220-1101 Practice Test 44 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A small office has 10 computers connected to a single switch. The ISP provides a modem with a built-in router and DHCP server. One user reports they cannot access the internet but can access shared files on the local network. The technician checks the IP configuration on the user's computer and sees an IP address of 169.254.12.5. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is unavailable. The IP address 169.254.12.5 is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address (169.254.0.0/16 range), which Windows assigns when a DHCP discovery request fails to receive a response. Since the user can access local network shares but not the internet, the DHCP server (built into the ISP modem/router) is unavailable or unreachable, preventing the computer from obtaining a valid IP configuration.

Answer

The DNS server is down

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

The switch port is faulty

Question 2

A technician replaces the glass/digitizer assembly on an iPhone 12. After reassembling the phone, it powers on and the display works, but the touch input is completely unresponsive. The technician has already reseated the screen connectors. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the touch failure?

Accepted Answer

The digitizer flex cable was torn or not properly connected during the repair. The digitizer flex cable is responsible for transmitting touch input from the glass/digitizer layer to the logic board. If it was torn during the replacement or is not fully seated despite reseating the main screen connectors, the touch function will fail while the display (which uses a separate LCD/OLED data path) still works. This is the most common physical failure in iPhone glass/digitizer replacements.

Answer

The replacement screen is not a genuine Apple part and is incompatible

Answer

The touch controller integrated circuit on the logic board is damaged

Answer

A software glitch occurred during reassembly that disabled the touch screen

Question 3

A technician replaced the thermal paste on a desktop computer's CPU. After reassembling the system and powering it on, the computer runs for about 10 seconds and then shuts off. The technician touches the CPU heatsink and finds it is cool to the touch. The CPU fan is spinning. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the shutdown?

Accepted Answer

The heatsink is not making proper contact with the CPU.. The CPU thermal protection mechanism triggers a shutdown when the CPU temperature exceeds its safe operating threshold. Since the heatsink is cool to the touch, it indicates that heat is not being transferred from the CPU to the heatsink, which is a classic symptom of poor contact between the CPU and heatsink. Even though the CPU fan is spinning, without proper thermal transfer, the CPU rapidly overheats and shuts down to prevent damage.

Answer

The CPU fan is not spinning fast enough.

Answer

The power supply unit is failing.

Answer

The motherboard is shorted against the case.

Question 4

A technician installs a new VoIP phone that receives power via PoE from a managed switch. The phone powers on but cannot register with the call server. A PC connected to the phone's passthrough port obtains an IP address and accesses the internet normally. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the phone's failure?

Accepted Answer

The switch port has a VLAN mismatch for the voice VLAN. The phone powers on via PoE and the PC behind it works, proving Layer 1 and basic Layer 2 connectivity are fine. The phone cannot register with the call server, which typically requires it to be on the correct voice VLAN. A VLAN mismatch for the voice VLAN means the switch port is configured to tag voice traffic with a different VLAN ID than the phone expects, preventing the phone from communicating with the call server.

Answer

The switch port is configured with a voice VLAN that the phone is not using

Answer

The Ethernet cable between the switch and the phone is faulty

Answer

The phone's MAC address is filtered on the network

Question 5

A technician installs a new network interface card (NIC) into a desktop computer. After installation, the computer boots normally and the NIC is detected in Device Manager without errors. When an Ethernet cable is connected, the link light does not light up on the NIC or the switch port. The cable is known to work with another computer. The technician tries a different port on the same switch, but the link light remains off. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the NIC in the PCIe slot. Since the NIC is detected in Device Manager without errors and the cable works on another computer, the issue is likely a physical connection problem. Reseating the NIC ensures proper contact with the PCIe slot, which can resolve intermittent connectivity or poor electrical contact that prevents the link light from activating.

