220-1101 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician replaced the toner cartridge in a laser printer. Now the printer produces pages with vertical black streaks down the entire page. The toner cartridge is confirmed to be a genuine, new cartridge. Which component should the technician inspect or replace NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Inspect and replace the imaging drum. Vertical black streaks down the entire page indicate a defect on the imaging drum, such as a scratch or toner buildup. Since the toner cartridge is confirmed genuine and new, the issue is not with the toner itself but with the drum unit, which transfers the image to the paper. Replacing the imaging drum will resolve the streaks.

Answer

Inspect and replace the fuser assembly

Answer

Inspect and clean the transfer roller

Answer

Inspect and replace the pickup roller

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with horizontal white lines running across the printed text. The toner cartridge has been replaced with a new one, and the issue persists. Which printer component should the technician inspect or replace NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Imaging drum. The imaging drum is the component that transfers toner to the paper in a laser printer. Horizontal white lines typically indicate a defect on the drum surface, such as scratches or contamination, which prevent toner from adhering to those areas. Since replacing the toner cartridge did not resolve the issue, the imaging drum (often a separate consumable) is the next logical component to inspect or replace.

Answer

Fuser assembly

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Pickup roller

Question 3

After a thunderstorm, a user reports that their desktop computer cannot connect to the network. The technician observes that the Ethernet port on the computer has a steady green link light but no amber activity light. The switch port corresponding to the user's cable also shows a link light. The computer's operating system shows an IP address of 169.254.1.10. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The Ethernet cable has been damaged and is causing frame errors. The 169.254.1.10 IP address is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address (169.254.0.0/16, per RFC 3927), which Windows assigns when DHCP fails. The steady green link light on both the NIC and switch indicates Layer 1 connectivity is intact, but the absence of an amber activity light suggests no data frames are passing. Damaged cabling can cause excessive frame errors or collisions, preventing successful DHCP discovery (broadcast) and data transmission while still allowing the link light to illuminate, as link detection only requires an electrical connection, not error-free communication.

Answer

The network interface card (NIC) has been damaged by a power surge

Answer

The switch port was disabled by the storm

Answer

The router's DHCP server failed after the storm

Question 4

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with horizontal black lines across the entire page. The toner cartridge was recently replaced with a new, genuine cartridge. Which of the following components should the technician inspect or replace NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The imaging drum. Horizontal black lines across the entire page typically indicate a defect on the imaging drum, such as a scratch, toner buildup, or a damaged organic photoconductor (OPC) layer. Since the toner cartridge was recently replaced, the drum (often integrated into the cartridge in many laser printers) may have been damaged during installation or is defective, causing it to fail to discharge properly and deposit toner in a continuous line.

Answer

The fuser assembly

Answer

The transfer roller

Answer

The pickup roller

Question 5

A user reports that their VoIP desk phone intermittently drops audio during calls. The phone is connected to a PoE switch via a Cat5e cable that runs through a drop ceiling. The switch shows the port is providing PoE and the cable length is approximately 75 meters. The technician tests the cable with a certifier and it passes. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Check for sources of electromagnetic interference along the cable path. The cable passes certification, ruling out physical layer faults like length or wiring issues. Intermittent audio drops in VoIP over long PoE runs through drop ceilings are often caused by electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby electrical cables, fluorescent ballasts, or HVAC equipment. Checking for EMI sources is the logical next step before replacing hardware or upgrading cable.

Answer

Replace the switch port

Answer

Replace the phone

Answer

Upgrade the cable to Cat6

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with vertical black streaks running from the top to the bottom of the page. The technician has already replaced the toner cartridge and the drum unit, but the problem persists. Which printer component should the technician inspect or replace NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Fuser assembly. Vertical black streaks that persist after replacing the toner cartridge and drum unit are most likely caused by a damaged fuser assembly. The fuser uses heat and pressure to bond toner to the paper; if its roller is scratched or contaminated, it can leave continuous black streaks. Since the toner and drum have been replaced and the problem continues, the fuser is the next component to inspect.

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Laser scanner assembly

Answer

Paper pickup roller

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a server with a RAID 5 array consisting of three hard drives. The server logs show a failed drive, and the array status is 'Degraded'. The technician replaces the failed drive with a new drive of the same model and capacity. After the rebuild process completes, the array status remains 'Degraded'. The server's OS does not show any new disk errors. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the RAID controller's cache battery status. After a RAID 5 rebuild completes but the array remains 'Degraded', the most likely cause is that the RAID controller's write-back cache could not be flushed to the new drive. A failed or missing cache battery forces the controller to operate in write-through mode, which can prevent the array from returning to a healthy state even after a successful rebuild. Checking the cache battery status is the correct next step because it directly affects the controller's ability to commit cached writes and finalize the array status.

Answer

Check the S.M.A.R.T. status of the remaining original drives

Answer

Check the firmware version of the new hard drive

Answer

Check the SAS cable connecting the drives

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that cannot connect to the network. The link light on the network interface card (NIC) is solid, and the technician can successfully ping the loopback address (127.0.0.1). Running ipconfig shows an IP address of 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the connectivity issue?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is unavailable or not responding. The IP address 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, which Windows assigns when a DHCP discovery broadcast fails to receive a response. Since the link light is solid and loopback ping succeeds, the NIC and TCP/IP stack are functional, pointing to a DHCP server that is unavailable or not responding as the root cause.

