220-1101 Practice Test 19 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is assembling a new custom workstation. After installing the motherboard, CPU, cooler, RAM, and a dedicated graphics card, the system powers on when the power button is pressed. The case fans spin, the CPU cooler fan spins, and LEDs on the motherboard light up. However, there is no display, and the motherboard's DRAM_LED remains lit. The technician has already tried reseating the RAM in different slots and using a single stick, but the issue persists. The CPU and motherboard are both new and listed as compatible. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

The CPU power connector (EPS12V) is not connected. The DRAM_LED remaining lit indicates the motherboard is not detecting or initializing the RAM. Since reseating and single-stick testing did not resolve the issue, the next most likely cause is insufficient power to the CPU memory controller. The EPS12V (4+4 pin) CPU power connector supplies dedicated 12V power to the CPU and its integrated memory controller; without it, the CPU cannot communicate with the RAM, causing the DRAM LED to stay on even though the system appears to power on.

Answer

The GPU power cables are not connected

Answer

The RAM is not supported by the motherboard

Answer

The CMOS battery is dead

Question 2

A technician is installing additional RAM into a desktop computer. The motherboard supports DDR4-3200 up to 64GB. The technician installs two 16GB DDR4-3200 sticks into the correct slots (A2 and B2) as per the motherboard manual. Upon powering on, the computer powers on with fans spinning but there is no display and no POST beeps. The technician removes the new RAM and reinstalls the original RAM (two 8GB sticks), and the computer boots normally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The RAM was not fully seated into the slots.. The most likely cause is that the new RAM was not fully seated into the slots. The symptoms—fans spinning, no display, no POST beeps—indicate a hardware initialization failure, often due to poor contact between the RAM module and the slot. Since the original RAM works fine in the same slots, the issue is not with the motherboard or BIOS, but with the installation of the new modules. Proper seating requires applying even pressure until the retention clips click into place.

Answer

The new RAM is incompatible with the motherboard.

Answer

The motherboard needs a BIOS update to support the new RAM capacity.

Answer

The RAM was inserted backwards.

Question 3

A small office network uses an unmanaged switch to connect 20 workstations to a router. After connecting the 11th workstation, all previously connected workstations begin losing internet connectivity intermittently. The switch link lights remain solid green for all connected devices. The technician discovers that the new workstation has two active network interfaces, both plugged into the same switch. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Network loop. The new workstation has two active network interfaces both plugged into the same unmanaged switch, creating a physical network loop. This loop causes broadcast storms and MAC address table instability (the switch repeatedly learns the same MAC address on different ports), which overwhelms the switch and causes intermittent connectivity for all devices. Unmanaged switches lack Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to detect and block redundant paths, so the loop is not automatically resolved.

Answer

IP address conflict

Answer

Switch is faulty

Answer

Exceeded DHCP scope

Question 4

A technician is building a new desktop computer. After installing an M.2 NVMe SSD, the system powers on, but the drive does not appear in the BIOS/UEFI boot device list. The technician has verified that the SSD is properly seated in the M.2 slot. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the M.2 slot supports NVMe protocol. The M.2 slot on a motherboard can support either SATA or NVMe (PCIe) protocol, but not all slots support both. Since the technician has verified the SSD is properly seated, the next logical step is to confirm that the specific M.2 slot being used is compatible with NVMe protocol. If the slot only supports SATA, an NVMe drive will not be detected regardless of proper installation.

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version

Answer

Enable the M.2 slot in the BIOS settings

Answer

Reseat the SSD in a different M.2 slot if available

Question 5

A user reports that their desktop computer loses network connection intermittently. The technician notices that the LED on the NIC is off but other computers on the same switch work fine. The cable run is long, passing through a ceiling. Which tool should the technician use FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Cable tester. The intermittent loss of connection and the NIC LED being off strongly suggest a physical layer issue with the cable. Since other computers on the same switch work fine, the problem is isolated to this specific cable run, which is long and passes through a ceiling where it could be damaged or pinched. A cable tester is the correct first tool because it can quickly verify continuity, wiring faults, and signal integrity without requiring the network to be active, allowing the technician to isolate the fault before moving to more complex diagnostics.

