220-1101 Practice Test 4 — 10 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