220-1101 Practice Test 2 — 30 Questions

Question 1

A technician is building a desktop computer. The motherboard manual states it supports DDR4-3200 RAM. The technician installs DDR4-2666 RAM. The system boots and operates normally. Which of the following best describes the performance of the installed RAM?

Accepted Answer

The RAM will run at 2666 MHz.. The motherboard supports DDR4-3200 RAM, but the installed RAM is rated for DDR4-2666. By default, the system will run the memory at the highest speed supported by both the motherboard and the installed RAM, which is 2666 MHz. This is because the memory controller reads the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) data from the RAM modules and sets the speed to the maximum supported by the slowest component.

Answer

The RAM will run at 3200 MHz.

Answer

The RAM will not be compatible and the system will not boot.

Answer

The RAM will run at 2933 MHz.

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer in a machine shop. The computer experiences intermittent network connectivity loss, specifically when a large electric motor on a nearby lathe is started. The link light on the network interface card (NIC) turns off during these events. The technician has already replaced the Ethernet cable with a shielded Cat6a cable and moved the computer to a different electrical circuit on a different breaker panel. The problem persists. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Use a fiber optic Ethernet cable and media converters. The large electric motor generates strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) when started. Shielded Cat6a cable reduces but does not eliminate EMI, and moving to a different circuit does not address radiated interference. Fiber optic cable is completely immune to EMI because it uses light pulses instead of electrical signals, making it the definitive solution for this environment.

Answer

Replace the network interface card with one that supports a higher level of error correction

Answer

Install a ferrite core on the Ethernet cable near the computer

Answer

Replace the power supply unit (PSU) of the computer with a model that has better electrical noise filtering

Question 3

A user reports that they can access internal network resources by IP address but cannot browse the internet by domain name (e.g., www.google.com). The technician checks the workstation's network adapter settings and sees that the IP address is obtained via DHCP. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

DNS server configuration. The user can access internal resources by IP address but not by domain name, which indicates that name resolution is failing. Since the workstation obtains its IP address via DHCP, the DNS server configuration is likely missing or incorrect, preventing the system from translating domain names like www.google.com into IP addresses.

Answer

Incorrect subnet mask

Answer

Wrong default gateway

Answer

Duplicate IP address

Question 4

A technician is installing a new CPU into a desktop motherboard. After placing the CPU into the socket and applying a small amount of thermal paste, the technician is about to attach the heatsink. Which of the following is the correct method for securing the heatsink?

Accepted Answer

Tighten screws in a diagonal/cross pattern a little at a time. The correct method is to tighten the heatsink screws in a diagonal/cross pattern a little at a time. This ensures even pressure distribution across the CPU's integrated heat spreader (IHS), preventing uneven contact that can cause hot spots or thermal throttling. Tightening one screw fully first can tilt the heatsink, creating an air gap that reduces thermal transfer efficiency.

Answer

Tighten one screw fully, then move to the next

Answer

Apply additional thermal paste after mounting the heatsink

Answer

Use a power drill to speed up the process

Question 5

A technician is building a workstation with a motherboard that has two M.2 slots. One slot (M2A) supports both SATA and PCIe, and the other (M2B) supports PCIe only. The technician installs a SATA M.2 drive in M2B. After booting, the system does not detect the drive. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The M2B slot does not support SATA mode.. The M2B slot supports PCIe only, not SATA. Since the technician installed a SATA M.2 drive into that slot, the motherboard cannot communicate with the drive because the slot lacks the necessary SATA controller interface. This is a classic mismatch between drive interface and slot capability.

Answer

The M.2 drive is defective.

Answer

The SATA controller is disabled in BIOS.

Answer

The drive's firmware needs an update.

Question 6

A technician is building a new desktop PC from components. After installing the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and power supply, the technician needs to connect the front panel power switch to the motherboard. Which of the following motherboard headers should the technician connect the power switch cable to?

Accepted Answer

PWR_BTN (Power Button) or POWER_SW header. The front panel power switch cable must be connected to the motherboard header labeled PWR_BTN or POWER_SW. This header completes a momentary contact circuit that signals the power supply to turn on when the switch is pressed, initiating the system boot sequence.

Answer

PWR_LED (Power LED) header

Answer

RESET (Reset Button) header

Answer

SPEAKER header

Question 7

A technician is installing a new SATA SSD into a desktop computer. After connecting the SATA data cable and SATA power cable, the technician powers on the system. The system boots normally from the existing OS drive, but the new SSD is not listed in the BIOS boot menu or in the operating system's Disk Management utility. The technician has verified that the SATA data and power cables are securely connected and that the SSD is known to work from another system. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SATA controller is disabled in the BIOS.. The new SSD is not detected in the BIOS boot menu or Disk Management, even though it is known to work and cables are secure. This indicates the system cannot communicate with the drive at the hardware level. The most likely cause is that the SATA controller is disabled in the BIOS, which prevents the motherboard from enumerating any SATA devices, including the SSD.

Answer

The SSD is not formatted with a file system.

Answer

The motherboard's chipset drivers are missing.

