mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that has…
A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that has a blinking battery light and will not power on, even when plugged into AC power. The technician has already verified the AC adapter is working on another laptop. Which component is most likely faulty?
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 battery
A blinking battery light often indicates a battery or charging circuit error. Since the AC adapter is known to be good, the issue is likely with the laptop's internal battery, the DC jack, or the charging circuit on the motherboard. The battery is the most common failure point.
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 CPU
Why it's wrong here
A faulty Central Processing Unit (CPU) would typically prevent the laptop from powering on at all, or it might cause immediate shutdowns without reaching the Power-On Self-Test (POST). While a CPU failure is critical, it does not directly control or influence the battery charging circuit or its indicator light's specific blinking patterns. Such patterns are usually diagnostic codes from the power management controller, indicating an issue with the battery itself or the charging system.
- ✗
The RAM
Why it's wrong here
Defective Random Access Memory (RAM) modules are a common cause of system instability, boot failures, or repeated reboots, often accompanied by specific POST error codes or beeps. However, RAM's function is data storage for the CPU, not power management. A fault in the RAM subsystem would not directly trigger a diagnostic blinking pattern on the battery indicator light, which is exclusively related to the power delivery and battery charging circuits.
- ✓
The battery
Why this is correct
A failed or deeply discharged battery is the most probable cause for a laptop's battery indicator light to blink and prevent the system from powering on, even when connected to AC power. Many laptops are designed to refuse to boot if the battery is critically low or completely failed, as a safety measure or because the power management integrated circuit (PMIC) cannot properly regulate power without a functional battery. The blinking light often serves as a specific diagnostic code indicating a battery fault or an inability to charge.
- ✗
The hard drive
Why it's wrong here
A malfunctioning hard drive, whether an HDD or SSD, primarily affects the operating system's ability to load or data access. While a failed hard drive would prevent the laptop from booting into the operating system, it would not prevent the system from powering on, completing the Power-On Self-Test (POST), or displaying video. Crucially, a hard drive has no direct connection or influence over the laptop's power management subsystem or the battery charging indicator light.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
Laptop
A portable personal computer that integrates a display, keyboard, touchpad, battery, and internal components into a single clamshell device for mobile computing.
Key term
DC jack
A DC jack is the small, round power port on a laptop or other mobile device where you plug in the power adapter to charge the battery or run the device.
About these practice questions
One of 972 original 220-1201 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.