220-1201 Practice Exam 54 — 20 Questions

Question 1

During a routine hardware upgrade, you install a new PCIe x16 graphics card into a desktop motherboard. The system powers on, but the display remains blank. The graphics card's fans are spinning. What should you check first on the motherboard?

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

Accepted Answer

The monitor cable is connected to the graphics card, not the motherboard. The most common cause of a blank display after installing a discrete GPU is that the monitor cable is still plugged into the motherboard's integrated video output rather than the new card's ports. Since the GPU fans spin, the card is receiving power, so the first and simplest check is verifying the cable is on the graphics card. This is a physical, no-cost check that resolves the majority of 'no signal' cases.

Answer

The BIOS settings for primary display adapter

Answer

The graphics card power connectors are properly attached

Answer

The PCIe slot is damaged

Question 2

A technician is building a new PC for a graphic designer who needs to run Windows 11. The technician installs a 2 TB NVMe SSD and 32 GB of RAM. During Windows installation, the installer reports that the drive cannot be used because it uses the MBR partition table. What UEFI setting or action should the technician change?

Accepted Answer

Convert the drive to GPT using the diskpart utility during installation.. Windows 11 requires UEFI firmware with GPT partition table for the system drive. The error indicates the drive is initialized with MBR, which is incompatible with UEFI boot mode. The technician should convert the drive to GPT using diskpart during installation (or before), which allows Windows 11 to install and boot in UEFI mode. This is the correct action to resolve the partition table issue.

Answer

Enable Legacy BIOS mode in the UEFI to support MBR.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot in the UEFI settings.

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version.

Question 3

A user reports that their laptop cannot connect to the internet, but other devices on the same network work fine. The technician runs ipconfig and sees an IP address of 169.254.12.34 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is not responding to the laptop's request.. The IP address 169.254.12.34 with a 255.255.0.0 subnet mask is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, assigned by Windows when the DHCP client fails to receive a response from a DHCP server. Since other devices on the same network work fine, the DHCP server is operational, but the laptop's DHCP request is not being answered, likely due to a network connectivity issue between the laptop and the DHCP server or a DHCP client service problem.

Answer

The laptop has a static IP address configured incorrectly.

Answer

The subnet mask is wrong; it should be 255.255.255.0.

Answer

The laptop's network adapter is faulty.

Question 4

A technician is configuring a RAID 5 array with three 2 TB hard drives for a small office server. After installation, the array is not recognized by the RAID controller. The drives spin up and are detected individually. What is the most likely oversight?

Accepted Answer

The RAID array has not been initialized.. After physically installing drives in a RAID 5 array, the RAID controller must initialize the array (create the logical volume and write parity/configuration metadata) before the operating system can recognize it. Drives detected individually but no array recognized indicates the initialization/creation step was skipped.

Answer

The drives are not compatible with RAID 5.

Answer

The SATA cables are faulty.

Answer

The power supply is insufficient.

Question 5

A user complains that their desktop computer cannot connect to any network shares, but they can access the internet. The technician pings the file server by IP address successfully, but pinging by hostname fails. Which network configuration issue is most likely causing this problem?

Accepted Answer

The DNS server is not resolving local hostnames.. The user can access the internet (which relies on external DNS resolution) and can ping the file server by IP address, but cannot ping by hostname. This indicates that the local DNS server is failing to resolve the file server's hostname to its IP address. Since the user can reach the internet, the default gateway and subnet mask are likely correct, and the file server's firewall is not blocking ICMP because the IP-based ping succeeds.

Answer

The DHCP server is not assigning a default gateway.

Answer

The subnet mask is incorrect.

Answer

The file server has a firewall blocking ICMP.

Question 6

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 front panel header connects the case's power button to the motherboard, so if it is unseated or miswired, pressing the power button sends no signal and the PSU never turns on — matching the symptom of no fan spin and no LEDs. Since the wall outlet is verified good, the break is between the button and the board. Reseating the front panel header (or jumping the PWR pins) is the standard diagnostic step.

Answer

CMOS battery

Answer

Chipset heatsink

Answer

CPU socket

Question 7

A user reports that their Android smartphone's touchscreen is unresponsive after they dropped it. The screen is not cracked, and the device powers on normally. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the touchscreen issue?

