SK0-005 troubleshooting Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A server administrator notices that a database server is responding slowly to queries. The CPU utilization is at 30%, memory at 40%, and disk latency is normal. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Network bandwidth utilization. Network bandwidth utilization should be checked next because high network usage can cause slow responses even when CPU, memory, and disk are fine.

Answer

Power supply status

Answer

Database index fragmentation

Answer

Operating system patch level

Question 2

A server in a virtualized environment is experiencing VM performance degradation. The host server has adequate resources. The hypervisor logs show excessive 'ready' time for the CPU. Which of the following is the BEST action to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Reduce the number of VMs on the host. Reducing the number of VMs on the host reduces contention for CPU resources, decreasing ready time.

Answer

Disable hyper-threading on the host

Answer

Increase the number of vCPUs for the VM

Answer

Migrate the VM to a different host

Question 3

A server with dual redundant power supplies shuts down unexpectedly. One power supply has a solid amber LED. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The power supply has failed. A solid amber LED on a power supply typically indicates a fault or failure of that power supply. Since the server shut down unexpectedly and one PSU shows amber, the most likely cause is that the power supply has failed, and the redundant PSU may not have been able to sustain the load alone or the failure caused a shutdown.

Answer

The server is drawing too much power

Answer

The power cord is unplugged

Answer

The server is overheating

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. What is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The boot order is set incorrectly. The error 'Boot device not found' with 'Hard Disk: (3F0)' indicates the BIOS cannot find a bootable device. The most common cause is an incorrect boot order, where the system is trying to boot from a non-bootable device before the hard drive. A corrupt boot sector would give a different error (e.g., 'Missing operating system'). A loose cable could cause the drive not to be detected at all, but often the system would show no hard drive in BIOS. A failed drive would typically be detected but unbootable.

Answer

The hard drive data cable is loose

Answer

The boot sector is corrupted

Answer

The hard drive has failed

Question 5

A server administrator is troubleshooting a network connectivity issue on a server that has recently been moved to a different rack. The server can ping its own IP address but cannot ping the default gateway. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Faulty Ethernet cable or incorrect patch panel port. Option A is correct because being able to ping self but not gateway suggests a layer 1 or 2 issue like a faulty patch cable. Option B is wrong because DNS would affect name resolution, not ping. Option C is wrong because incorrect subnet mask would affect self-ping or gateway detection. Option D is wrong because duplicate IP would cause intermittent issues or conflict messages.

Answer

Incorrect DNS server configuration

Answer

Incorrect subnet mask

Answer

Duplicate IP address on the network

Question 6

A server fails to boot with an 'Operating System Not Found' error. The BIOS detects the hard drive. What is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Corrupted Master Boot Record. A corrupted Master Boot Record (MBR) can prevent the system from locating the OS loader even when the drive is detected by BIOS. Option A (incorrect memory timings) would typically cause POST failures, not a missing OS message. Option C (failed CPU) would prevent POST entirely. Option D (overheating) would likely cause shutdowns before OS load.

Answer

Failed CPU

Answer

Incorrect memory timings

Answer

Overheating

Question 7

A virtualized server running multiple VMs experiences a sudden performance degradation during peak hours. Storage latency spikes and CPU ready time increases significantly. The hypervisor shows high memory overcommitment but no swapping. Which action would most likely resolve the issue without adding hardware?

Accepted Answer

Migrate one or more VMs to another host. Migrating VMs reduces resource contention on the host, lowering CPU ready time and potentially alleviating storage I/O pressure. Option A would only address memory pressure, not CPU ready. Option C is already enabled by default and would not resolve high ready time. Option D might help CPU contention but could degrade application performance and does not address storage latency directly.

Answer

Reduce the number of vCPUs assigned to each VM

Answer

Increase memory reservation for all VMs

Answer

Enable transparent page sharing

Question 8

After a power outage, a server fails to boot and displays a "Missing operating system" error. The server uses RAID 1 for the OS disk. The administrator verifies both drives are present in the RAID configuration utility but one drive is marked as failed. What should the administrator do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Check the boot order in BIOS/UEFI. The system may be trying to boot from an incorrect device, especially after a power event may have reset BIOS settings. Option A is a later step if the array is truly broken. Option B is not the first step because the array itself may be bootable. Option D is unlikely to restore a failed drive.

