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220-1201 Practice Question: A user complains that a virtual machine running…
A user complains that a virtual machine running on a laptop shuts down unexpectedly when the laptop is unplugged from power. The host has power management settings set to 'Balanced'. What is the most likely cause?
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 host's power plan is set to 'Balanced', causing the host to sleep when unplugged
Power management settings can put the host to sleep or reduce performance, causing the VM to crash or shut down. The VM relies on the host's power state; changing the plan to 'High Performance' prevents sleep.
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 VM's virtual BIOS is set to power off on AC loss
Why it's wrong here
A virtual machine's BIOS settings control its boot order and internal virtual hardware configuration, but they do not directly interact with the physical power state of the host machine. The VM perceives a stable power supply from its host as long as the host is running. Therefore, a setting within the VM's virtual BIOS related to AC loss would be irrelevant to a physical power event affecting the host laptop.
- ✓
The host's power plan is set to 'Balanced', causing the host to sleep when unplugged
Why this is correct
The host laptop's power plan directly dictates its behavior when operating on battery power. A 'Balanced' power plan is designed to conserve energy, often configured to automatically put the system into a sleep or hibernate state after a period of inactivity when unplugged. When the host enters such a low-power state, any running virtual machines are abruptly suspended or shut down, leading to the observed complaint.
- ✗
The VM is configured with insufficient RAM
Why it's wrong here
Configuring a virtual machine with insufficient RAM would primarily manifest as severe performance degradation, application crashes within the VM, or an inability to launch certain programs. It would not, however, cause the VM to immediately shut down specifically when the host laptop is unplugged. This issue is related to resource allocation, not the host's power source transition.
- ✗
The laptop's battery is failing and cannot supply power
Why it's wrong here
While a severely failing laptop battery could indeed cause the entire host system to abruptly shut down when AC power is removed, the scenario implies a more controlled, albeit undesirable, power management action. If the battery were simply failing, the laptop would likely power off instantly without any grace period, rather than entering a sleep state triggered by a power plan. The complaint suggests a predictable behavior linked to unplugging, not a sudden, uncontrolled power loss.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
Virtual machine
A virtual machine (VM) is a software-based emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications just like a real machine, but is isolated and managed by a hypervisor on a host system.
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.
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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.