220-1102 Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a security audit, a technician discovers that an employee used a hammer to destroy several old hard drives. The drives are now in pieces, but the organization's policy mandates 'secure data destruction' for compliance. Which additional step should the technician take?

Accepted Answer

Visually inspect the platters for scratches and breaks, then shred any intact platters.. The correct answer is to verify the destruction by inspecting the platters for visible damage and ensuring they are not intact. Hammering may leave platters partially readable. This question tests the concept of verification in data destruction, as physical methods must be confirmed effective.

Answer

Document the destruction and consider it complete.

Answer

Use a degausser on the remaining pieces.

Answer

Run a data recovery tool on the pieces to see if data remains.

Question 2

A technician is tasked with disposing of a failed SSD that contains encrypted financial records. The SSD is non-functional and cannot be powered on. Which method should the technician use to ensure data is destroyed?

Accepted Answer

Physically shred the SSD using an industrial shredder.. The SSD is non-functional and cannot be powered on, so any software-based method (secure erase, overwriting) is impossible. Physical destruction via an industrial shredder is the only reliable way to ensure the encrypted financial records are unrecoverable from a dead SSD, as it physically breaks the NAND chips beyond repair.

Answer

Use a degausser on the SSD.

Answer

Perform a secure erase command via SATA interface.

Answer

Overwrite the SSD with a data wiping tool on another computer.

Question 3

A technician is decommissioning a RAID array of 10 hard drives that contained sensitive HR data. The company policy requires that data be destroyed without removing individual drives from the array. Which method is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Use a degausser that can accommodate the entire array chassis.. The correct answer is to use a degausser designed for large media, which can destroy data on all drives simultaneously without disassembly. However, this may damage the RAID controller. Alternatively, a bulk eraser could be used. This question tests understanding of bulk destruction methods for RAID arrays.

Answer

Remove each drive and use a hammer to break the platters.

Answer

Perform a secure erase on each drive via the RAID controller.

Answer

Reformat the array and reuse it for non-sensitive data.

Question 4

A customer brings in a laptop that they want to recycle, but they are concerned about personal data. The laptop has a 256GB SSD and the customer wants to keep the laptop functional for resale. Which method should the technician recommend?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'Reset this PC' option with the 'Remove everything and clean the drive' setting.. The correct answer is to use the built-in 'Reset this PC' with the 'Remove everything and clean the drive' option, which performs a secure wipe on SSDs. This ensures data is overwritten while keeping the laptop usable. Simple deletion or formatting is insufficient, and physical destruction would make the laptop unusable.

Answer

Remove the SSD and physically destroy it, then sell the laptop without a drive.

Answer

Use a degausser on the SSD.

Answer

Perform a standard format and reinstall Windows.

Question 5

A company is migrating to a new cloud-based system and needs to dispose of old tape backup cartridges that contain years of financial data. The tapes are magnetic media. Which disposal method is most appropriate for this media type?

Accepted Answer

Overwrite the tapes with a bulk eraser.. Magnetic tape is best destroyed by degaussing, which disrupts the magnetic domains, or by physical shredding. Degaussing is fast and effective for tape, but it renders the tape unusable. Shredding is also acceptable.

Answer

Reformat the tapes using a tape drive.

Answer

Incinerate the tapes in a certified facility.

Answer

Delete the files from the tape catalog.

Question 6

A company is relocating and needs to dispose of 50 old desktop computers with HDDs that contain sensitive client data. The policy requires data destruction to be verifiable and the drives to be physically destroyed. Which method meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Send the drives to a certified e-waste recycler for shredding.. Physical destruction methods like shredding or crushing provide verifiable destruction (e.g., through a certificate of destruction) and ensure the drives cannot be reused, meeting strict security policies. Degaussing also destroys data but may not physically destroy the drive.

Answer

Use a degausser and then donate the drives to a school.

Answer

Overwrite each drive with three passes of random data.

Answer

Reformat each drive and install a fresh OS for reuse.

Question 7

A user reports that their computer is running slowly and they suspect a virus. After scanning, the technician finds malware that has encrypted several files. The technician decides to wipe the drive and reinstall the OS. What should be done to ensure the malware is completely removed before data destruction?

Accepted Answer

Use a secure erase utility that overwrites the entire drive including the boot sector.. Some malware can persist in the boot sector or firmware. A full wipe of the entire drive (including the boot sector) using a secure erase or low-level format ensures no malware remnants remain. A simple format may leave boot-sector malware intact.

Answer

Run a quick format and then reinstall the OS.

Answer

Delete the encrypted files and run a registry cleaner.

Answer

Use System Restore to revert to a previous state.

Question 8

A user reports that their Windows 10 desktop is running very slowly, especially when opening multiple applications. They have 8 GB of RAM and a traditional hard drive. Task Manager shows that memory usage is consistently at 90% or higher. Which component is most likely the bottleneck and what is the best upgrade?

