220-1101 Practice Test 21 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their smartphone's touch screen stopped working after the phone was briefly submerged in water. The technician dried the device thoroughly, then replaced the screen assembly (including the digitizer) with a known-good part. After reassembly, the touch screen is still completely unresponsive. The display works correctly, and the phone powers on and charges normally. Which of the following components should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard's touch screen controller IC. The correct answer is C because water damage can short or corrode the touch screen controller IC on the motherboard, which processes signals from the digitizer. Since the display and other functions work, the issue is isolated to the touch input path, and replacing the screen assembly (including the digitizer) did not resolve it, pointing to a damaged controller IC rather than the peripheral components.

Answer

The battery

Answer

The charging port

Answer

The SIM card slot

Question 2

A user reports that they can ping other computers on the network by IP address and can access the internet, but they cannot access any shared folders or network printers on the local network. The user's IP configuration is correct and the network cable is securely connected. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The local firewall settings on the user's computer. The user can ping other computers by IP and access the internet, which confirms that Layer 3 (IP) connectivity is working and the network cable is physically intact. The inability to access shared folders or network printers points to a Layer 4+ issue, typically caused by the local firewall blocking NetBIOS (ports 137-139) or SMB (port 445) traffic. Since the IP configuration is correct and the cable is secure, the first logical step is to check the local firewall settings on the user's computer.

Answer

The switch port configuration

Answer

The DHCP server lease status

Answer

The network cable for physical damage

Question 3

A user reports that their Android smartphone's battery drains much faster than normal, even when the phone is idle. The technician checks the battery usage statistics and sees that 'Android System' and 'Google Play Services' are the top consumers. The user has already restarted the phone. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Check for and install any available OS and app updates. Option A is correct because the battery drain is likely caused by a software bug or incompatibility in the OS or Google Play Services. Checking for and installing available OS and app updates can patch known issues, such as wakelock loops or background service inefficiencies, that cause excessive CPU usage and battery drain even when the phone is idle.

Answer

Perform a factory reset and restore from a backup

Answer

Replace the battery with a new one

Answer

Disable background data for all apps

Question 4

A user reports that they can access internal company web servers by IP address (e.g., http://10.0.1.50) but not by hostname (e.g., http://intranet). Other users on the same network can access the intranet by hostname without issue. The technician checks the computer's IP settings and sees that the DNS server address is manually set to 8.8.8.8. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The computer is using an external DNS server that cannot resolve internal hostnames. Option C is correct because the computer has its DNS server manually set to 8.8.8.8, which is a public external DNS server operated by Google. External DNS servers like 8.8.8.8 have no records for internal private hostnames (e.g., 'intranet'), so they cannot resolve them. Since the user can access internal servers by IP address but not by hostname, and other users on the same network can resolve the hostname (likely using an internal DNS server), the issue is specifically that this computer is using an external DNS server that cannot resolve internal hostnames.

Answer

The computer's subnet mask is incorrect

Answer

The internal DNS server is unreachable

Answer

The DHCP scope is exhausted

Question 5

A user reports that their workstation can access the internet but cannot access network shares on the local file server. The technician runs ipconfig and sees IP address 192.168.1.100, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.1.1. The technician successfully pings the gateway and a public IP address (8.8.8.8). However, pinging the file server at 192.168.1.50 fails with 'Request timed out'. Other workstations on the same subnet can access the file server. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The workstation has a duplicate IP address with another device on the network. The workstation can ping the gateway and a public IP, confirming that its IP configuration, subnet mask, and default gateway are correct and that Layer 3 routing works. However, it cannot ping the file server (192.168.1.50) while other workstations on the same subnet can. This points to a local Layer 2 or Layer 3 conflict specific to this workstation. A duplicate IP address would cause the file server's ARP table to map 192.168.1.100 to the wrong MAC address, so pings from this workstation to the file server go unanswered because the file server sends replies to the other device with the same IP.

Answer

The subnet mask on the workstation is configured incorrectly

Answer

The Windows Firewall is blocking inbound traffic to the file server

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving the file server's hostname

Question 6

A user reports that their workstation can access the internet and other network resources by IP address, but cannot connect to an internal file server (fileserver.company.local) by its hostname. Other users on the same network can access the file server by hostname without issue. The workstation's IP configuration is static: IP 192.168.1.10, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.1.1, and DNS server 192.168.1.1. The technician pings the IP address of the file server (192.168.1.100) successfully from the affected workstation. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The local hosts file has an incorrect mapping for the file server. The workstation can access resources by IP address but not by hostname, and other users can resolve the hostname successfully, indicating a local name resolution issue. The hosts file on the affected workstation likely contains an incorrect or outdated mapping for fileserver.company.local, overriding DNS resolution. Since the DNS server is working for other users and the workstation can ping the file server by IP, the problem is isolated to the local hosts file.

Answer

The workstation's network cable is faulty

Answer

The DNS server is not configured to resolve internal hostnames

Answer

A firewall rule is blocking port 445 (SMB) on the workstation

Question 7

A user reports that they cannot access any websites using their web browser, but they can successfully ping external IP addresses such as 8.8.8.8. Other users on the same network are able to browse the internet normally. The technician checks the workstation's IP configuration and finds the following: IP 192.168.1.50, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.1.1, DNS server 192.168.1.1. The technician can ping 192.168.1.1 successfully. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

DNS server not responding or misconfigured. The user can ping external IP addresses (e.g., 8.8.8.8) and the default gateway (192.168.1.1), confirming that IP routing and the gateway are functional. However, they cannot resolve domain names to IP addresses, which is a classic symptom of DNS failure. Since the DNS server is set to 192.168.1.1 (likely the gateway) and other users on the same network can browse normally, the issue is isolated to this workstation's DNS configuration or the DNS service on that server not responding to this specific client.