Answer

Loopback plug

Answer

Multimeter

Answer

Tone generator

Question 6

A technician builds a new workstation. After installing the CPU, heatsink, RAM, and a discrete video card, the system powers on (fans spin, lights come on) but the monitor shows 'No Signal'. The technician verifies the monitor works with another computer. The motherboard has integrated graphics, and the technician tries connecting the monitor to both the integrated port and the discrete video card port; neither produces a display. The system emits no beep codes. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Clear the CMOS by removing the battery or using the jumper. The system powers on with no display and no beep codes, which strongly indicates a POST failure that prevents the motherboard from initializing video output. Clearing the CMOS resets the BIOS/UEFI settings to factory defaults, which can resolve issues caused by incorrect configuration (e.g., a setting that disables integrated graphics or a corrupted video initialization parameter). This is a standard first step when no display is present and all basic connections are verified.

Answer

Reseat the CPU and reapply thermal paste

Answer

Replace the RAM modules one at a time

Answer

Check the power supply connections to the discrete video card

Question 7

A technician is building a video editing workstation. The motherboard supports PCIe 4.0, and the installed M.2 NVMe SSD is rated for PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. The system boots and runs, but benchmarking the SSD shows it only achieves about half of its expected sequential read/write speeds. The technician confirms the SSD is correctly installed in the M.2 slot labeled for PCIe 4.0. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The CPU does not support PCIe 4.0. The motherboard supports PCIe 4.0, but the CPU must also support PCIe 4.0 to provide the necessary lanes. If the CPU only supports PCIe 3.0, the M.2 slot will negotiate down to PCIe 3.0 speeds, cutting the bandwidth in half (from ~7.9 GB/s to ~3.9 GB/s), which matches the symptom of achieving about half the expected sequential read/write speeds.

Answer

The SSD is a SATA-based M.2 drive, not NVMe

Answer

The M.2 slot shares bandwidth with a SATA port that is occupied

Answer

The motherboard BIOS has a secure erase setting enabled

Question 8

A technician configures a new workstation on a managed switch port. The workstation successfully obtains an IP address from the DHCP server and can ping its own IP address as well as the default gateway. However, it cannot ping any other workstations on the same subnet. The technician has verified that the Ethernet cable is good and the switch port link is up. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The VLAN assignment on the switch port. The workstation can obtain an IP address and ping the default gateway, indicating Layer 3 connectivity to the local subnet is functional. The inability to ping other workstations on the same subnet suggests a Layer 2 isolation issue, most commonly caused by the switch port being assigned to a different VLAN than the other workstations. VLANs segment broadcast domains, so devices in different VLANs cannot communicate directly without a router, even if they share the same IP subnet.

Answer

The DNS server settings

Answer

The workstation's subnet mask

Answer

The speed and duplex settings on the switch port

Question 9

A technician replaces a failed power supply in a desktop computer. After connecting all components, the computer does not power on. The technician verifies the power supply's AC cord is plugged in and the wall outlet is working. The motherboard has a standby LED that is lit. When the technician presses the power button, no fans spin and no other LEDs light up. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Inspect the front panel header connections on the motherboard. The standby LED on the motherboard indicates that the power supply is receiving AC power and is providing standby voltage to the motherboard. Since pressing the power button yields no response (no fans, no LEDs), the most likely cause is a faulty connection between the power button and the motherboard. The front panel header, which includes the power switch pins, is often miswired or loose, preventing the signal from reaching the motherboard to initiate the power-on sequence.

Answer

Replace the power supply with a known-good unit

Answer

Reset the CMOS by removing the battery

Answer

Replace the motherboard

Question 10

A user reports that their Android smartphone's touchscreen is unresponsive in a narrow vertical strip near the left edge of the display. The rest of the screen responds normally to touch. The phone has not been dropped or exposed to moisture, and it functions otherwise normally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

Digitizer malfunction. The touchscreen digitizer is the layer responsible for detecting touch input. A narrow vertical strip of unresponsiveness, without any physical damage or other display issues, is a classic symptom of a failing or damaged digitizer, not the LCD panel. The LCD panel only handles image display, which is reported as normal.

