220-1101 Hardware Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is building a new PC for a video editor. The motherboard has four DIMM slots, labeled A1, A2, B1, and B2, and supports dual-channel memory. The technician installs two identical 8 GB DDR4 modules. Which of the following slot configurations will provide the BEST memory performance?

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

Accepted Answer

A1 and B1. (A1 and B1) is correct because dual-channel memory requires one module in each channel. On a typical motherboard with four slots, slots A1 and A2 belong to channel A, while B1 and B2 belong to channel B. Installing one module in A1 (channel A) and one in B1 (channel B) enables dual-channel interleaving, doubling the memory bandwidth compared to single-channel operation, which is critical for video editing workloads that benefit from higher throughput.

Answer

A1 and B2

Answer

A1 and A2

Answer

Any two slots will perform identically

Question 2

A technician installs two 8 GB DDR4-2666 memory modules into a desktop motherboard that supports DDR4-3200. The system powers on and the BIOS detects 16 GB of RAM. What speed will the memory run at?

Accepted Answer

2666 MHz. The memory will run at 2666 MHz because the system memory speed is determined by the slowest component in the chain. The installed modules are DDR4-2666, and even though the motherboard supports DDR4-3200, the memory controller will clock the RAM at the rated speed of the modules (2666 MHz) unless overclocked or XMP is enabled. The BIOS detects 16 GB correctly, but speed is limited by the module's native JEDEC standard.

Answer

3200 MHz

Answer

2933 MHz

Answer

2133 MHz

Question 3

A technician is replacing the central processing unit (CPU) on a motherboard that features an LGA1200 socket. Which of the following CPU families is MOST likely compatible with this socket?

Accepted Answer

Intel Core i7-10700K. The LGA1200 socket is designed for Intel's 10th and 11th generation Comet Lake and Rocket Lake processors. The Intel Core i7-10700K is a 10th generation Comet Lake CPU that uses the LGA1200 socket, making it the correct choice.

Answer

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X

Answer

Intel Core i5-8400

Answer

Intel Core i7-4770K

Question 4

A technician is replacing a CPU on a desktop motherboard. After carefully installing the new CPU and reattaching the heatsink, the technician powers on the system. After a few minutes, the system shuts down due to overheating. The technician verifies that the CPU fan is spinning and the heatsink is firmly attached. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the overheating?

Accepted Answer

No thermal paste was applied between the CPU and heatsink. The most likely cause is that no thermal paste was applied between the CPU and heatsink. Thermal paste fills microscopic air gaps between the CPU's integrated heat spreader (IHS) and the heatsink base, ensuring efficient heat transfer. Without it, air acts as an insulator, causing the CPU to rapidly overheat and trigger thermal shutdown, even if the fan spins and the heatsink is firmly attached.

Answer

The CPU is not compatible with the motherboard socket

Answer

The CPU fan is connected to the wrong motherboard header

Answer

The heatsink is installed upside down

Question 5

A technician is assembling a new workstation. The motherboard supports DDR4 memory and has four DIMM slots: A1, A2, B1, B2. The technician installs two 16 GB DDR4-3200 modules. After powering on, the system detects 32 GB of RAM but reports a speed of 2133 MHz. The technician confirms the modules are rated for 3200 MHz. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the lower speed?

Accepted Answer

The BIOS memory profile is not set to XMP/DOCP. The motherboard detects the RAM capacity correctly but runs at the JEDEC default speed of 2133 MHz because the XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) or DOCP (Direct Overclock Profile) has not been enabled in the BIOS. DDR4-3200 modules require an overclocking profile to operate at their rated speed; without it, the system defaults to the standard 2133 MHz speed.

Answer

The modules are not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel mode

Answer

The CPU does not support 3200 MHz

Answer

The power supply is insufficient

Question 6

A technician is building a PC for a stock trader who needs to connect four external monitors. The motherboard has one HDMI port and one DisplayPort. Which of the following components should the technician add to support all four monitors?