Answer

Boot from a Windows recovery media and run chkdsk

Answer

Reseat the failed drive and attempt to boot

Answer

Replace the failed drive and rebuild the array

Question 9

A server administrator is troubleshooting an issue where a database server's performance degrades every night at 2 AM. Resource monitor shows high disk I/O and CPU usage during that time. There are no scheduled tasks on the server. Which of the following should the administrator investigate FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Scheduled antivirus scans on the server. Centrally managed antivirus software may perform scans at a default time, causing high resource usage. Option B would result in network utilization, not local disk I/O. Option C is possible but typically scheduled and would appear in the task scheduler. Option D contradicts the statement that no scheduled tasks exist.

Answer

Network congestion from backups

Answer

Disk defragmentation tasks

Answer

A cron job misconfiguration

Question 10

Following a firmware update on a server's RAID controller, the server fails to boot and reports "No boot device found." The RAID array status shows healthy in the controller BIOS. Which THREE of the following actions should the administrator take to resolve the issue? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Roll back the RAID controller firmware. Options A, B, and E are correct. Rolling back firmware can undo a bad update. Verifying boot order ensures the correct device is first. Resetting the controller configuration may clear incompatible settings from the update. Rebuilding the array is unnecessary as it is healthy. Installing OS drivers is impossible without a booted OS.

Answer

Rebuild the RAID array from backup

Answer

Install the latest drivers for the RAID controller in the OS

Question 11

A database server with 64 GB of RAM and RAID 5 storage is experiencing intermittent performance degradation. System monitoring shows constant 95% memory utilization, high disk queue length, and frequent page faults. The server is running a critical application that cannot be restarted during business hours. Which action will provide the BEST permanent resolution?

Accepted Answer

Add more physical RAM. High memory utilization combined with frequent page faults indicates a memory bottleneck. Adding physical RAM eliminates the need for paging, permanently resolving the root cause. Increasing or moving the page file only mitigates the symptoms, while replacing RAID 5 with RAID 10 improves disk performance but does not address the underlying memory shortage.

Answer

Replace the RAID 5 array with RAID 10

Answer

Move the page file to a dedicated SSD

Answer

Increase the size of the page file

Question 12

Refer to the exhibit. A technician receives an alert from the monitoring system showing the error in the exhibit. The server is still online, but performance has degraded. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause and appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

The hard disk drive is failing; back up data and replace the drive. Event ID 11 from Disk source indicates a controller error, often due to a failing disk or cable. The most likely cause is a failing hard drive. Backing up and replacing the drive is the appropriate action. Bad sectors might be the symptom but replacing is safer. Driver corruption is less likely; high I/O wouldn't cause a controller error.

Answer

The SATA controller driver is corrupted; reinstall the driver

Answer

The disk has a bad sector; run CHKDSK and monitor

Answer

The disk is experiencing high I/O; upgrade to SSD

Question 13

A server configured with a RAID 5 array and a hot spare experiences intermittent crashes under heavy disk I/O. A technician suspects a failing drive. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Run the array manufacturer's diagnostic utility.. Running the array manufacturer's diagnostic utility is the least invasive first step—it can identify which drive is failing and confirm the suspected fault without disrupting the array or risking unnecessary rebuilds. This aligns with standard troubleshooting methodology: diagnose before replacing or rebuilding. Only after confirmation should the technician take corrective action.

Answer

Initiate a manual failover to the hot spare.

Answer

Remove the suspected drive and rebuild the array.

Answer

Replace the hot spare with a new drive.

Question 14

A server uses NIC teaming with LACP (802.3ad) for load balancing and failover. After replacing a failed switch with a new switch of the same model, the server loses network connectivity. The switch ports show no activity. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

LACP is not enabled on the switch ports.. LACP must be explicitly enabled and configured on switch ports to form a port-channel (Option D). New switches ship with default configurations that do not include LACP. The server's NIC teaming mode (Option A) was previously working, so it is likely correct. Access port configuration (Option B) would affect VLAN membership but not completely drop traffic. Firmware differences (Option C) rarely cause total loss of connectivity without other configuration mismatches.

Answer

The switch ports are not configured as access ports.

Answer

The new switch has a different firmware version.

Answer

The server's NIC teaming mode is set to active/passive.

Question 15

After installing additional RAM modules in a server, the BIOS displays only a portion of the installed memory. The modules are identical in speed and size but from different manufacturers. Which of the following is the BEST initial troubleshooting step?

Accepted Answer

Reseat all memory modules and ensure proper slot population.. Reseating memory and checking population order (Option C) are the first steps because improper seating or incorrect slot placement can cause the BIOS to not recognize all modules. Updating BIOS (Option A) might help if a compatibility issue exists, but physical inspection should come first. Replacing the motherboard (Option B) is too extreme. Running memtest86 (Option D) is useful but should follow physical checks.

Answer

Replace the motherboard.

Answer

Run memtest86 immediately.

Answer

Update the server BIOS firmware.