220-1101 Practice Test 3 — 10 Questions

Question 1

A technician is building a custom gaming PC. After installing the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and a dedicated graphics card, the technician connects all power supply cables. The system powers on (fans spin, lights come on) but there is no display on the monitor, and no POST beeps are heard. The technician verifies that the monitor is functional and correctly connected to the graphics card's display port. The motherboard's diagnostic LEDs show a solid red CPU LED. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The 8-pin CPU power connector is not plugged into the motherboard. The solid red CPU LED on the motherboard indicates a CPU-related fault. Since the system powers on (fans spin, lights on) but fails to POST, the most common cause is that the 8-pin EPS12V CPU power connector is not connected. Without this dedicated power, the CPU cannot initialize, halting the POST process before any display output or beep codes occur.

Answer

The CPU is not properly seated in the socket

Answer

The RAM modules are not compatible with the motherboard

Answer

The BIOS version does not support the installed CPU

Question 2

A technician is building a new PC using an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and an Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS motherboard. When powering on, the motherboard's Q-LED indicator shows a solid red light for the CPU. The CPU fan spins, and all other fans and LEDs appear normal. The technician has carefully reseated the CPU and verified there are no bent pins. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the CPU error light?

Accepted Answer

The BIOS version is too old to support the CPU. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is based on the Zen 3 architecture, which requires a BIOS version that supports Vermeer CPUs. The Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS motherboard may ship with an older BIOS that only supports Zen 2 (Matisse) processors. A solid red CPU Q-LED indicates the motherboard cannot initialize the CPU, typically due to an incompatible BIOS version. Updating the BIOS to a version that includes support for Ryzen 5000 series CPUs resolves this issue.

Answer

The CPU is not on the motherboard's Qualified Vendor List (QVL)

Answer

The power supply unit is insufficient for the CPU

Answer

The CPU cooler is not making proper contact with the CPU

Question 3

A technician is assembling a new desktop computer. After installing the motherboard, CPU, heatsink, RAM, and power supply, the technician presses the power button but nothing happens. No lights turn on, no fans spin. The power supply is brand new and known to be compatible. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the power switch cable from the front panel is connected to the correct motherboard header pins. When a brand-new desktop shows no signs of power (no lights, no fans), the most logical first step is to verify the front panel power switch connection. The power button on the case is connected to the motherboard via a small two-wire cable that must be attached to the correct header pins (typically labeled PWR_SW or PWR_BTN). If this cable is not connected or is on the wrong pins, pressing the button will not complete the circuit to signal the power supply to turn on, even though all other components are properly installed.

Answer

Remove and reseat the CPU to ensure it is properly installed

Answer

Remove and reseat the RAM modules in the correct slots

Answer

Test the power supply by using a paperclip to short the green and black wires on the 24-pin connector

Question 4

A technician is building a desktop computer for a graphic designer. The motherboard supports both SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs. The technician installs a 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD in the primary M.2 slot and a 2TB SATA HDD for additional storage. The computer boots from the NVMe SSD without issue. However, the SATA HDD is not detected in Windows Disk Management or in the BIOS. The technician has verified the SATA cable is connected securely and the HDD is receiving power. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The M.2 NVMe SSD disables specific SATA ports on this motherboard. The M.2 NVMe SSD uses PCIe lanes that, on many consumer motherboards, share bandwidth with specific SATA ports. When an M.2 NVMe drive is installed in the primary M.2 slot, the motherboard firmware automatically disables certain SATA ports (often SATA port 5 or 6) to avoid lane conflicts. This explains why the SATA HDD is not detected even though it is powered and the cable is secure.

Answer

The SATA HDD is too large to be recognized alongside an NVMe drive

Answer

The SATA controller is disabled in the BIOS

Answer

The SATA HDD requires a jumper setting for 2TB mode

Question 5

A technician is building a new desktop computer with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and a B450 chipset motherboard. The system powers on, case fans spin, and the CPU fan spins, but there is no display output and no POST beeps. The motherboard's CPU debug LED remains lit. The technician has already reseated the CPU (no bent pins), verified the RAM is compatible and seated correctly, and tested the power supply with a multimeter (voltages within spec). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The B450 motherboard requires a BIOS update to be compatible with the Ryzen 5 5600X.. The Ryzen 5 5600X is based on the Zen 3 architecture, while B450 motherboards were originally designed for Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs. Without a BIOS update that includes AGESA firmware supporting Vermeer (Zen 3), the motherboard cannot initialize the CPU, causing the CPU debug LED to stay lit and preventing POST. The technician has already verified power, RAM, and CPU seating, making an incompatible BIOS the most likely cause.