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving domain names

Answer

The NIC driver is faulty

Question 9

A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that cannot connect to the network. The link light on the NIC is off. The technician tests the Ethernet cable with a cable tester and it passes all four pairs. The workstation is connected to a wall jack that leads to a patch panel in the server room. The technician verifies that the patch cable from the patch panel to the switch is good. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the port status on the switch. The link light being off indicates no physical layer (Layer 1) connectivity. Since the cable tester passed all four pairs and the patch cable is verified good, the issue likely lies with the switch port itself. Checking the port status on the switch (e.g., using 'show interfaces status' or verifying PoE/administrative shutdown) is the logical next step to confirm if the port is enabled, not error-disabled, or configured correctly.

Answer

Replace the NIC

Answer

Re-terminate the wall jack

Answer

Change the workstation's IP address to static

Question 10

A user reports that their desktop monitor displays 'No Signal' after the user moved the desk. The technician observes that the monitor's power LED is on, the computer's fans are spinning, and the power light on the PC case is lit. The video cable (HDMI) is securely connected at both ends. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the monitor's input source setting. The monitor's power LED is on and the HDMI cable is securely connected, but the screen shows 'No Signal'. This indicates the monitor is receiving power but not detecting a video input. The most likely cause after moving the desk is that the monitor's input source setting changed (e.g., from HDMI to DisplayPort or VGA) due to accidental button presses during the move. Checking and correcting the input source is the quickest, non-invasive step before replacing hardware.

Answer

Replace the video card

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules

Answer

Test the HDMI cable with a known-good device

Question 11

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that was functioning normally before the user cleaned the inside with compressed air. After reassembly, the PC powers on (fans spin, LEDs light) but there is no video output and no POST beeps. The technician has already reseated the RAM, GPU, and all power cables. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Clear the CMOS by removing the battery or using the jumper. Clearing the CMOS is the correct next step because the compressed air may have dislodged dust or created a static discharge that corrupted the BIOS/UEFI configuration, causing the system to fail POST without beeps. Reseating components already addressed loose connections, so the issue likely lies in the stored firmware settings, which a CMOS reset will restore to defaults.

Answer

Check the power supply voltages with a multimeter

Answer

Replace the motherboard

Answer

Replace the CPU 4+4 pin power cable

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that powers on for about two seconds and then immediately shuts down. The case fans spin briefly, the CPU fan starts, then everything stops. The technician has tested the power supply with a multimeter and all voltages are within specification. The technician has also removed all add-on cards, disconnected all drives, and reseated the RAM and CPU power cables. The problem persists. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Short circuit in the case or motherboard. The symptom of powering on for about two seconds and then immediately shutting down is classic for a short circuit protection mechanism. When the power supply detects a short (e.g., from a standoff in the wrong hole, a loose screw, or a damaged motherboard trace), it triggers overcurrent protection (OCP) or short-circuit protection (SCP) and cuts power to prevent damage. Since the technician verified the power supply voltages are good and reseated all connections, the most likely remaining cause is a short circuit in the case or motherboard.

Answer

Faulty power button

Answer

Failing CPU

Answer

Incompatible RAM

Question 13

A user reports that their network printer is not responding to print jobs sent from their Windows workstation. The technician can successfully ping the printer's IP address (192.168.1.50) from the user's computer. The printer's web interface shows it is online and ready. The technician checks the print queue on the workstation and sees documents stuck with an 'Access Denied' error. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Verify printer permissions and ensure the correct driver is installed.. The 'Access Denied' error in the print queue indicates a permissions or driver mismatch issue, not a connectivity problem. Since the printer is reachable via ping and its web interface shows it is online, the network and printer hardware are functional. The next logical step is to verify that the user has the necessary permissions to print and that the correct printer driver is installed, as an incompatible or corrupted driver can cause access errors.

Answer

Replace the Ethernet cable connecting the printer.

Answer

Restart the Windows Print Spooler service.

Answer

Assign a static IP address to the printer.

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that intermittently loses network connectivity. The technician has replaced the network cable with a known-good cable and verified that the switch port link light is solid. The issue still occurs. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Update or reinstall the network adapter driver. Since the cable and switch port link light are verified good, the issue is likely software or driver-related. Updating or reinstalling the network adapter driver can resolve intermittent connectivity caused by driver corruption, power management conflicts, or incompatibility with the network stack. This is the next logical step after ruling out physical layer problems.

Answer

Check for an IP address conflict on the network

Answer

Change the DNS server settings on the PC

Answer

Adjust the firewall settings on the PC

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that powers on but the monitor displays 'No Signal.' The PC fans spin and the power LED is on. The technician has already reseated the graphics card and tried a different monitor and cable. The motherboard has integrated graphics, but the CPU does not support integrated graphics. The technician checks and finds that the graphics card's power connectors are not all plugged in. The card requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin PCIe power connector, but only the 6-pin is connected. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Connect the 8-pin PCIe power connector from the PSU to the graphics card. The correct next step is to connect the 8-pin PCIe power connector because the graphics card requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector to deliver sufficient power for operation. Without the 8-pin connector, the card may not initialize properly, causing the 'No Signal' issue despite the system appearing to power on. Since the technician has already verified the monitor and cable, and reseated the card, the missing power connection is the most likely root cause.

Answer

Replace the graphics card with a known-good unit

Answer

Remove the graphics card and use the motherboard's integrated graphics

Answer

Update the graphics card driver from the motherboard manufacturer's website