielded twisted pair (UTP) network cable. When the printer starts, it draws more current, increasing EMI, which can corrupt data on a nearby network cable, causing packet loss and disconnects.

Answer

The printer is using too much bandwidth.

Answer

The desktop has a duplicate IP address.

Answer

The switch port is administratively down.

Question 18

A small office uses a single router with four switch ports. Users on port 4 cannot access the internet, but they can communicate with each other. Port 4's LED is solid green. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Port 4 is assigned to a different VLAN without internet access.. If users on port 4 can communicate with each other but cannot access the internet, and the LED is solid green, the port is likely assigned to a different VLAN that lacks a route to the internet. Solid green indicates physical link is up, so the cable and port are functional.

Answer

Port 4 is administratively disabled.

Answer

The cable on port 4 is faulty.

Answer

The router's DHCP pool is exhausted.

Question 19

A user reports that a cloud-hosted application is running very slowly during peak hours. The application is hosted on an IaaS platform with a single virtual machine. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The virtual machine is under-provisioned for the current workload. A single virtual machine on IaaS that runs slowly during peak hours is most likely under-provisioned — insufficient vCPU, memory, or I/O for the peak workload. Cloud VMs have fixed resource allocations, so when demand spikes, the instance becomes a bottleneck, causing high latency.

Answer

The user's internet connection is saturated

Answer

The cloud provider is experiencing a regional outage

Answer

The application's power supply is failing

Question 20

A small office has a single switch connecting all workstations. Users report that they can see each other on the network but cannot access the internet. The router's link light is off. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Check the Ethernet cable between the switch and router.. The router's link light being off indicates no physical link between the switch and router. Since users can see each other, the switch and workstations are functioning, so the most likely cause is a faulty or disconnected Ethernet cable between the switch and router. Checking this cable first is the logical step to restore the physical connection needed for internet access.

Answer

Replace the switch.

Answer

Reboot all workstations.

Answer

Update the router's firmware.