220-1101 Practice Test 3 — 30 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their desktop computer intermittently freezes and emits a series of beeps (one long, three short) during the boot process. The technician opens the case and notes that the CPU fan spins, but the system does not POST. The technician swaps the RAM modules with known-good modules from another identical system, but the issue persists. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

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

Accepted Answer

Graphics card (GPU). The beep code of one long followed by three short beeps is a standard AMI BIOS POST code indicating a video card or memory error. Since the RAM has already been swapped with known-good modules and the issue persists, the most likely faulty component is the graphics card (GPU). The CPU fan spinning confirms power is reaching the motherboard, but the system failing to POST points to a critical component failure, and the GPU is the next logical suspect after eliminating RAM.

Answer

Motherboard

Answer

CPU

Answer

CMOS battery

Question 2

A user reports that the touchscreen on their smartphone is unresponsive in a vertical strip approximately one inch wide, running from the top to the bottom of the screen. All other areas of the screen respond correctly to touch. The user has cleaned the screen and removed the screen protector. The phone has not been dropped or exposed to liquid. Which of the following components is MOST likely causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

Digitizer failure. The digitizer is the layer responsible for detecting touch input. A vertical strip of unresponsiveness, without any impact or liquid damage, indicates a localized failure of the digitizer's grid of electrodes, often caused by a manufacturing defect or internal crack in the digitizer layer itself. The LCD panel remains functional because the display still shows images correctly in that area.

Answer

LCD panel failure

Answer

Software glitch

Answer

Battery swelling

Question 3

A technician is upgrading the RAM in a desktop computer. After installing two new identical DDR4 modules into the appropriate slots, the computer powers on but does not display any video and emits a series of short beeps. The technician verifies that the modules are compatible with the motherboard and are firmly seated. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Test the modules one at a time. The series of short beeps indicates a memory-related POST failure. Since the modules are compatible and seated correctly, the most likely issue is a defective module or a slot problem. Testing each module individually in a known-good slot isolates the faulty component without introducing unnecessary variables.

Answer

Replace the power supply

Answer

Replace the CPU

Answer

Update the BIOS

Question 4

A company hosts its e-commerce website on a public cloud platform. During a marketing campaign, the website experiences a sudden, unplanned spike in traffic. The cloud environment automatically provisions additional virtual servers to handle the load and later decommissions them when traffic returns to normal. This capability is BEST described by which cloud computing characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Elasticity. Elasticity is the cloud computing characteristic that enables automatic scaling of resources up or down based on demand. In this scenario, the cloud platform provisions additional virtual servers during a traffic spike and decommissions them when traffic normalizes, which is the precise definition of elasticity. This differs from high availability, which focuses on uptime through redundancy, not dynamic scaling.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Disaster recovery

Question 5

A small office has a network with a router providing DHCP. A user's computer can access the internet but cannot print to a network printer by its IP address. Other computers on the same network can print to the printer. The technician pings the printer's IP from the affected computer and gets a response. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Printer's port configuration on the computer (e.g., RAW vs LPR). Since the ping succeeds, Layer 3 connectivity to the printer is confirmed, ruling out network cabling and basic IP issues. The problem is specific to the print service on the affected computer, and the most common cause is an incorrect port configuration (e.g., using RAW port 9100 when the printer expects LPR on port 515, or vice versa). This mismatch prevents the print job from being accepted even though the printer is reachable.

Answer

Printer driver installation

Answer

Windows Firewall on the computer

Answer

Network cable between switch and printer

Question 6

A user reports that their wired desktop computer intermittently loses network connectivity. The technician checks the Ethernet cable and observes that it is not securely clicked into the NIC port. The cable appears undamaged and the connector is intact. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the intermittent connectivity?

Accepted Answer

Loose cable connection. The technician observed that the Ethernet cable is not securely clicked into the NIC port. A loose physical connection at the RJ45 connector can cause intermittent link drops because the electrical contacts may momentarily lose continuity, triggering a link flap. This is the most direct cause given the cable and connector appear undamaged.

Answer

Faulty switch port

Answer

Incorrect IP address

Answer

DHCP server issue

Question 7

A user's Android smartphone was dropped, causing the glass to shatter. The display still shows images correctly, and touch input works in most areas except for a small region near the top-left corner. The user wants to back up all internal data before taking the phone to a repair shop. Which of the following is the BEST method for the technician to back up the device's data immediately?

Accepted Answer

Use a USB-OTG adapter to connect a mouse. A USB-OTG (On-The-Go) adapter allows the technician to connect a physical mouse to the Android device, providing an alternative input method to navigate the partially broken touchscreen. This enables the user to unlock the phone, access settings, and initiate a backup (e.g., to cloud storage or a connected USB drive) without needing the damaged touch area. It is the fastest and most reliable method when the display is still functional but touch input is compromised in a small region.