Answer

Update the NIC driver from the manufacturer's website

Answer

Disable and re-enable the NIC in Device Manager

Answer

Check the NIC's configuration for a disabled port

Question 6

A technician builds a new desktop computer. The system powers on, all fans spin, and case LEDs light up, but the monitor displays 'No Signal'. The motherboard has no integrated graphics. The dedicated GPU is installed and its fans spin. The monitor is connected to the GPU and is known to work. The technician has already reseated the RAM, GPU, and all power cables. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The GPU's PCIe power connector. The correct answer is A because the GPU's PCIe power connector may not be fully seated or the PSU cable may be faulty. Even though the GPU fans spin, the card can draw enough power from the PCIe slot for fan operation but insufficient power for the GPU core to initialize and output video. This is a common issue when the auxiliary 6- or 8-pin PCIe power cables are loose or not connected at all.

Answer

The power supply unit's wattage rating

Answer

The motherboard's BIOS version

Answer

The CPU's compatibility

Question 7

A technician builds a new PC and installs two 8GB DDR4 RAM modules from the same kit into the appropriate slots on the motherboard. The system boots and the BIOS reports only 8GB of total memory. The technician has reseated the modules and verified they are fully inserted. The motherboard manual indicates that the slots used are correct for dual-channel configuration. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

One of the RAM modules is defective.. The system detects only 8GB of total memory despite having two 8GB modules installed. Since both modules are from the same kit and the slots are confirmed correct, the most likely cause is that one of the modules is defective. A faulty module will not be recognized by the BIOS, resulting in half the expected capacity.

Answer

The RAM modules are not compatible with the CPU.

Answer

The motherboard's memory slot is damaged.

Answer

The RAM is running at the wrong voltage.

Question 8

A technician installs a new M.2 NVMe SSD into an appropriate M.2 slot on a desktop motherboard. After booting the system, the BIOS does not detect the SSD. The SSD is known to work in another computer. The technician has verified the SSD is fully inserted and secured with the mounting screw. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A SATA port that shares bandwidth with the M.2 slot has a drive connected, causing the M.2 slot to be disabled.. The most likely cause is that a SATA port sharing bandwidth with the M.2 slot has a drive connected, which disables the M.2 slot. Many desktop motherboards share PCIe lanes between specific SATA ports and the M.2 slot; when a SATA device is connected to the shared port, the motherboard firmware automatically disables the M.2 slot to prevent resource conflicts. Since the SSD works in another computer and is properly seated, the issue is a configuration conflict rather than a hardware failure.

Answer

The M.2 slot is disabled in the BIOS settings.

Answer

The power supply does not provide enough wattage for the NVMe SSD.

Answer

The CPU does not support NVMe drives.

Question 9

A technician installs a new high-performance graphics card into a desktop workstation. The card requires two 6-pin PCIe power connectors. The technician connects the appropriate cables from the power supply, but the system fails to POST; the monitor remains black, although all fans spin including the graphics card fans. The technician verifies that the monitor works with another computer and that the card is fully seated in the PCIe x16 slot. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The power supply unit does not have sufficient wattage to support the new graphics card. The most likely cause is that the power supply unit (PSU) does not have sufficient wattage to support the new high-performance graphics card. Even though the fans spin, the card may draw more power under load than the PSU can provide, causing voltage drops or instability that prevent the system from completing POST. A PSU with inadequate total wattage or insufficient amperage on the +12V rail can cause this symptom, as the card requires two 6-pin PCIe connectors (each providing up to 75W) plus up to 75W from the PCIe slot, totaling up to 225W.

Answer

The monitor is not compatible with the graphics card's output resolution

Answer

The PCIe slot is damaged or incompatible

Answer

The BIOS settings need to be changed to enable the new graphics card

Question 10

A technician installs a new M.2 NVMe SSD in a desktop computer that previously only had a SATA HDD and boots from it. After installation, the BIOS does not list the M.2 drive in the storage devices or boot menu. The technician has already reseated the M.2 drive. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The M.2 slot is disabled in the BIOS settings. The correct answer is A because the BIOS not listing the M.2 drive after reseating indicates the slot may be disabled in the BIOS settings. Many motherboards have a dedicated M.2 slot enable/disable option, often found under 'Peripherals' or 'Onboard Devices Configuration'. Disabling the slot prevents the BIOS from detecting the drive entirely, even if the drive is properly seated and powered.

