220-1101 Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that shuts down unexpectedly after about 10 minutes of playing a graphics-intensive game. The technician checks the CPU temperature, which stays at 45°C at idle but reaches 95°C under load just before shutdown. The heatsink and fan are clean and spinning properly. The power supply is a 650W unit, and the graphics card is a high-end model that draws up to 350W. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the shutdowns?

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

Accepted Answer

The thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink has degraded. The CPU temperature reaching 95°C under load just before shutdown indicates a thermal throttling or thermal protection shutdown. Since the heatsink and fan are clean and spinning properly, the most likely cause is degraded thermal paste, which reduces heat transfer efficiency from the CPU to the heatsink, causing the CPU to overheat despite adequate cooling hardware.

Answer

The power supply is insufficient for the graphics card

Answer

The CPU fan is not spinning fast enough

Answer

The graphics card is overheating

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that shuts down randomly after running for 20-30 minutes. The technician has reseated the RAM modules, confirmed the power supply voltages are within specification using a multimeter, and verified that all case fans are spinning. The system has a dedicated graphics card. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT to diagnose the issue?

Accepted Answer

Check the CPU cooler for proper contact and reapply thermal paste. The random shutdown after 20-30 minutes strongly indicates thermal throttling or overheating. Since the technician has already verified power supply voltages and case fan operation, the most likely cause is inadequate CPU cooling due to poor contact between the CPU cooler and the processor or dried-out thermal paste. Reseating the RAM and checking fans would not address a CPU thermal issue, so checking the CPU cooler and reapplying thermal paste is the correct next step.

Answer

Replace the motherboard

Answer

Update the GPU driver

Answer

Disable the onboard network interface card (NIC)

Question 3

A technician builds a new desktop computer. When powered on, all fans spin and LEDs light up, but the monitor shows 'No Signal'. The monitor is known to work. The motherboard has no onboard video output. The GPU fans spin. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify the GPU power cables are fully seated.. The GPU fans spinning indicates the card is receiving power from the PCIe slot, but the monitor showing 'No Signal' suggests the GPU may not be receiving sufficient supplemental power. The most common cause is a loose or unseated PCIe power cable from the PSU to the GPU. Checking and reseating these cables is the quickest, least invasive step before attempting reseating or replacement.

Answer

Reseat the GPU in its PCIe slot.

Answer

Connect the monitor to the motherboard's video output.

Answer

Replace the GPU with a known-working unit.

Question 4

A technician builds a new desktop computer and installs a high-end dedicated graphics card. The system boots into Windows, but the display resolution is locked at 800x600 and the option to change it is grayed out. In Device Manager, the graphics card is listed under 'Other devices' with a yellow exclamation mark. Which of the following steps should the technician perform FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Install the latest graphics driver from the manufacturer's website.. The yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager under 'Other devices' indicates that Windows has not loaded a proper driver for the graphics card, which is why the display is stuck at the generic VGA resolution of 800x600. Installing the latest driver from the manufacturer's website is the correct first step because the operating system cannot utilize the dedicated GPU's capabilities without the correct driver, and this is the most common cause of the described symptoms.

Answer

Enable the device in the system BIOS.

Answer

Reseat the graphics card in the PCIe slot.

Answer

Disable the integrated graphics in the BIOS.

Question 5

A technician builds a new PC. When powering on, all fans spin and LEDs light, but the monitor shows 'No Signal'. The motherboard has a CPU diagnostic LED that remains lit. The technician has already reseated the RAM and GPU, and verified the monitor and cable are functional. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the CPU and check for bent pins.. The CPU diagnostic LED remaining lit indicates a CPU-related fault. Since the technician has already reseated RAM and GPU and verified the monitor and cable, the next logical step is to reseat the CPU and inspect the CPU socket for bent pins. Bent pins can prevent proper contact between the CPU and motherboard, causing the CPU diagnostic LED to stay on and the system to fail POST.

Answer

Replace the power supply.

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS.

Answer

Test the RAM in another system.

Question 6

A technician builds a new desktop computer. After pressing the power button, the system powers on for about 5 seconds, then shuts down, and then immediately attempts to power on again, repeating the cycle. The technician has verified that all power connections are secure and has reseated the CPU and RAM. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The CPU heatsink fan connection. The symptom of a system powering on for a few seconds, then shutting down and immediately rebooting in a cycle is classic behavior of a thermal or overheat protection trigger. The CPU heatsink fan connection (option B) is the most likely cause because if the fan is not connected or is faulty, the CPU rapidly overheats, causing the motherboard's thermal protection circuitry to shut down the system; it then attempts to restart, only to overheat again, creating the loop. The technician has already reseated the CPU and RAM, so the next logical step is to verify the CPU cooler's power connection.

Answer

The power supply voltage selector switch

Answer

The front panel power switch header

Answer

The CMOS battery

Question 7

A company operates a private cloud environment with a cluster of physical hosts running virtual machines. The IT administrator wants to ensure that if a physical host fails unexpectedly, the virtual machines running on that host will be automatically restarted on another healthy host in the cluster without manual intervention. Which feature should the administrator configure?

Accepted Answer

High availability (HA). High Availability (HA) is the correct feature because it is designed to automatically restart virtual machines on another healthy host within a cluster when a physical host fails. HA uses heartbeat monitoring between hosts and the vCenter Server (or equivalent management platform) to detect failures, then triggers VM restarts on surviving hosts without manual intervention. This directly matches the requirement for automatic recovery from an unexpected host failure.

