220-1101 Practice Test 32 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician updated the BIOS on a desktop computer to resolve a compatibility issue with a new GPU. After the update, the computer will not boot. The CPU fan spins, the power LED is lit, but there are no POST beeps and no display output. The technician has already removed the CMOS battery for five minutes and reinstalled it, but the problem persists. The motherboard has a USB BIOS Flashback port and a dedicated Flashback button on the rear I/O panel. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Use the USB BIOS Flashback feature to reinstall the previous BIOS version. The correct next step is to use the USB BIOS Flashback feature to reinstall the previous BIOS version. Since the system has power (CPU fan spins, power LED lit) but no POST or display, and removing the CMOS battery did not resolve the issue, the BIOS update itself is likely corrupted or incompatible with the hardware. USB BIOS Flashback allows recovery of the BIOS without a working CPU or RAM by reading a firmware file from a USB drive, making it the appropriate tool to revert to a known-good BIOS version.

Answer

Replace the motherboard

Answer

Remove and reseat the CPU

Answer

Use a multimeter to test the power supply voltages

Question 2

A user reports that they can browse the internet and receive emails but cannot send emails using their email client. The email client is configured to use the company's email server. The technician verifies that other users in the same office can send and receive emails without any issues. The workstation's software firewall is disabled. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The email client's outgoing server settings are misconfigured.. Since the user can receive emails (POP3/IMAP) and browse the internet, network connectivity and DNS resolution are functional. The fact that other users can send emails confirms the SMTP service on the server is operational. The most likely cause is that the email client's outgoing server settings (SMTP server address, port, or authentication) are misconfigured, preventing the client from establishing an SMTP session to relay the outgoing message.

Answer

The email server's SMTP service is experiencing an outage.

Answer

The workstation's DNS resolver cannot resolve the email server's hostname.

Answer

The user's email account password has expired.

Question 3

A company wants to migrate its customer relationship management (CRM) application to the cloud. The CRM requires a specific version of Windows Server and custom software that the IT team needs to install and manage. The company wants to minimize hardware costs but retain full control over the operating system and applications. Which cloud service model is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including virtual machines with full control over the operating system and installed software. This model allows the company to run a specific version of Windows Server and custom CRM software while minimizing hardware costs through shared infrastructure.

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 4

A technician connects a new workstation to a managed switch port that is configured with PortFast and BPDU guard. The workstation obtains an IP address via DHCP and can ping its own IP address, but it cannot ping any other devices on the local network, including the default gateway. The link light on both the NIC and switch port is solid green. On the switch, the port status shows 'errdisable' with the reason 'BPDU guard'. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The workstation's NIC is running Spanning Tree Protocol, which the switch's BPDU guard detected and shut down the port.. BPDU guard is a security feature that disables a PortFast-enabled port if it receives any Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU). A workstation NIC should never send BPDUs, but some NICs or their drivers (e.g., when teaming or virtualization software is active) may inadvertently run Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and generate BPDUs. When the switch receives a BPDU on a BPDU guard-protected port, it immediately places the port into errdisable state, blocking all traffic except the link light remains solid. This explains why the workstation can obtain an IP (DHCP traffic occurred before the port was disabled) but cannot ping any other devices after the port is errdisabled.

Answer

The workstation's firewall is blocking traffic.

Answer

The switch port is configured as an access port in the wrong VLAN.

Answer

The workstation's NIC has a static IP address that conflicts with another device.

Question 5

A company hosts its critical application on a public cloud IaaS platform. The IT team has configured replication of data from the primary cloud region to a secondary region. In the event of a disaster that takes down the primary region, the IT team will manually start the virtual machines in the secondary region using the replicated data. The application will then resume service. Which cloud concept does this configuration BEST describe?

Accepted Answer

Disaster recovery. This scenario describes a disaster recovery (DR) configuration because the application relies on a manual failover process to a secondary region after a catastrophic failure of the primary region. The use of replicated data and manual startup of VMs aligns with a cold standby or pilot light DR model, where recovery time is measured in minutes or hours, not seconds. High availability and fault tolerance require automatic, near-instantaneous failover without human intervention, which is not present here.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Elasticity

Question 6

A technician is replacing the power supply unit in a desktop computer. The new PSU is correctly rated for the system and the technician connects the 24-pin main motherboard connector and the 4+4 pin CPU power connector. When the power button is pressed, the system does not power on; no fans spin and no LEDs light up. The technician verifies that the PSU's power switch is on and that the wall outlet is functional. Using a multimeter, the technician confirms that the PSU outputs correct voltages on the 24-pin connector when the paperclip test is performed. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The 4+4 pin CPU power connector is not fully seated in the motherboard's EPS connector.. The 4+4 pin CPU power connector provides dedicated 12V power to the CPU VRM. If it is not fully seated, the motherboard's power delivery system will detect an open circuit and prevent the system from starting, even though the main 24-pin connector and PSU itself are functional. The paperclip test confirms the PSU can output correct voltages under no load, but it does not verify that the EPS connector is properly engaged.

Answer

The PSU is not compatible with the motherboard's power requirements.

Answer

The motherboard is shorting against the case.

Answer

The power button header is connected to the wrong pins.

