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220-1201 Practice Question: A user's PC is running very slowly, and the hard…
A user's PC is running very slowly, and the hard drive activity LED is constantly lit even when idle. Task Manager shows 100% disk usage. Which component is most likely failing?
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
✓
Failing hard drive
Constant 100% disk usage with no corresponding high CPU or memory usage is a classic sign of a failing hard drive, often due to bad sectors or mechanical wear. While a slow drive can be caused by malware or fragmentation, hardware failure is the primary suspect in this scenario.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Insufficient RAM
Why it's wrong here
Insufficient RAM leads to excessive paging, where the operating system constantly moves data between RAM and the hard drive's paging file (virtual memory). While this causes high disk activity, it typically manifests as high memory usage reported by Task Manager and disk activity that fluctuates with application use, rather than a persistent 100% disk utilization even when the system is idle, which is more indicative of a failing drive.
- ✓
Failing hard drive
Why this is correct
A failing hard drive is the most probable cause for persistent 100% disk activity, even at idle, combined with system slowness. The drive's firmware repeatedly attempts to read or write to bad sectors, leading to numerous retries and sector remapping operations. This constant, unsuccessful effort to access data keeps the disk busy, causing the activity LED to stay lit and diagnostic tools to report maximum utilization, often without any specific application actively using the disk. S.M.A.R.T. data can often confirm impending failure.
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CPU overheating
Why it's wrong here
CPU overheating triggers thermal throttling, a protective mechanism where the processor automatically reduces its clock speed and voltage to lower heat output. This throttling significantly slows down overall system performance and responsiveness. However, CPU throttling primarily affects processing power and does not directly cause or manifest as persistent 100% disk activity, as disk operations are handled by the storage controller, not directly by the CPU's core processing units.
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Malware infection
Why it's wrong here
While a malware infection can indeed cause increased disk activity due to background processes like data exfiltration, crypto-mining, or extensive logging, it typically results in fluctuating or application-specific disk usage. The symptom of persistent 100% disk utilization even when the system is completely idle, with the disk activity light constantly on, is less characteristic of typical malware behavior and more strongly points towards a physical hardware fault within the storage device itself.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
CPU
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the main electronic brain of a computer that carries out instructions from software by performing basic arithmetic, logic, control, and input/output operations.
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
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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.