Answer

The CPU is not receiving sufficient voltage from the power supply.

Answer

The CPU is defective and needs to be replaced.

Answer

The RAM is not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel memory.

Question 6

A technician is building a desktop computer for a user. The power supply unit (PSU) is a 750W unit with a single 12V rail. The graphics card requires two 8-pin PCIe power connectors. The PSU has two separate cables, each with one 6+2 connector. The technician instead uses a single cable that has two 6+2 connectors daisy-chained (one at the end, one in the middle) to power the graphics card. The system boots and runs normally under light load, but under heavy gaming load, the system shuts down. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The daisy-chained cable cannot deliver sufficient current to both connectors, causing voltage drop and shutdown.. The daisy-chained cable is designed to deliver a maximum current per connector, typically around 150W per 8-pin PCIe connector. When both connectors are on the same cable, the total current draw can exceed the cable's rated capacity (often 288W for 18AWG wire), causing voltage drop and triggering the PSU's overcurrent protection (OCP) or causing instability under heavy load. This results in the system shutting down during gaming, even though the PSU's total wattage (750W) is sufficient.

Answer

The PSU does not have enough wattage for the graphics card.

Answer

The graphics card requires a power supply with dual 12V rails.

Answer

The PCIe slot is not providing enough power.

Question 7

A technician is building a high-performance gaming PC. The motherboard has four DDR4 DIMM slots, and the technician installs two 8 GB modules in slots A2 and B2 (dual-channel configuration). The PC boots and works, but the BIOS shows only 8 GB of RAM. The technician reseats the modules and tries different slots, but the issue persists. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

One of the RAM modules is faulty. The most likely cause is that one of the RAM modules is faulty. When two modules are installed in a dual-channel configuration (slots A2 and B2) and the system detects only 8 GB instead of 16 GB, it typically indicates that one module is not being recognized or is failing. Reseating and swapping slots did not resolve the issue, which further points to a defective module rather than a configuration or compatibility problem.

Answer

The RAM modules are not compatible with the motherboard

Answer

The CPU cooler is installed too tightly, causing memory controller issues

Answer

Windows 10 has a memory limit for the edition installed

Question 8

A technician is configuring a small office network with a managed switch. The network has two VLANs: VLAN 10 for workstations (192.168.10.0/24) and VLAN 20 for servers (192.168.20.0/24). The switch ports for workstations are set to access mode and assigned to VLAN 10. The server ports are also set to access mode and assigned to VLAN 20. The router is connected to one of the switch ports and is configured with subinterfaces (192.168.10.1 on VLAN 10 and 192.168.20.1 on VLAN 20) to route between VLANs. A workstation on VLAN 10 cannot ping a server on VLAN 20. The workstation can ping other workstations on VLAN 10. The technician has verified the router subinterfaces are configured correctly. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the problem?

Accepted Answer

B. The workstation can ping other workstations on VLAN 10, confirming Layer 2 connectivity within the VLAN. The router subinterfaces are correctly configured, so the issue is likely that the switch port connecting to the router is not configured as a trunk port. Without a trunk, the switch cannot carry both VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 traffic to the router, preventing inter-VLAN routing.

Answer

A

Answer

C

Answer

D

Question 9

A technician is building a new desktop computer. When power is applied, the fans spin, the drives spin up, but the monitor shows no signal and no beep codes are heard. The technician verifies that the power supply is adequate for the components. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

CPU is not properly seated. The absence of beep codes combined with fans and drives spinning indicates the motherboard is receiving power but fails to complete the Power-On Self-Test (POST). A CPU that is not properly seated prevents the CPU from communicating with the chipset, halting POST before any beep sequence can be generated, while the power supply and other components receive power.

Answer

Power supply is faulty

Answer

RAM is incompatible

Answer

Hard drive is not connected

Question 10

A technician is building a new desktop computer. After installing a SATA SSD, the system powers on but the drive does not appear in the BIOS. The SATA data cable is securely connected to both the drive and the motherboard. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify the SATA power cable is connected. The SATA SSD requires both a data cable and a power cable to function. Since the data cable is confirmed secure, the most likely cause is that the SATA power cable from the power supply is not connected to the drive, which would prevent the drive from powering on and being detected in the BIOS. This is the simplest and most common oversight when building a new system.

Answer

Replace the SATA data cable

Answer

Change the SATA port in the BIOS from AHCI to IDE

Answer

Format the drive using another computer