Question 7

A user's smartphone is connected to a Wi-Fi network but cannot send or receive email. The user can browse the internet using the web browser. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone's date and time settings are incorrect. The smartphone can browse the internet, indicating that the Wi-Fi connection and general internet access are working. Email protocols (IMAP, POP3, SMTP) rely on TLS/SSL certificates for secure connections, and these certificates are validated against the device's system clock. If the date and time are incorrect, the certificate validation fails, preventing the email client from establishing a secure connection to the email server, even though basic web browsing (which may use less strict certificate checks or cached content) still works.

Answer

The email server is offline

Answer

The email account password has changed

Answer

The Wi-Fi signal is weak

Question 8

A technician is upgrading the memory in a desktop computer that has a motherboard supporting DDR4 RAM with a maximum speed of 3200MHz. The technician installs two 8GB modules rated at 3600MHz. What will be the effective speed of the memory?

Accepted Answer

3200MHz. The motherboard supports a maximum memory speed of 3200MHz, so even though the installed modules are rated at 3600MHz, the system will automatically downclock the memory to the highest supported speed of the motherboard, which is 3200MHz. This is because the memory controller operates at the motherboard's rated speed, and any faster modules will run at that lower speed to ensure stability.

Answer

3600MHz

Answer

2933MHz

Answer

The system will not boot due to incompatibility

Question 9

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 10

A technician is setting up a small office network. The company has a single public IP address from the ISP. The technician needs to configure the router so that multiple internal devices can share that IP address to access the internet. Which of the following settings should the technician configure?

Accepted Answer

NAT (Network Address Translation). Network Address Translation (NAT) allows multiple devices on a private network to share a single public IP address by mapping their private IP addresses and port numbers to the public IP and unique port numbers. This is the standard method for conserving public IPv4 addresses and enabling internet access for internal hosts.

Answer

Port forwarding

Answer

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

Answer

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

Question 11

A technician runs a new Cat6 Ethernet cable between a switch in the server room and a workstation in an office. The cable run is approximately 120 meters long. The workstation shows a 'Network cable unplugged' error and the switch port LED does not light. The technician confirms the cable is properly terminated with T568B on both ends and the switch port is enabled. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The cable length exceeds the maximum allowable segment length. The maximum segment length for a Cat6 Ethernet cable is 100 meters (328 feet) for reliable 1000BASE-T operation. At 120 meters, the signal attenuation exceeds the IEEE 802.3ab specification, causing the link to fail. The 'Network cable unplugged' error and unlit switch port LED indicate a physical layer issue, which is most likely due to the excessive cable length.

Answer

Electromagnetic interference from nearby power cables

Answer

The switch does not support auto-MDIX

Answer

A poor crimp on one of the RJ45 connectors

Question 12

A network administrator configures a router with VLANs. Devices on VLAN 10 can successfully ping a web server (IP 192.168.20.10) on VLAN 20. However, when users on VLAN 10 attempt to access the web server via a browser using its IP address, the connection times out. The router's ACLs permit ICMP and TCP/80 traffic between VLANs. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check if the web server's host firewall is blocking HTTP traffic. Since ICMP (ping) succeeds and the router's ACLs explicitly permit TCP/80, the issue is likely at the web server itself. The server's host firewall (e.g., Windows Defender Firewall, iptables) may be blocking inbound HTTP traffic while allowing ICMP, causing the browser connection to time out. This is the next logical check because the network path is verified working for ICMP and the ACL is confirmed permissive for TCP/80.

Answer

Verify the DHCP address assignment on VLAN 20

Answer

Review the router's ACLs for any implicit deny rules

Answer

Confirm that DNS resolution for the web server's hostname is correct

Question 13

A company operates a web application on three virtual machines hosted on a single physical server. To perform hardware maintenance without interrupting service, the administrator moves one VM to another host while the VM continues to run. Which virtualization feature is being used?

Accepted Answer

Live migration. Live migration (A) allows a running virtual machine to be moved from one physical host to another with zero downtime, enabling hardware maintenance without service interruption. This is achieved by transferring memory pages and CPU state over the network while the VM remains operational, typically using protocols like vMotion (VMware) or KVM live migration.

Answer

Virtual machine snapshot

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Fault tolerance

Question 14

A user reports that their laptop's battery indicator shows 'plugged in, not charging.' The technician tests the AC adapter with a multimeter and verifies it outputs the correct voltage. The laptop is a standard model with a removable battery. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Battery. The battery indicator showing 'plugged in, not charging' with a verified good AC adapter strongly points to a faulty battery. Since the adapter outputs correct voltage, the laptop detects the external power source (hence 'plugged in') but the battery itself cannot accept a charge, often due to degraded cells or failed internal protection circuitry. A removable battery is a common failure point, especially in older or heavily used laptops.

Answer

DC power jack

Answer

Motherboard charging circuit

Answer

Power management IC

Question 15

A cloud provider offers a service where customers can provision virtual servers with varying amounts of CPU, RAM, and storage on-demand. Customers are billed only for the actual resources they consume each hour, with no upfront commitment. This cloud characteristic is known as:

Accepted Answer

Measured service. (Measured service) because the scenario describes a pay-per-use billing model where customers are charged based on actual resource consumption (CPU, RAM, storage) per hour, with no upfront commitment. Measured service is a core NIST-defined cloud characteristic that enables metering and billing for usage, typically using a pay-as-you-go model. This directly matches the description of being billed only for resources consumed each hour.

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

On-demand self-service