Answer

The power supply unit (PSU) is underpowered.

Question 8

A user reports that their workstation can access internal network resources by IP address (e.g., \192.168.1.100\share) and can browse the internet using IP addresses (e.g., http://8.8.8.8), but cannot access any resources by hostname (e.g., \fileserver\share or www.example.com). Other workstations on the same subnet can resolve hostnames without issue. The workstation obtains its IP address via DHCP. The technician runs ipconfig and sees: IP: 192.168.1.105, Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0, Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1, DNS Server: 192.168.1.1. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The DNS resolver cache on the workstation is corrupted or contains invalid entries.. The workstation can access resources by IP address but not by hostname, which indicates a name resolution problem. Since other workstations on the same subnet resolve hostnames correctly, the DNS server (192.168.1.1) is functioning. The most likely cause is a corrupted DNS resolver cache on the local workstation, which can be cleared with the `ipconfig /flushdns` command to force fresh queries.

Answer

The DHCP scope is exhausted, and the workstation received an incorrect DNS server address.

Answer

NetBIOS over TCP/IP is disabled on the workstation, preventing NetBIOS name resolution.

Answer

The workstation is in the wrong workgroup or domain, so it cannot resolve remote hostnames.

Question 9

A technician is building a new desktop PC. After installing the CPU, RAM, motherboard, and power supply, the technician connects the monitor to the motherboard's video output. When the PC is powered on, the fans spin, but no display appears and no beep codes are heard. The technician has verified that the monitor works with another computer. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

A. The correct answer is A because the system has no integrated graphics (or the CPU lacks an iGPU), so the motherboard's video output is non-functional. The fans spinning and no beep codes indicate power is present but no display signal is generated, which is typical when a discrete GPU is required. The next step is to install a dedicated graphics card and connect the monitor to it.

Answer

B

Answer

C

Answer

D

Question 10

A technician is building a high-end workstation for 3D rendering. The chosen CPU uses an LGA 1200 socket and supports dual-channel memory. The technician needs a motherboard that supports the CPU, at least two PCIe x16 slots for dual graphics cards, and should allow memory overclocking for optimal performance. Which of the following motherboard chipsets is the most suitable for this task?

Accepted Answer

ATX motherboard with Z490 chipset. The Z490 chipset is the only option that supports both dual-channel memory overclocking (via unlocked memory multipliers) and multiple PCIe x16 slots for dual graphics cards, while also being compatible with the LGA 1200 socket. This makes it ideal for a high-end 3D rendering workstation where CPU and memory performance are critical.

Answer

Micro-ATX motherboard with H410 chipset

Answer

Mini-ITX motherboard with B460 chipset

Answer

ATX motherboard with Q470 chipset

Question 11

A technician is configuring a small office network with a PoE-managed switch and several VoIP phones. All phones are connected and working except one. On the non-working phone, the Ethernet link light is solid on both the phone and the switch port, but the phone's display remains dark and it does not power on. The technician has verified the cable with a tester and it passes. The switch port is enabled and configured for the same VLAN as other working phones. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The switch port's PoE power budget has been exceeded.. A PoE-managed switch allocates power from a finite budget. If the total power draw of all connected devices exceeds the switch's PoE power budget, the switch may deny power to additional devices even if the port is administratively enabled and the link is up. The solid Ethernet link light indicates Layer 1 connectivity, but the phone's dark display and lack of power suggest it is not receiving PoE, which is consistent with the switch having exhausted its PoE budget.

Answer

The phone's MAC address is incorrect.

Answer

The cable is a crossover cable.

Answer

The switch port is in a different subnet.

Question 12

A technician is building a new desktop computer for a graphic designer. After installing the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and a high-end discrete GPU, the system powers on (fans spin, LEDs light) but the monitor displays 'No Signal' when plugged into the GPU. The technician verifies the monitor works with another computer. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the PCIe power cables from the power supply are properly connected to the graphics card. The most common cause of a 'No Signal' error when a discrete GPU is installed is that the PCIe power cables from the power supply are not connected or are insufficiently seated. High-end GPUs require dedicated 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connectors; without them, the card may power its fans and LEDs via the PCIe slot but cannot initialize the display output. Since the monitor works with another computer, the issue is isolated to the GPU's power delivery, making this the logical first check.

Answer

Reseat the graphics card in the PCIe slot

Answer

Replace the HDMI or DisplayPort cable

Answer

Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version

Question 13

A technician is building a workstation with a motherboard that has four DIMM slots arranged as two channels (slots 1/2 for channel A, slots 3/4 for channel B). The technician installs two identical 8 GB DDR4 modules in slots 1 and 2. The system POSTs successfully and shows 16 GB of RAM, but subsequent memory benchmarks indicate that the memory bandwidth is only half of the expected value. Which of the following should the technician do to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Move one of the RAM modules to slot 3. The motherboard has two memory channels: channel A (slots 1 and 2) and channel B (slots 3 and 4). Installing both modules in slots 1 and 2 places them on the same channel, which prevents dual-channel interleaving. This halves the memory bandwidth because the CPU can only access one module at a time per channel. Moving one module to slot 3 (channel B) enables dual-channel mode, doubling the effective bandwidth.