Answer

LCD panel damage

Answer

Software calibration issue

Answer

Battery swelling

Question 11

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that randomly restarts under heavy load, such as during video rendering. Temperature monitoring shows CPU and GPU temperatures are within normal ranges. The power supply unit (PSU) fan is spinning, but the technician suspects power delivery issues. Which tool should the technician use to directly test the PSU's voltage outputs?

Accepted Answer

Power supply tester. A power supply tester (D) is the correct tool because it is specifically designed to measure the voltage outputs of a PSU on each rail (e.g., +3.3V, +5V, +12V) under load conditions, directly verifying if the PSU is delivering stable power. While a multimeter can also measure voltage, it requires the technician to probe live pins while the system is running, which is less safe and does not simulate load as effectively. The power supply tester provides a dedicated, safe, and accurate way to test PSU output without needing to power on the entire system.

Answer

Multimeter

Answer

Loopback plug

Answer

Cable tester

Question 12

A technician connects a new workstation to a switch port that is configured with port security and a maximum of one MAC address. After connecting the workstation, the port link LED remains off. The technician has verified the Ethernet cable is good, the switchport is not administratively down, and the workstation's NIC is functioning. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The workstation's MAC address violates port security, causing the port to error-disable. Port security with a maximum of one MAC address will place the port into an error-disabled state if a MAC address violation occurs, such as when the workstation's MAC address differs from the one already learned or when the port detects a new MAC after the limit is reached. The link LED being off indicates the port is administratively up but not operational, which is consistent with an error-disabled condition caused by a security violation. Since the cable, switchport status, and NIC are verified good, the most likely cause is that the workstation's MAC triggered a port security violation, disabling the port.

Answer

The switchport is configured for a different VLAN than the workstation

Answer

The switch requires a reboot to recognize the new workstation

Answer

The workstation has a duplicate IP address on the network

Question 13

A company uses a private cloud platform to provide development and test environments. Developers frequently need to create new virtual machines (VMs) quickly for various projects. The cloud platform allows developers to provision VMs from pre-configured templates that include the OS and required applications, without any interaction from the IT team. Which cloud computing characteristic does this capability BEST represent?

Accepted Answer

On-demand self-service. The capability described allows developers to provision VMs from pre-configured templates without any IT interaction. This directly aligns with on-demand self-service, a core NIST-defined characteristic of cloud computing where a consumer can unilaterally provision computing resources automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Measured service

Question 14

A technician is building a new desktop computer. After installing the CPU, heatsink, and attaching the CPU fan to the motherboard header, the technician connects all power cables. When the system is powered on, the case fans spin and the motherboard LEDs light up, but no display appears and no beep codes are heard. The technician has already verified the monitor works and the video cable is connected to the dedicated GPU. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

A. Ensure the 8-pin CPU power connector is connected to the motherboard. The system powers on (case fans spin, motherboard LEDs light) but has no display and no beep codes, which indicates the CPU is not receiving power or is not initialized. The 8-pin CPU power connector (EPS12V) supplies dedicated 12V power to the CPU voltage regulator; without it, the CPU cannot execute POST, so no beep codes occur and the system appears dead despite other components receiving power. This is the most likely cause given the technician just installed the CPU and heatsink but may have overlooked this separate power cable.

Answer

B. Reseat the graphics card in its PCIe slot

Answer

C. Check that the RAM modules are installed in the correct slots

Answer

D. Verify the monitor's input source is set correctly

Question 15

A user's iPhone 11 is stuck in a boot loop after an attempted jailbreak. The device repeatedly shows the Apple logo and then restarts. The technician connects the iPhone to a computer; iTunes displays a message that the device is in recovery mode and must be restored. The technician attempts a force restart and tries a different USB cable and computer, but the iPhone remains in recovery mode and enters the boot loop after any restore attempt. Which of the following is the NEXT best step?

Accepted Answer

Perform a DFU restore. The iPhone is stuck in a boot loop after a failed jailbreak, and standard recovery mode restores are failing. A DFU (Device Firmware Update) restore bypasses the bootloader and iBoot, allowing the device to be completely wiped and the firmware reinstalled at the lowest level, which is necessary to recover from a corrupted boot chain caused by the jailbreak attempt.

Answer

Replace the battery

Answer

Replace the logic board

Answer

Update iOS using over-the-air (OTA)