220-1101 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that randomly freezes and then reboots. The technician runs a CPU stress test; after about 5 minutes, the system freezes and reboots. The CPU temperature during the test is monitored and never exceeds 75°C. The technician has run a full memory test (MemTest86) and a hard drive diagnostic (SMART check); both pass without errors. The power supply voltages are within specifications when measured with a multimeter at idle and under load. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

A failing power supply unit. The symptoms—random freezing and rebooting under CPU stress, with all other components (CPU temperature, memory, storage, and power supply voltages) passing diagnostics—point to a failing power supply unit (PSU). Even though the multimeter shows correct voltages at idle and under load, a PSU can fail intermittently under sustained high current draw, causing voltage ripple or transient drops that trigger a system reset. The CPU stress test specifically taxes the 12V rail, and a marginal PSU may not maintain stable output during extended high-load scenarios, leading to the observed behavior.

Answer

Insufficient voltage to the CPU due to motherboard VRM failure

Answer

A corrupted operating system driver

Answer

A failing system fan that spins intermittently

Question 2

A network laser printer is printing pages with garbled characters and random symbols. The technician prints a test page from the printer's control panel, which prints correctly. The technician then prints from a different computer on the same network, and the printout is also garbled. The printer driver has been reinstalled. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Change the printer's emulation mode. The correct answer is C because the printer prints correctly from its own test page but produces garbled output from multiple network computers, indicating the issue is with how the print data is interpreted. Changing the printer's emulation mode (e.g., from PCL to PostScript or vice versa) resolves mismatches between the driver's page description language and the printer's interpreter, which is a common cause of garbled characters when the driver reinstall hasn't fixed the problem.

Answer

Replace the network cable

Answer

Update the printer firmware

Answer

Replace the imaging drum

Question 3

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that powers on (fans spin, lights turn on) but the monitor displays 'No Signal'. The technician has already verified that the monitor works on another computer and has reseated the RAM and the discrete GPU. The motherboard has integrated graphics. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Remove the discrete GPU and connect the monitor to the integrated graphics port.. Since the monitor works on another computer and the RAM/GPU have been reseated, the next logical step is to isolate whether the discrete GPU is faulty. By removing the discrete GPU and connecting the monitor to the integrated graphics port, the technician can test if the system boots with the CPU's built-in graphics. If it does, the discrete GPU is likely the problem; if not, the issue lies elsewhere (e.g., motherboard or CPU).

Answer

Replace the power supply unit (PSU) with a known-working unit.

Answer

Clear the CMOS by removing the onboard battery for 30 seconds.

Answer

Replace the RAM modules with known-working ones.

Question 4

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with faint images. The toner cartridge is full and the imaging drum has been replaced recently. The technician prints a test page from the printer's control panel, which also appears faint. Which of the following components should the technician check or replace NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The primary charge roller (or corona wire).. The primary charge roller (or corona wire) applies a uniform electrostatic charge to the photosensitive drum. If it is worn, dirty, or failing, the drum cannot hold a proper charge, resulting in a faint image even with a full toner cartridge and a new drum. The test page being faint confirms the issue is in the image formation process, not the data path.

Answer

The fuser assembly.

Answer

The transfer roller.

Answer

The paper pickup rollers.

Question 5

A user reports that their desktop computer loses network connectivity intermittently. The technician finds that the RJ45 connector on the cable has a broken retention clip, but replacing the cable does not resolve the issue. The computer is connected to a wall jack in the office. The technician uses a cable tester on the wall jack and discovers that pins 4 and 5 are open (no continuity). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the intermittent connectivity?

Accepted Answer

Incorrect wiring standard on the wall jack. The cable tester shows pins 4 and 5 are open, which in a T568A/B wiring scheme correspond to the blue pair (pair 3). This pair is used for voice in some standards, but in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, all four pairs are required for proper operation. Incorrect wiring on the wall jack (e.g., mis-termination or using a different standard like USOC) would cause intermittent connectivity because the link may train at a lower speed or fail when the pair is needed for data transmission.