Answer

Incorrect subnet mask

Answer

Incorrect default gateway

Answer

Firewall blocking web traffic (port 80/443)

Question 8

A user reports that they can ping the IP address 8.8.8.8 successfully from their computer, but they cannot browse the internet using website names. Other users on the same network have no issues. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify the DNS server settings on the computer. Since the user can ping 8.8.8.8 (a public IP address) but cannot browse by website names, the issue is name resolution. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses, so the first step is to verify the DNS server settings on the affected computer. Other users working fine indicates the network and DHCP are likely healthy, isolating the problem to the client's DNS configuration.

Answer

Check the network cable and connection

Answer

Check the browser's proxy settings

Answer

Reboot the DHCP server

Question 9

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 10

A user reports that they can access internal company servers by IP address but cannot access the internet. The user can ping the default gateway successfully. Other users on the same subnet have full internet access. The technician checks the user's IP configuration and sees that the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway are correct. The DNS server address is set to the company's internal DNS server (10.0.1.10). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The user's computer has a stale DNS cache. The user can access internal servers by IP and ping the default gateway, confirming that Layer 3 connectivity is intact. Since other users on the same subnet have full internet access, the issue is isolated to this specific computer. A stale DNS cache can prevent name resolution for external domains while leaving internal IP-based access unaffected, which matches the symptom exactly.

Answer

The DHCP scope is exhausted and the user received an APIPA address

Answer

The user has an incorrect default gateway configured

Answer

The user's subnet mask is incorrect

Question 11

A user reports that their workstation experiences intermittent network drops and slow speeds. The technician checks the switch port status and notices a high number of late collisions. The workstation's network adapter is set to auto-negotiate. The switch port is also set to auto-negotiate but the technician observes that the link has negotiated at 100 Mbps half-duplex. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

Duplex mismatch between the workstation NIC and the switch port. The high number of late collisions and the link negotiating at 100 Mbps half-duplex are classic symptoms of a duplex mismatch. When both the workstation NIC and the switch port are set to auto-negotiate but the link settles on half-duplex, it indicates that one side failed to properly negotiate full-duplex, often due to a faulty auto-negotiation process or a forced setting on one side. Late collisions occur because the switch transmits at full-duplex while the workstation listens at half-duplex, causing collisions after the collision window has passed.

Answer

Faulty Ethernet cable causing excessive crosstalk

Answer

Incorrect VLAN assignment on the switch port

Answer

IP address conflict on the network

Question 12

A user reports that they can browse the internet and access all network resources by IP address, but they cannot print to the network printer by its hostname. Other users can print using the hostname without issue. The technician pings the printer's IP address from the affected computer and gets a successful reply. Which of the following should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

The DNS server settings on the user's computer. The user can browse the internet and access resources by IP address but not by hostname, which points to a name resolution failure. Since other users can print to the network printer by hostname, the printer and DNS server are functioning correctly. The issue is isolated to the affected computer's DNS configuration, making checking the DNS server settings on the user's computer the next logical step.

Answer

The printer's firewall settings

Answer

The user's network cable

Answer

The router's NAT configuration

Question 13

A user's computer can access the internet and can successfully ping the IP address of a local file server (192.168.1.50). However, the user cannot access the file server by its hostname (fileserver.local). Other computers on the same network can access the file server by hostname without any issues. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this problem?

Accepted Answer

The computer's hosts file contains an incorrect entry for the file server.. The hosts file on the local computer overrides DNS resolution. Since the user can ping the file server by IP but not by hostname, and other computers resolve the hostname correctly, the most likely cause is a static, incorrect entry in the local hosts file that maps 'fileserver.local' to a wrong IP or is malformed. This file is checked before DNS, so even if DNS is working for others, the local computer will use the faulty entry.

Answer

The computer's subnet mask is incorrect.

Answer

The file server's firewall is blocking the user's computer.

Answer

The DHCP lease has expired, and the computer has an APIPA address.

Question 14

A user reports that they cannot print to a network printer. Other users on the same network can print to this printer successfully. The technician verifies that the workstation can ping the printer by IP address. The technician checks the print queue on the workstation and sees the job stuck with a 'Spooling' status. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Restart the Print Spooler service on the workstation. The Print Spooler service on the workstation manages the queue of print jobs sent to the printer. A stuck job with a 'Spooling' status indicates that the spooler has stalled or is hung, preventing new jobs from processing. Since the workstation can ping the printer (network connectivity is fine) and other users can print (printer and print server are functional), the issue is isolated to the local spooler. Restarting the Print Spooler service (via `net stop spooler` then `net start spooler` or through Services.msc) clears the stuck job and resets the spooler, which is the quickest and least disruptive first step.

Answer

Delete and re-add the printer on the workstation

Answer

Reboot the network printer

Answer

Check the user's permissions on the print server

Question 15

A user's smartphone has a cracked screen. The touch display still works partially, but there are areas where touch is unresponsive. The phone's LCD is intact, with no dead pixels or discoloration. Which component most likely needs to be replaced?

Accepted Answer

The digitizer. The digitizer is the touch-sensitive layer that registers touch input. Since the LCD is intact and displays correctly, the unresponsive touch areas indicate a damaged digitizer, not the display panel. Replacing the digitizer restores full touch functionality.

Answer

The battery

Answer

The LCD panel

Answer

The front-facing camera