Accepted Answer

The RAM is the bottleneck; add more RAM.. High memory usage (90%+) with 8 GB of RAM indicates that the system is running out of physical memory, causing it to use the hard drive as virtual memory, which is very slow. The best upgrade is to add more RAM to reduce reliance on the slow hard drive paging.

Answer

The CPU is the bottleneck; upgrade to a faster processor.

Answer

The hard drive is the bottleneck; upgrade to an SSD.

Answer

The graphics card is the bottleneck; upgrade to a dedicated GPU.

Question 9

A small business is deploying Windows 11 to 20 new workstations. During the setup, you need to ensure that each computer receives a unique computer name and joins the domain automatically. Which Windows deployment tool should you use to automate this process?

Accepted Answer

Windows Deployment Services (WDS). Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is the correct tool because it is designed to deploy Windows operating systems over a network using Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) boot. It can be configured with answer files to automatically assign unique computer names (via naming policies or a prestaged computer accounts in Active Directory) and join the domain without manual intervention, making it ideal for deploying 20 workstations simultaneously.

Answer

Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM)

Answer

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)

Answer

Sysprep

Question 10

A user is trying to install a legacy application on Windows 10, but the installer fails with a message about 'incompatible version'. The application is known to work on Windows 7. Which compatibility settings should you try first to allow the installation to proceed?

Accepted Answer

Right-click the installer, go to Properties > Compatibility, and check 'Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows 7'.. Windows 10 includes compatibility modes that emulate older versions of Windows. Running the installer in compatibility mode for Windows 7 can often resolve version-check errors, as it tricks the application into thinking it is running on a compatible OS.

Answer

Set the installer to run as an administrator.

Answer

Enable the 'Reduced color mode' compatibility setting.

Answer

Use the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter from the Control Panel.

Question 11

A user reports that their Windows 11 computer is infected with ransomware. Files are encrypted and a ransom note is displayed. The user has a backup from two days ago stored on an external drive that was disconnected after the backup. What is the best course of action to recover the data?

Accepted Answer

Disconnect the computer from the network and restore files from the external backup.. Since the backup was stored on a disconnected external drive, it is likely not encrypted by the ransomware. The best action is to disconnect the infected computer from the network to prevent further spread, then restore the files from the clean backup.

Answer

Pay the ransom to get the decryption key.

Answer

Run a full antivirus scan to remove the ransomware and then restore files.

Answer

Use System Restore to revert the system to a previous state.

Question 12

A user's Windows 10 laptop is experiencing random restarts, especially under heavy load like gaming or video rendering. The Event Viewer shows multiple 'Kernel-Power 41' critical errors. The CPU temperature is normal, and the power supply is functioning. Which component is most likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard is failing.. Kernel-Power 41 errors indicate unexpected shutdowns or restarts. Under heavy load, a failing power supply (even if it appears to function) can cause voltage drops that trigger restarts. However, if the PSU is ruled out, the most likely culprit is the motherboard, as it regulates power delivery to components and can cause instability under load.

Answer

The RAM is faulty.

Answer

The graphics card is overheating.

Answer

The Windows installation is corrupt.

Question 13

A company is migrating from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on 50 computers. After the upgrade, several users report that a critical line-of-business application no longer works. The application ran fine on Windows 10. You need to get it working without rolling back the entire OS. What is the most efficient solution?

Accepted Answer

Reinstall the application on each computer in Windows 10 compatibility mode.. Windows 11 includes a Windows 10 compatibility mode that can be applied to individual applications. Using the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) or the built-in compatibility troubleshooter to set the application to run in Windows 10 compatibility mode is the most efficient fix, as it does not require a full OS rollback.

Answer

Roll back all 50 computers to Windows 10 using the recovery partition.

Answer

Enable Hyper-V on each computer and run the application in a Windows 10 virtual machine.

Answer

Use the Windows 11 'Reset this PC' feature to reinstall Windows 11 and then reinstall the application.

Question 14

A user reports that after a recent Windows update, their computer now boots to a blue screen with the error 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE'. They need to get back to work quickly. Which Windows recovery tool should you use first to attempt a repair?

Accepted Answer

Startup Repair. The 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE' error often indicates a driver or disk configuration issue caused by an update. The Startup Repair tool in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) can automatically diagnose and fix common boot problems like this. It is the safest and fastest initial step before trying more invasive methods.

Answer

System Restore

Answer

Reset this PC

Answer

Command Prompt (chkdsk /f)

Question 15

A customer calls saying that after installing a new printer, their Windows 10 computer now takes much longer to shut down. They have uninstalled the printer software, but the slow shutdown persists. Which tool should you use to identify the cause of the shutdown delay?

Accepted Answer

Event Viewer. Slow shutdowns are often caused by services or drivers that fail to terminate properly. The Event Viewer logs system events, including errors and warnings during shutdown, which can pinpoint the offending component. This is more effective than generic performance monitoring or disk cleanup for this specific issue.

Answer

Task Manager

Answer

Performance Monitor

Answer

Disk Cleanup