Answer

Faulty network interface card (NIC) in the computer

Answer

Damaged patch cable at the patch panel in the server room

Answer

Malfunctioning switch port

Question 6

A network laser printer prints garbled pages when receiving print jobs from one specific user's computer, but prints correctly from all other computers on the same network. The printer has a static IP address and is connected via an unmanaged switch. The technician can ping the printer from the affected computer without any packet loss. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The printer driver on the affected computer is corrupted. The printer prints garbled pages only from one specific computer, while other computers on the same network print correctly. This points to a local software issue on that computer rather than a network or printer hardware problem. A corrupted printer driver can cause the print data to be encoded incorrectly, resulting in garbled output, even though network connectivity (ping) is fine.

Answer

The network cable from the affected computer to the switch is faulty

Answer

The print spooler service on the affected computer is stopped

Answer

The USB port on the motherboard of the affected computer is malfunctioning

Question 7

A user reports that their desktop computer frequently loses network connectivity for a few seconds, then reconnects. The technician replaces the Ethernet cable and the wall jack, but the problem persists. The computer is connected to a managed switch. The technician checks the switch logs and sees no errors or discards. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the duplex and speed settings on the NIC and the switch port for a mismatch. The symptom of intermittent connectivity with no errors or discards on the switch logs strongly indicates a duplex mismatch. When one side is set to full duplex and the other to half duplex (or auto-negotiation fails), the half-duplex side detects collisions and retransmits, causing brief outages. The technician has already ruled out physical layer issues (cable and jack), so the next logical step is to verify that the NIC and switch port have matching duplex and speed settings, as a mismatch can cause packet loss without incrementing error counters on a managed switch.

Answer

Disable and re-enable the network adapter in Device Manager

Answer

Update the network adapter driver from the manufacturer's website

Answer

Replace the switch port with a known-working port

Question 8

A user reports that their desktop computer, connected to a network printer via Ethernet, outputs garbled text when printing. The same user can print correctly using a USB connection to the same printer. Other users on the same network can print to the printer normally. The technician has already reinstalled the printer driver on the user's computer. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Examine the printer driver properties and advanced settings, such as print processor or default language. The issue is specific to network printing on one workstation, with USB printing working fine and other network users unaffected. This isolates the problem to the print processor or data format handling on that client. Reinstalling the driver didn't fix it, so the next step is to check the driver's advanced settings, such as the print processor (e.g., WinPrint vs. HP Standard) or the default data type (e.g., RAW vs. EMF), which can cause garbled output if mismatched with the printer's PDL interpretation.

Answer

Verify the printer's network configuration via its control panel

Answer

Check the network cable and switch port for the printer

Answer

Update the firmware on the network printer

Question 9

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with vertical white streaks running down the page. The toner cartridge has been replaced with a new OEM cartridge, and the imaging drum assembly is clean and appears undamaged. The technician prints a test page from the printer's control panel, and the white streaks are still present. Which of the following components is MOST likely causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

Laser scanner unit. Vertical white streaks on a laser printer page typically indicate a laser scanner unit issue. Since the toner cartridge and imaging drum are confirmed good, the laser scanner's optical path (e.g., a dirty lens, misaligned mirror, or failing laser diode) is the most likely cause, as it fails to write the image uniformly across the drum, leaving unexposed vertical bands that appear as white streaks.

Answer

Fuser assembly

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Pickup roller

Question 10

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with vertical white streaks. The toner cartridge has been replaced with a new OEM cartridge, and the imaging drum is clean. A test page printed from the printer's control panel also shows the streaks. Which of the following components is MOST likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

Laser scanning assembly. Vertical white streaks on a laser printer page indicate that the laser beam is being blocked or obstructed before it reaches the drum. Since the toner cartridge and imaging drum have been replaced and the issue persists, the most likely cause is a dirty or obstructed laser scanning assembly, which prevents the laser from exposing certain areas of the drum.

