easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A customer complains that their external USB hard…
A customer complains that their external USB hard drive is not recognized when plugged into any port on their laptop. The drive spins up and its LED lights up. The drive works fine on another computer. What is the most likely issue?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The laptop is missing or has corrupted USB mass storage drivers.
This question tests basic USB troubleshooting. The drive spins up and lights up, indicating power is reaching it, but it is not recognized. This often points to a driver issue on the laptop. The other options are less likely because the drive works on another computer and the LED is on.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The USB port is physically damaged.
Why it's wrong here
Physical damage to a USB port, such as bent pins or a loose connection, would typically prevent the port from supplying power or establishing a data connection. Since the external drive's LED lights up, indicating power delivery, and assuming the drive functions correctly in other USB ports on the same laptop or another computer, a physically damaged port is an improbable cause. The issue is more likely related to software or drivers preventing device enumeration.
- ✗
The external drive's enclosure has a faulty controller board.
Why it's wrong here
The controller board within an external drive's enclosure is essential for managing data transfer between the internal storage device and the host computer via USB. A faulty controller would prevent the drive from being properly enumerated or accessed on any system, manifesting as a complete failure to function. Since the external drive operates correctly when connected to another computer, its enclosure and internal controller board are demonstrably functional, making this a highly unlikely cause for the issue on the problematic laptop.
- ✓
The laptop is missing or has corrupted USB mass storage drivers.
Why this is correct
If the USB mass storage driver is missing or corrupted, the laptop will provide power to the device but will not be able to enumerate it, so it will not appear in the OS. This explains why the drive spins up but is not recognized.
- ✗
The USB cable is defective.
Why it's wrong here
A defective USB cable can manifest in several ways, including a complete lack of power delivery, intermittent connections, or failure of the data lines. Since the external hard drive spins up and its LED indicator illuminates, the USB cable is successfully delivering power from the laptop's port to the device. While a cable could theoretically have compromised data lines but still deliver power, the fact that the drive functions perfectly on another computer strongly suggests the cable itself is not the root cause of the recognition issue on the primary laptop.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
Universal Serial Bus
A Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a standard interface that allows you to connect devices like keyboards, mice, storage drives, and printers to a computer for data transfer and power delivery.
Key term
Light-emitting Diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it, commonly used as an indicator or illumination source in electronic devices.
About these practice questions
This 220-1201 question is part of Courseiva's 972-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.