Answer

The device cannot be backed up until the screen is replaced

Answer

Use ADB from a computer, assuming USB debugging is already enabled

Answer

Remove the microSD card and copy data via a card reader

Question 8

A user in a small office reports that their laptop cannot connect to the corporate Wi-Fi network. Other devices in the same area connect without issue. The laptop can connect to the internet when plugged into the wired Ethernet port. The technician checks the wireless adapter status and sees it is enabled and shows available networks, but the corporate SSID is not listed. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The wireless network is configured for 5 GHz only, and the laptop only supports 2.4 GHz.. The corporate SSID is not listed on the laptop, but other devices connect fine, indicating the network exists and is reachable. If the network is configured for 5 GHz only and the laptop only supports 2.4 GHz, the laptop will not see the SSID because it cannot tune to the 5 GHz frequency band during passive or active scanning. This matches the symptom of a missing SSID while the adapter is otherwise functional.

Answer

The laptop's MAC address is not allowed on the wireless network.

Answer

The wireless router is not broadcasting the SSID.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi antenna is disconnected inside the case.

Question 9

A user reports that their Android smartphone will not charge when connected to a USB-C cable. The user has tried multiple chargers and cables, all of which work fine with other devices. The phone's battery is nearly empty. The technician inspects the phone's USB-C port and sees no visible damage. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Gently clean the USB-C port with a toothpick or non-conductive tool. The most common cause of a device not charging despite functional cables and chargers is debris or lint compacted inside the USB-C port. Gently cleaning with a non-conductive tool (like a toothpick or plastic pick) can remove the obstruction without damaging the delicate pins, restoring electrical contact. This is a quick, non-invasive first step before any hardware replacement.

Answer

Perform a factory reset on the phone

Answer

Replace the battery

Answer

Replace the USB-C charging port assembly

Question 10

A user reports that their Android smartphone's battery drains very quickly even when the phone is not being used. The technician checks the battery usage statistics and sees that the screen is consuming a high percentage of power, but the screen is off during most of the idle time. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

A rogue app preventing the phone from sleeping. When the screen is off but still consuming high power in battery statistics, it indicates the device is not entering a proper deep sleep state. A rogue app can hold a partial wake lock (e.g., via Android's PowerManager.WakeLock API) preventing the CPU from suspending, causing the screen subsystem to remain active or the display to be falsely reported as the power consumer. This is the most likely cause because the battery drain occurs during idle periods with the screen physically off.

Answer

A faulty battery

Answer

The screen brightness set too high

Answer

Malware infected the phone

Question 11

A user's laptop powers on (fans spin, power LED on), but the built-in display remains black. The technician connects an external monitor to the laptop's video port, and the external monitor displays the desktop correctly. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The LCD panel or backlight has failed. The laptop powers on (fans spin, power LED on) but the built-in display remains black, while an external monitor connected to the video port works correctly. This indicates that the GPU and video driver are functional, as they are able to drive the external display. The most likely cause is a failure of the LCD panel itself or its backlight (e.g., a faulty LED backlight, inverter, or display cable), since the internal display is the only component not working.

Answer

The laptop's video driver is corrupt

Answer

The RAM is faulty

Answer

The battery is not charging

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a server that unexpectedly shut down. The server has redundant power supplies, and the building power is stable. The technician checks the BIOS event log and finds a thermal warning before shutdown. The server is in a rack with other servers, all within temperature range. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Loose CPU heatsink. A loose CPU heatsink causes poor thermal transfer between the CPU and the heatsink, leading to localized overheating even when ambient temperatures are normal. The BIOS thermal warning followed by shutdown indicates the CPU exceeded its critical temperature threshold, triggering an automatic protection mechanism. Redundant power supplies and stable building power rule out power issues, and the other servers in the rack are within range, isolating the problem to the specific server's cooling hardware.

Answer

A failed power supply unit

Answer

Incompatible RAM

Answer

Hard drive failure

Question 13

A technician installs a new Gigabit Ethernet NIC in a workstation to replace a faulty onboard NIC. After installation, the technician connects the Ethernet cable from the switch to the new NIC. The link light on the new NIC is off. The technician swaps the cable with a known-good cable, but the light remains off. The new NIC is detected in Device Manager with no errors. The technician tries the new NIC in another workstation and it works fine. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the switch port configuration for port security or error-disable state. Since the NIC works in another workstation and a known-good cable doesn't resolve the issue, the problem is isolated to the switch port. Port security violations or error-disable states (e.g., from spanning-tree BPDU guard, UDLD, or a duplex mismatch) can administratively shut down the port, turning off the link light. Checking the switch port configuration is the logical next step to identify and clear such a condition.

Answer

Replace the switch

Answer

Update the NIC driver to the latest version

Answer

Change the NIC's duplex setting in Windows

Question 14

A technician upgrades the RAM in a desktop computer from 4 GB to 8 GB by installing a new 8 GB stick. After installation, the system boots normally, but the operating system reports only 4 GB of RAM. The technician has reseated the RAM stick multiple times and verified it is fully inserted. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The operating system is 32-bit. A 32-bit operating system has a 4 GB memory address space limit due to the 32-bit address bus, which can only address 2^32 bytes (approximately 4 GB). Even if 8 GB of physical RAM is installed, the OS cannot map or use more than 4 GB, so it reports only 4 GB. This is a known limitation of 32-bit Windows editions, such as Windows 10 32-bit.

