easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A user complains that they cannot access a…
A user complains that they cannot access a website by its domain name, but they can access it by typing the IP address directly. The user's computer is configured to obtain DNS automatically. What is the most likely issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse a DNS server problem with a browser cache issue or an IP address change, but the key clue is that direct IP access works while domain name access does not.
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 DNS server is not responding or is misconfigured.
The user can access the website by IP address but not by domain name, which indicates that DNS resolution is failing. Since the computer is configured to obtain DNS automatically, the most likely cause is that the DNS server assigned by DHCP is not responding or is misconfigured, preventing the translation of the domain name to an IP address.
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 user's computer has a static IP address that conflicts with another device.
Why it's wrong here
An IP conflict would cause connectivity issues overall, not just with DNS resolution.
- ✓
The DNS server is not responding or is misconfigured.
Why this is correct
Since the user can reach the site by IP, the network connection is fine. The problem is with DNS, which translates domain names to IP addresses.
- ✗
The user's browser cache is corrupted.
Why it's wrong here
A corrupted browser cache might cause issues loading a page, but it would not prevent DNS resolution entirely.
- ✗
The website's IP address has changed.
Why it's wrong here
If the IP address changed, the user would not be able to access it by the old IP either.
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Configuration: IP, DNS, DHCP
Key term
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically assigns IP addresses and network settings to devices on a network, so they can communicate without manual configuration.
Key term
DNS
DNS is the system that translates human-friendly domain names like example.com into machine-readable IP addresses so computers can find each other on a network.
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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.