Accepted Answer

The digitizer is damaged. The digitizer is the transparent layer that converts physical touch into electrical signals the device interprets as input. A drop can damage the digitizer's conductive grid even when the outer glass and LCD remain intact, producing an unresponsive touchscreen on a device that still powers on and displays images. Because the LCD is separate and the screen is not cracked, the digitizer is the most likely failed component.

Answer

The LCD panel is damaged

Answer

The battery is swollen

Answer

The operating system is corrupted

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that fails to boot and displays 'No bootable device' after a power outage. The system has a single SATA SSD for the OS and a separate HDD for data. The BIOS detects both drives. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Check the boot order in BIOS/UEFI.. After a power outage, the BIOS/UEFI settings may have been reset or the boot order may have changed, causing the system to not find a bootable device even though both drives are detected. Checking the boot order in BIOS/UEFI is the first logical step because it is non-invasive and addresses the most common cause of 'No bootable device' when drives are detected. Option B is correct.

Answer

Replace the SATA cable for the SSD.

Answer

Run a CHKDSK on the HDD.

Answer

Replace the CMOS battery.

Question 9

A technician is deploying a new workstation in a retail store. After connecting all peripherals and power, the system powers on but the monitor shows 'No Signal'. The monitor is connected via VGA to the motherboard. What should the technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Connect the monitor to the discrete graphics card's video port.. When a discrete graphics card is installed, the motherboard's integrated video (VGA/HDMI on the rear I/O) is typically disabled or deprioritized, so connecting the monitor to the motherboard's VGA port yields 'No Signal' even though the system POSTs fine. The correct first step is to move the monitor cable to the discrete GPU's video output, which is the active display adapter. This is a cabling/port-selection issue, not a hardware failure.

Answer

Replace the VGA cable.

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules.

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS.

Question 10

A company's cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is experiencing slow logins for users in a remote office. The network latency between the remote office and the cloud data center is 150 ms. What is the most effective solution to improve login performance?

Accepted Answer

Deploy a local VDI broker or caching server at the remote office. Deploying a local VDI broker or caching server at the remote office reduces the impact of high latency by handling authentication, profile loading, and cached data locally. This minimizes the number of round trips to the cloud data center during login, significantly improving performance for users in the remote office.

Answer

Increase the bandwidth at the remote office

Answer

Upgrade the cloud VDI servers to faster CPUs

Answer

Switch to a different cloud provider

Question 11

A user complains that their wireless connection drops frequently, but only when they are in the conference room. Other areas of the office have stable connections. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The conference room has thick walls or electronic interference that weakens the signal.. The issue is location-specific: the connection drops only in the conference room, while other areas are stable. This strongly points to a local environmental factor, such as thick walls (e.g., concrete or metal) that attenuate the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz signal, or electronic interference from devices like projectors, fluorescent lights, or microwave ovens. A faulty adapter or overloaded AP would cause problems everywhere, not just in one room.

Answer

The user's laptop has a faulty wireless adapter.

Answer

The access point is overloaded with too many connections.

Answer

The access point's firmware is outdated.

Question 12

A marketing department wants to access a shared calendar and document editing tools without installing any software on their local machines. Which cloud service model would best meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS). Software as a Service (SaaS) delivers fully managed applications over the internet — such as Microsoft 365 for shared calendars and document editing — with no local installation required. The provider manages the infrastructure, platform, and application, and users access everything through a browser. This exactly matches the marketing department's requirement for calendar and document tools without installing software.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

Function as a Service (FaaS)

Question 13

A user reports that their USB 3.0 external hard drive is transferring data at very slow speeds, around 30 MB/s, when connected to a front-panel USB port. The same drive works at expected speeds (over 100 MB/s) on a rear USB port. Which connector-related issue is most likely?

Accepted Answer

The front-panel USB port is only USB 2.0, limiting speed.. The symptom — slow speeds on a front-panel port but full speed on a rear port — strongly indicates the front-panel port is wired as USB 2.0, which caps at 480 Mbps (about 60 MB/s theoretical, often ~30-40 MB/s real). USB 3.0 requires additional pins, and some older or budget cases only route USB 2.0 to the front panel. This is a common connector/wiring limitation, not a drive or cable fault.

Answer

The USB cable is damaged and needs replacement.

Answer

The external hard drive is not compatible with USB 3.0.

Answer

The front-panel USB port is not receiving enough power.