Answer

The new RAM stick is faulty

Answer

The motherboard BIOS has a setting limiting memory to 4 GB

Answer

The new RAM stick is not compatible with the motherboard

Question 15

A user reports that their laptop's touchpad is not working. The technician checks Device Manager and sees the touchpad is not listed. The function key (Fn + F7) that enables/disables the touchpad does not seem to respond. The technician has rebooted the laptop. Which of the following should the technician try NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check BIOS settings for touchpad enable/disable. The touchpad not appearing in Device Manager and the Fn key not responding suggests the device is disabled at a lower level than the OS, such as in the BIOS/UEFI firmware. Checking BIOS settings is the correct next step because many laptops have a hardware-level enable/disable toggle for the touchpad that overrides OS and driver settings. This is a standard troubleshooting step before attempting driver updates or hardware replacement.

Answer

Update the touchpad driver via Windows Update

Answer

Replace the touchpad hardware

Answer

Run the System File Checker (sfc /scannow)

Question 16

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that will not power on. The motherboard's standby power LED is lit, indicating that the power supply is receiving AC power. When the technician presses the front panel power button, nothing happens. The technician has already tested the power supply by jumping the green wire to a black wire on the 24-pin connector, and the power supply fan spins. Which of the following is the MOST likely faulty component?

Accepted Answer

Power button on the front panel. The standby power LED on the motherboard indicates that the power supply is receiving AC power and is providing +5VSB (standby voltage) to the motherboard. Since jumping the green wire (PS_ON#) to ground (black wire) causes the power supply fan to spin, the power supply itself is functional. The most likely fault is the front panel power button, as it completes the circuit between the motherboard's power switch header pins when pressed; if the button is defective (e.g., stuck open or broken), it will not send the low-voltage signal to the PWR_SW header, preventing the system from powering on.

Answer

Front panel header cable

Answer

Motherboard

Answer

CPU

Question 17

A company runs a web application on a public cloud platform. The application often experiences variable traffic, with usage spikes lasting only a few hours. The company wants to automatically increase the number of virtual machine instances when CPU utilization exceeds 70% and decrease them when utilization drops below 30%. Which characteristic of cloud computing does this capability BEST represent?

Accepted Answer

Rapid elasticity. The ability to automatically scale virtual machine instances up and down in response to CPU utilization thresholds (70% up, 30% down) is a direct example of rapid elasticity. This cloud characteristic allows resources to be provisioned and released elastically, often automatically, to match demand at any given time. The scenario describes a dynamic, automated scaling action, which is the core definition of rapid elasticity in cloud computing.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Measured service

Question 18

A user reports that their laptop is connected to the office Wi-Fi and can browse the internet, but cannot access any shared folders on the network. Other laptops on the same Wi-Fi can access the shares without issue. The laptop received a valid IP address from DHCP. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The network profile is set to Public. The network profile being set to Public applies Windows Firewall rules that block file and printer sharing (SMB traffic on ports 445, 139) by default. Since the user can browse the internet but cannot access shared folders, and other laptops work fine, the most likely cause is that the laptop's network profile is Public, which disables network discovery and file sharing. Changing it to Private or Domain profile resolves the issue without affecting internet connectivity.

Answer

The DNS server configuration

Answer

A faulty wireless network adapter

Answer

Duplicate IP address on the network

Question 19

A user reports that their desktop computer intermittently freezes and emits a series of beeps (one long, three short) during the boot process. The technician opens the case and notes that the CPU fan spins, but the system does not POST. The technician swaps the RAM modules with known-good modules from another identical system, but the issue persists. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

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

Accepted Answer

Verify that the DNS server address is configured correctly on the workstation.. The computer can ping 8.8.8.8 (a public IP address) but cannot ping 'google.com' (a domain name). This indicates that IP connectivity to the internet is working, but name resolution is failing. The most likely cause is a misconfigured or unreachable DNS server. The technician should first verify the DNS server address in the workstation's IP configuration, as this is the quickest and most direct step to resolve the symptom.

Answer

Check the proxy settings in the web browser.

Answer

Replace the network cable connecting the computer to the wall jack.

Answer

Disable the Windows Firewall on the computer.

Question 20

A user reports that their desktop computer intermittently freezes and emits a series of beeps (one long, three short) during the boot process. The technician opens the case and notes that the CPU fan spins, but the system does not POST. The technician swaps the RAM modules with known-good modules from another identical system, but the issue persists. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

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

Accepted Answer

The DNS server address is not being applied correctly. The user can ping by IP address (e.g., 8.8.8.8) and reach local hosts, confirming Layer 3 connectivity and a correct default gateway. The inability to resolve domain names while the DHCP server is configured to provide a valid DNS server address points to the client not receiving or applying that DNS server address correctly. This is a classic symptom of a DNS resolution failure where the workstation's DNS client configuration is missing or incorrect, often due to a stale DHCP lease, a misconfigured DHCP scope option, or a local DNS cache issue.

Answer

The default gateway address is incorrect

Answer

The network cable is faulty

Answer

The web browser is corrupted