Answer

Fuser assembly

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Paper pickup rollers

Question 11

A user reports that their network printer shows 'Offline' in the print queue on their Windows computer. The printer is powered on and has a link light on its network port. Other users on the same network can print to the printer without issue. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Set the printer back online in the printer settings. The user's printer shows 'Offline' in the print queue, but it is powered on, has a link light, and other users can print to it. This indicates the printer and network are functioning correctly; the issue is that the printer's status on the user's computer has been set to 'Offline' or 'Use Printer Offline' in the printer properties. The first step is to set the printer back online by right-clicking the printer in 'Devices and Printers' and unchecking 'Use Printer Offline' or selecting 'See what's printing' and clicking 'Printer' > 'Use Printer Online'.

Answer

Restart the print spooler service on the user's computer

Answer

Reinstall the printer driver on the user's computer

Answer

Power cycle the printer

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with vertical black streaks down the length of each page. The technician has already replaced the toner cartridge and the imaging drum with new OEM parts. A test page printed from the printer's control panel also shows the streaks. Which of the following printer components is MOST likely causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

Fuser assembly. Vertical black streaks that persist after replacing the toner cartridge and imaging drum indicate a problem downstream of the drum, typically in the fuser assembly. A damaged fuser roller (e.g., a nick, scratch, or melted toner buildup) will transfer a continuous line of toner onto the paper as it passes through the fuser, creating a streak that repeats every page. Since the test page from the printer's control panel also shows the streaks, the issue is hardware-related and not driver or software dependent.

Answer

Transfer roller

Answer

Primary corona wire

Answer

Pickup roller

Question 13

A user reports that their desktop computer runs for about ten minutes, then suddenly shuts down without warning. After a few minutes, it can be restarted, but the same problem occurs. The technician suspects overheating. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the CPU fan spins freely when the system is powered on. The symptom of a system running for a short period, then shutting down and restarting after cooling, is classic for overheating. The CPU fan is the primary active cooling component; if it fails to spin, the CPU will quickly reach its thermal threshold (typically around 100°C for modern CPUs) and trigger a thermal shutdown. Checking that the fan spins freely is the quickest, least invasive first step to confirm basic cooling operation.

Answer

Reapply thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink

Answer

Replace the power supply unit (PSU)

Answer

Run a memory diagnostic tool like MemTest86

Question 14

A network printer shows 'Offline' in the print queue on a user's Windows computer. The printer is powered on, has a link light on its network port, and other users on the same network can print to it without issues. The technician has already verified that the printer is online from its control panel. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Restart the Print Spooler service on the affected computer.. The Print Spooler service manages print jobs on a Windows computer. When a printer shows 'Offline' in the print queue despite being powered on, having a link light, and being accessible by other users, the issue is likely a local spooler hang or communication glitch. Restarting the Print Spooler service (via `net stop spooler` and `net start spooler` or the Services console) clears the spooler cache and re-establishes the connection to the printer, which is the simplest and least disruptive first step.

Answer

Change the printer’s IP address to a different static address.

Answer

Reinstall the network printer driver on the affected computer.

Answer

Replace the Ethernet cable connecting the printer to the switch.

Question 15

A user reports that their desktop computer can connect to the internet but cannot access a specific internal website hosted on a server with IP 192.168.1.200. Other users in the same office can access the website normally. The technician pings the server IP from the affected computer and gets a successful reply. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The hosts file on the computer.. The correct answer is C because the hosts file on a local computer can override DNS resolution for specific hostnames. Since the computer can ping the server IP (192.168.1.200) successfully, network connectivity is fine, but if the hosts file contains an incorrect or outdated entry for the internal website's hostname, the browser will fail to load the site. Checking the hosts file is the logical next step before investigating DNS or firewall issues.

Answer

DNS resolution for the internal website.

Answer

Firewall settings on the server.

Answer

The default gateway configuration.