Accepted Answer

Install a second graphics card in a PCIe x16 slot. The motherboard has only one HDMI and one DisplayPort, which supports only two monitors. Adding a second graphics card in a PCIe x16 slot provides additional video outputs (e.g., two more HDMI/DisplayPort ports), enabling a total of four monitors. This is the most straightforward and reliable method for multi-monitor support without relying on adapters or shared bandwidth.

Answer

Connect all monitors via a USB-C adapter

Answer

Use a KVM switch to connect the monitors

Answer

Enable onboard and dedicated graphics simultaneously

Question 7

A technician upgrades a workstation's memory. The motherboard has four DIMM slots and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory. Two 8 GB DDR4-3200 modules are installed in slots A1 and B1. The system boots, detects 16 GB of RAM, but reports the memory speed at 2133 MHz. Which step should the technician take to achieve the rated speed of 3200 MHz?

Accepted Answer

Enable XMP/DOCP in the BIOS. The memory is running at the JEDEC default speed of 2133 MHz, not the rated 3200 MHz. To achieve the higher speed, the technician must enable Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) or AMD DOCP (Direct Overclock Profile) in the BIOS, which loads the manufacturer's overclocking profile for the rated frequency and timings.

Answer

Install the modules in slots A1 and A2 instead

Answer

Replace the modules with DDR4-2666

Answer

Update the motherboard chipset drivers

Question 8

A technician is installing a new power supply unit (PSU) into a desktop computer. The PSU has a 4+4 pin CPU power connector, but the motherboard only has a 4-pin CPU power header. Which of the following steps should the technician take to properly connect the CPU power?

Accepted Answer

Separate the connector into two 4-pin sections and connect one section to the motherboard. The 4+4 pin CPU power connector is designed to be split into two 4-pin sections for compatibility with motherboards that have either a 4-pin or an 8-pin CPU power header. Since the motherboard only has a 4-pin header, the technician should separate the connector and connect one 4-pin section to the header, ensuring proper power delivery to the CPU without overloading or damaging the connector.

Answer

Connect the full 8-pin connector to the 4-pin header

Answer

Use a 24-pin to 4-pin adapter

Answer

Leave the CPU power unconnected because the motherboard can draw power from the 24-pin connector

Question 9

A technician is building a PC for a video editor. The motherboard has one PCIe x16 slot and one PCIe x4 slot. The technician installs a high-end graphics card in the x16 slot. The system powers on but displays no video output. The graphics card's fans spin, and the LED on the card lights up. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The graphics card's power connectors. The high-end graphics card's fans spinning and LED lighting up indicate the card is receiving power from the PCIe slot, but many modern GPUs require additional power from the PSU via 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connectors. If these supplemental power cables are not connected, the card will not output video despite appearing powered on. This is the most common cause of no display with a new GPU installation and should be checked first.

Answer

The BIOS boot order

Answer

The RAM module seating

Answer

The PCIe slot configuration in BIOS

Question 10

A technician is building a workstation and installs an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU (which does not have an integrated GPU) onto an ASUS B550 motherboard that has an HDMI port. The technician connects a monitor to the motherboard's HDMI port, but the monitor displays 'No Signal'. The system powers on, fans spin, and RAM is installed. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The CPU does not have an integrated GPU.. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU does not include an integrated GPU (iGPU). Therefore, the motherboard's HDMI port, which relies on the CPU's integrated graphics to output video, will not receive any signal. The monitor displays 'No Signal' because there is no graphics source being sent through that port. To get video output, a discrete GPU must be installed and the monitor connected to it.

Answer

The power supply is not connected to the CPU power header.

Answer

The RAM is not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel mode.

Answer

The motherboard's CMOS battery is dead.

Question 11

A user recently purchased a new desktop computer that does not have any USB-C ports. The user wants to add USB-C connectivity to charge devices and transfer data. Which of the following expansion cards should the technician install?

Accepted Answer

PCIe USB 3.0 card with USB-C ports. A PCIe USB 3.0 card with USB-C ports is the correct choice because it directly adds USB-C connectivity to a desktop lacking native ports. USB 3.0 (now USB 3.2 Gen 1) supports up to 5 Gbps data transfer and can provide up to 4.5W (0.9A at 5V) for charging, which meets the user's stated need to charge devices and transfer data. The PCIe interface ensures compatibility with the desktop's expansion slot, making this a straightforward upgrade.