Answer

Fault tolerance (FT)

Answer

Load balancing

Answer

Live migration

Question 8

A technician needs to replace a cracked LCD screen on an Android smartphone. After disassembling the phone and disconnecting the old screen, which of the following should the technician do FIRST before installing the new screen?

Accepted Answer

Remove or disconnect the battery. The correct first step before installing a new screen is to remove or disconnect the battery. This ensures the device is completely powered off and eliminates the risk of short circuits or electrostatic discharge (ESD) that could damage the new LCD or other sensitive components during installation. Even if the phone appears off, residual charge in capacitors can cause damage if the battery remains connected.

Answer

Connect the new screen and test the display immediately

Answer

Apply adhesive to the frame to secure the new screen

Answer

Update the smartphone's firmware to the latest version

Question 9

A user reports that their smartphone battery drains significantly faster after a recent OS update. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Check the battery usage statistics in the settings menu. The first step in troubleshooting battery drain after an OS update is to check the battery usage statistics in the settings menu. This allows the technician to identify which apps or services are consuming excessive power, often due to background processes or misconfigured settings introduced by the update. Replacing hardware or performing a full OS reinstall without first diagnosing the cause is premature and may not resolve the issue.

Answer

Replace the battery with a new one

Answer

Perform a factory reset and restore from backup

Answer

Reinstall the operating system using the latest firmware

Question 10

A company currently hosts its own on-premises email server. To reduce hardware maintenance overhead, they decide to move the email server to the cloud. They require the ability to install and manage their own email application (e.g., Microsoft Exchange), including the underlying operating system, while the cloud provider is responsible for the physical infrastructure and virtualization layer. Which cloud service model best meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including virtual machines with full control over the operating system and applications. This model allows the company to install and manage their own email application (e.g., Microsoft Exchange) and the underlying OS, while the cloud provider handles the physical hardware and virtualization layer. The requirement to manage the OS and application rules out PaaS and SaaS, which abstract away that control.

Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 11

A technician builds a new desktop computer. When starting the system for the first time, the screen displays a 'CPU Fan Error' message and the system prompts to press F1 to continue. The technician checks the CPU cooler fan and observes that it is spinning. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The CPU fan is connected to a case fan header instead of the CPU fan header. The 'CPU Fan Error' message is triggered when the motherboard does not detect a fan connected to the dedicated CPU fan header (usually labeled CPU_FAN). Even if the fan is spinning, connecting it to a case fan header (SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN) will not satisfy the CPU fan monitoring circuit, as the BIOS specifically polls the CPU_FAN header for a tachometer signal. This is the most likely cause given the fan is physically operational.

Answer

The CPU thermal paste was applied insufficiently

Answer

The power supply is not providing enough power to the fan

Answer

The CPU heatsink is not properly seated on the CPU

Question 12

A user reports that their smartphone's battery drains significantly faster than usual, and the device feels warm to the touch even when it is not being actively used. The battery is not swollen. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of these symptoms?

Accepted Answer

Background app malfunction causing high CPU usage. A background app malfunction causing high CPU usage forces the processor to draw more power, generating excess heat even when the device is idle. This directly explains both the rapid battery drain and the warmth, as the CPU remains active without user interaction.

Answer

Faulty charging port

Answer

Defective display assembly

Answer

Weak cellular signal

Question 13

A user reports that their wired desktop computer loses network connectivity intermittently. The technician notices that the link light on the network interface card (NIC) turns off when the computer's CPU is under heavy load, such as during video rendering. The technician has already updated the network driver and replaced the Ethernet cable with a known-good cable. The switch port is active and works with other devices. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

Power supply unit (PSU) is failing to provide adequate power to the NIC under load. When the CPU is under heavy load, the system draws more power from the PSU. If the PSU is failing or underrated, it may not deliver stable voltage to the NIC, causing the NIC to reset or lose link. This explains why the link light turns off specifically during video rendering, not during idle or light use.

Answer

Faulty switch port

Answer

Network congestion

Answer

Incorrect duplex settings

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that shuts down unexpectedly after about 10 minutes of playing a graphics-intensive game. The technician checks the CPU temperature, which stays at 45°C at idle but reaches 95°C under load just before shutdown. The heatsink and fan are clean and spinning properly. The power supply is a 650W unit, and the graphics card is a high-end model that draws up to 350W. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the shutdowns?

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

Accepted Answer

An incorrectly installed motherboard standoff causing a short circuit.. The symptom of powering on for about one second and then shutting down, even with only the CPU, motherboard, one RAM stick, and power supply connected, strongly indicates a short circuit. An incorrectly installed motherboard standoff that contacts the motherboard's traces or solder points can create a direct short to ground, triggering the power supply's overcurrent protection (OCP) and causing an immediate shutdown. This behavior persists regardless of other components because the short is on the motherboard itself.

Answer

A faulty CMOS battery.

Answer

Incompatible RAM speed.

Answer

Overheating CPU due to improper thermal paste application.

Question 15

A small office has a router that provides DHCP services. Several users report that they cannot access the internet, but they can still access shared folders on the local network. The technician checks one user's computer and sees an IP address of 169.254.10.25. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is not responding. The IP address 169.254.10.25 falls within the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) range (169.254.0.0/16), which Windows assigns when a DHCP discovery broadcast fails to receive a response. Since users can still access local shared folders, local link-layer connectivity is intact, but the lack of a valid DHCP lease means they have no default gateway or DNS server configuration, preventing internet access. The most likely cause is that the DHCP server (the router) is not responding to DHCP requests.

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving domain names

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

A duplicate IP address exists on the network