Answer

Enable XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) in the BIOS

Answer

Replace both modules with single-rank modules

Answer

Increase the memory voltage in the BIOS

Question 14

A technician is building a workstation for video editing. The motherboard has four DDR4 DIMM slots and supports dual-channel memory. The technician installs two 16 GB modules in slots 1 and 2, and two 8 GB modules in slots 3 and 4. The system boots and recognizes all 48 GB of RAM, but the memory bandwidth is lower than expected. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The memory is operating in single-channel mode because the capacities per channel are mismatched.. Dual-channel memory requires matched capacities per channel. With 16 GB in slots 1 and 2 (channel A) and 8 GB in slots 3 and 4 (channel B), the total capacity per channel is 32 GB vs. 16 GB. This mismatch forces the memory controller to fall back to single-channel mode, halving the theoretical bandwidth and causing the lower-than-expected performance.

Answer

The RAM modules are not compatible with the motherboard.

Answer

The CPU does not support 48 GB of RAM.

Answer

The BIOS needs to be updated to enable dual-channel mode.

Question 15

A company has a legacy virtual machine running on a deprecated hypervisor (Hyper-V). They want to migrate this VM to a new hypervisor (VMware vSphere) hosted in a private cloud while preserving the VM's configuration, installed applications, and data. The migration must be performed with minimal downtime. Which of the following methods is MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Export the VM as an OVF template and import it into the new hypervisor.. Exporting the VM as an OVF (Open Virtualization Format) template is the most appropriate method because OVF is a hypervisor-agnostic standard that encapsulates the VM's configuration, virtual disks, and metadata. This allows the VM to be imported into VMware vSphere while preserving its installed applications and data, and the export/import process can be performed with minimal downtime by shutting down the VM only during the export phase.

Answer

Perform a physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversion using third-party tools.

Answer

Use live migration (vMotion) to move the VM between hypervisors.

Answer

Rebuild the VM from scratch on the new hypervisor and restore data from backup.

Question 16

A company hosts a critical database on a virtual machine in a public cloud. The database requires persistent storage that must be retained even if the VM is terminated. The storage must also be accessible from multiple VMs simultaneously for a future high-availability configuration. Which type of cloud storage BEST meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

File storage. File storage (C) is correct because it provides a shared, persistent file system that can be mounted by multiple VMs simultaneously, typically using NFS or SMB/CIFS protocols. This meets the requirement for persistent storage that survives VM termination and supports concurrent read/write access for a future high-availability configuration.

Answer

Object storage

Answer

Block storage

Answer

Ephemeral storage

Question 17

A company hosts a legacy application on a virtual machine. The application's license is tied to the MAC address of the virtual machine's network interface. The administrator needs to migrate the VM to a different host server without breaking the license. Which of the following virtualization features should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

MAC address cloning/static assignment. The application's license is tied to the MAC address of the VM's network interface. When a VM is migrated to a different host, the hypervisor typically assigns a new MAC address, which would break the license. By using MAC address cloning or static assignment, the administrator can preserve the original MAC address on the new host, ensuring the license remains valid.

Answer

VLAN tagging

Answer

Jumbo frames

Answer

Network bonding/teaming

Question 18

A company must run a sensitive financial application that requires the application to be hosted on physical servers that are not shared with any other customer. The workload is highly variable and may require large amounts of resources for a few hours at a time. The company wants to minimize costs by paying only for the resources consumed. Which of the following cloud deployment models BEST meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Public cloud with dedicated hosts. A public cloud with dedicated hosts meets the requirement for physical server isolation (no resource sharing with other customers) while allowing the company to pay only for the resources consumed. The dedicated host option ensures the sensitive application runs on a physical server dedicated solely to that customer, and the public cloud's pay-as-you-go model supports the highly variable workload without long-term commitments.

Answer

Private cloud

Answer

Hybrid cloud

Answer

Community cloud

Question 19

A company subscribes to a cloud service that allows them to select a set amount of virtual CPU cores, RAM, and storage for their instances. They are billed monthly based on the total resources used, regardless of how many times they change the configuration. This billing model BEST represents which cloud computing characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. The billing model described charges based on the total resources (vCPU, RAM, storage) consumed over the month, regardless of configuration changes. This is the definition of measured service, where cloud resource usage is metered, monitored, and billed according to actual consumption. The key is that the cost is directly tied to the measured quantity of resources used, not to the frequency or method of provisioning.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 20

A business uses a cloud service that automatically increases the number of virtual servers during peak traffic hours and decreases them during low usage, all without manual intervention. The policy is predefined in the cloud management console. This scenario best exemplifies which characteristic of cloud computing?

Accepted Answer

Rapid elasticity. Rapid elasticity is the correct characteristic because the cloud service automatically scales virtual server resources up and down based on predefined policies, matching demand without manual intervention. This dynamic scaling—adding instances during peak traffic and removing them during low usage—is the core definition of rapid elasticity in cloud computing, as it allows resources to expand and contract elastically to meet workload changes.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Measured service