Answer

Thunderbolt 3 PCIe card

Answer

eSATA PCIe card

Answer

FireWire (IEEE 1394) PCIe card

Question 12

A technician is upgrading a workstation's CPU from an Intel Core i5-6500 (Skylake) to an Intel Core i7-7700 (Kaby Lake) on an LGA 1151 motherboard. The motherboard manufacturer's website lists the i7-7700 as compatible with BIOS version P2.10 or later. After installing the new CPU, the system powers on (fans spin, LEDs light) but displays a black screen with no POST beeps. The technician has already cleared the CMOS. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard's BIOS version is too old to support the new CPU.. The Intel Core i7-7700 (Kaby Lake) requires a BIOS version P2.10 or later on this LGA 1151 motherboard. Since the system powers on but fails to POST with a black screen and no beeps, the most likely cause is that the current BIOS version predates P2.10, lacking the microcode needed to initialize the Kaby Lake CPU. Clearing CMOS does not update the BIOS, so the motherboard remains unable to communicate with the new processor.

Answer

The power supply unit is not providing enough wattage for the new CPU.

Answer

The new CPU is defective or was installed incorrectly.

Answer

The RAM modules are incompatible with the new CPU's memory controller.

Question 13

A technician is upgrading a workstation used for video editing. The current configuration includes an M.2 SATA SSD in the only M.2 slot on the motherboard, which supports both SATA and PCIe NVMe devices. The user wants the fastest possible storage performance for large video files. Which of the following upgrades will provide the GREATEST performance improvement without replacing the motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Replace the M.2 SATA SSD with an M.2 NVMe SSD. The M.2 slot on this motherboard supports both SATA and PCIe NVMe devices. Replacing the current M.2 SATA SSD with an M.2 NVMe SSD directly upgrades the interface from SATA (6 Gb/s, ~550 MB/s) to PCIe (up to 4 GB/s for Gen3 x4), providing the greatest performance improvement for large video files without replacing the motherboard.

Answer

Add a second 2.5-inch SATA SSD and configure them in RAID 0

Answer

Replace the M.2 SATA SSD with a larger 2.5-inch SATA SSD

Answer

Install a PCIe SATA controller card and add another SATA SSD

Question 14

A technician replaced the power supply unit (PSU) in a desktop PC. After installation, the system does not power on at all—no fans spin and no LEDs light up. The technician confirms that the PSU is plugged into a known-good wall outlet and the PSU's power switch is in the 'ON' position. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the front panel power button connector is properly attached to the motherboard header. The most likely cause of a completely dead system after a PSU replacement is a loose or incorrectly connected front panel power button header. The power button connector bridges two pins on the motherboard header to signal the power-on event; if it is not seated properly, the system will not respond to the button press, even with a functional PSU. Since the PSU is plugged into a known-good outlet and its switch is on, the next logical step is to verify this low-voltage signal path before testing the PSU itself.

Answer

Test the PSU with a multimeter to ensure the voltages are correct

Answer

Swap the PSU for a different unit to rule out a defective power supply

Answer

Check the motherboard CPU power connector (EPS12V) for proper seating

Question 15

A technician installs a new SATA SSD into a desktop computer. The drive is not detected in the BIOS or the operating system. The technician has confirmed that the SATA data cable and power cable are securely connected to both the drive and the motherboard/PSU. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Ensure the SATA controller mode is set to AHCI or RAID in BIOS.. The SATA controller mode in the BIOS must be set to AHCI or RAID for modern SATA SSDs to be recognized. If the mode is set to IDE (or Legacy), the SSD may not be detected because IDE mode does not support the native command queuing and hot-plug features that AHCI provides. Since the technician has already verified physical connections, the next logical step is to check this BIOS setting.

Answer

Update the motherboard chipset drivers.

Answer

Replace the SATA data cable with a different one.

Answer

Verify that the drive jumper is set to Master.