Question 14

You are upgrading a customer's gaming PC to support faster memory. The motherboard supports DDR4-3200, but after installing two 8GB DDR4-3200 modules, the system only runs at 2133 MHz. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

XMP is not enabled in the BIOS. When DDR4 modules rated for 3200 MHz are installed but the system runs at 2133 MHz, the most likely cause is that XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) is not enabled in BIOS/UEFI. DDR4 defaults to the JEDEC standard speed of 2133 MHz; the higher 3200 MHz rating is an overclocked profile that must be explicitly enabled via XMP (Intel) or DOCP/EXPO (AMD).

Answer

The RAM modules are defective

Answer

The motherboard does not support dual-channel memory

Answer

The CPU does not support DDR4-3200

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that fails to boot. The motherboard has a POST code display showing '00'. The CPU fan spins, but there is no display output. Which component is most likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

The CPU. A POST code of '00' on most motherboard diagnostic displays indicates the CPU has not completed its initialization — the system never reaches the point of handing off to BIOS. Combined with spinning fans (power present) but no display, the CPU is the most likely failed component. POST code 00 typically means the processor failed to initialize or is not being recognized.

Answer

The power supply unit

Answer

The RAM modules

Answer

The graphics card

Question 16

A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that powers on but displays a black screen with no boot activity. The technician hears the fan spinning and sees the power LED is on. Which of the following steps should the technician perform next to isolate the issue?

Accepted Answer

Connect an external monitor. Connecting an external monitor is the next step to isolate whether the issue is with the laptop's display or the internal hardware. If the external monitor displays properly, the problem is likely the laptop's LCD panel or cable; if not, the issue is with the motherboard, RAM, or other internal components. This is a non-invasive diagnostic step.

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules

Answer

Replace the LCD panel

Answer

Reinstall the operating system

Question 17

A company deploys a new multifunction printer that supports both USB and network connectivity. The printer is installed in a conference room and must be accessible to all employees on the same subnet. Which connection method should the technician use?

Accepted Answer

Connect the printer to the network using an Ethernet cable. The printer must be accessible to all employees on the same subnet, so the technician should connect it directly to the network via Ethernet. This gives the printer its own IP address and allows any authorized user on the LAN to send print jobs over standard protocols like IPP or LPD. USB and Wi-Fi Direct are point-to-point connections that do not provide shared network access.

Answer

Connect the printer via USB to the nearest workstation

Answer

Use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter

Answer

Enable Wi-Fi Direct on the printer

Question 18

A client wants to install a new power supply in a custom PC that uses a mini-ITX motherboard inside a compact case. The current PSU is a standard ATX unit, but the client wants to reduce clutter and improve airflow. Which form factor should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

SFX. SFX (Small Form Factor) power supplies are designed for compact cases and mini-ITX builds, offering the same wattage range as ATX units in a smaller footprint that reduces clutter and improves airflow. This is the standard recommendation for space-constrained builds.

Answer

ATX (standard)

Answer

TFX

Answer

EPS

Question 19

A technician is replacing a faulty motherboard in a workstation. After installing the new board, the system powers on but there is no display output from the integrated graphics port. The CPU does not have integrated graphics. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Install a dedicated GPU into a PCIe slot. The CPU has no integrated graphics, so the motherboard's video output ports are inactive — they are wired to the CPU's iGPU, which does not exist on this processor. Installing a dedicated GPU into a PCIe slot provides the display adapter the system needs to output video. This is the direct fix for 'no display with no iGPU.'

Answer

Clear the CMOS to reset BIOS settings

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS

Answer

Check the monitor cable connection

Question 20

A customer reports that their Bluetooth keyboard intermittently disconnects from their tablet while typing. The tablet and keyboard are less than a meter apart, and no other Bluetooth devices are nearby. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the disconnection?

Accepted Answer

The user's body is blocking the Bluetooth signal when typing.. The most likely cause is that the user's body is blocking the Bluetooth signal. Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, which is heavily absorbed by water in the human body. When typing, the user's hands and torso can create a significant attenuation path between the keyboard and tablet, especially if the tablet is placed behind the user or at an angle that places the body in the direct line of sight. This intermittent physical obstruction explains the disconnection pattern without any other devices nearby.

Answer

The tablet's Bluetooth adapter is defective.

Answer

The keyboard's battery is low.

Answer

There is interference from a nearby Wi-Fi network.