Answer

The M.2 drive is not compatible with the motherboard

Answer

The system needs a BIOS update

Answer

The M.2 drive is not partitioned or formatted

Question 11

A technician builds a new desktop computer. After pressing the power button, the system powers on for about 5 seconds, then shuts down, and then immediately attempts to power on again, repeating the cycle. The technician has verified that all power connections are secure and has reseated the CPU and RAM. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The CPU heatsink fan connection. The symptom of a system powering on for a few seconds, then shutting down and immediately rebooting in a cycle is classic behavior of a thermal or overheat protection trigger. The CPU heatsink fan connection (option B) is the most likely cause because if the fan is not connected or is faulty, the CPU rapidly overheats, causing the motherboard's thermal protection circuitry to shut down the system; it then attempts to restart, only to overheat again, creating the loop. The technician has already reseated the CPU and RAM, so the next logical step is to verify the CPU cooler's power connection.

Answer

The power supply voltage selector switch

Answer

The front panel power switch header

Answer

The CMOS battery

Question 12

A technician is assembling a new custom workstation. After installing the motherboard, CPU, cooler, RAM, and a dedicated graphics card, the system powers on when the power button is pressed. The case fans spin, the CPU cooler fan spins, and LEDs on the motherboard light up. However, there is no display, and the motherboard's DRAM_LED remains lit. The technician has already tried reseating the RAM in different slots and using a single stick, but the issue persists. The CPU and motherboard are both new and listed as compatible. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The CPU power connector (EPS12V) is not connected. The DRAM_LED remaining lit indicates the motherboard is not detecting or initializing the RAM. Since reseating and single-stick testing did not resolve the issue, the next most likely cause is insufficient power to the CPU memory controller. The EPS12V (4+4 pin) CPU power connector supplies dedicated 12V power to the CPU and its integrated memory controller; without it, the CPU cannot communicate with the RAM, causing the DRAM LED to stay on even though the system appears to power on.

Answer

The GPU power cables are not connected

Answer

The RAM is not supported by the motherboard

Answer

The CMOS battery is dead

Question 13

A technician installs an NVMe SSD in a desktop, but the drive is not detected. The motherboard manual states that one M.2 slot supports SATA only. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Move the drive to an M.2 slot that supports PCIe/NVMe. The NVMe SSD requires a PCIe-based M.2 slot to function, as NVMe uses the PCIe bus for communication. The motherboard manual indicates that one M.2 slot is SATA-only, which means it cannot detect or communicate with an NVMe drive. Moving the drive to an M.2 slot that supports PCIe/NVMe resolves the detection issue.

Answer

Disable all USB ports

Answer

Replace the HDMI cable

Answer

Format the drive from the printer control panel

Question 14

An online retailer's website experiences periodic spikes in traffic during flash sales. The cloud platform automatically spins up additional virtual server instances to handle the increased load and then terminates them when the traffic subsides. This capability is an example of which characteristic of cloud computing?

Accepted Answer

Elasticity. Elasticity refers to the ability of a cloud system to automatically scale resources up or down based on demand. In this scenario, the platform spins up additional virtual server instances during flash sales and terminates them when traffic subsides, which is the defining behavior of elasticity. This contrasts with high availability, which focuses on uptime, not dynamic scaling.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Measured service

Question 15

A technician needs to remove a swollen lithium-ion battery from a laptop before performing further repairs. Which of the following is the most critical safety step to take before beginning the removal?

Accepted Answer

Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the battery from the laptop while powered off. Disconnecting the AC adapter and powering off the laptop ensures that no electrical current is flowing to the system, eliminating the risk of a short circuit or electrical shock when handling a damaged lithium-ion battery. A swollen battery is chemically unstable and can rupture or ignite if disturbed while the system is still powered or connected to a charger. This step is the most critical because it directly addresses the immediate electrical hazard before any physical manipulation of the battery.

Answer

Fully discharge the battery by running the laptop until it shuts down

Answer

Use a metal spudger to gently pry the battery out of its compartment

Answer

Place the removed battery in a sealed plastic bag for disposal