220-1101 Hardware Practice Question
A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that boots normally and runs for approximately five minutes before the screen goes blank and the system becomes unresponsive. The technician has replaced the power supply, RAM, and graphics card, but the issue persists. The CPU fan is spinning, and the CPU temperature reads 45°C in the BIOS. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often focus on the CPU fan spinning and a normal temperature reading (45°C) to rule out the motherboard, but fail to recognize that a motherboard with failing capacitors can still show normal temperatures while causing intermittent power delivery failures.
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 capacitors on the motherboard
The symptom of a system that boots and runs for a few minutes before becoming unresponsive, with a stable CPU temperature of 45°C, strongly points to a motherboard hardware failure. Failing capacitors on the motherboard can cause voltage ripple or droop that degrades over time as the system warms up, leading to instability and a blank screen. Since the power supply, RAM, and graphics card have already been replaced without resolution, the motherboard is the most likely remaining component to cause this intermittent failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Faulty CPU
Why it's wrong here
A defective CPU is an unlikely cause here because the system boots normally and runs for several minutes without issue. CPUs typically fail catastrophically—causing immediate no-POST or hard lockups from the very first instant—rather than waiting for a warm-up period. Since the reported symptom is a freeze after minutes of normal operation, the CPU must have been executing instructions correctly during that time. Additionally, the note that CPU temperature is normal further rules out thermal-related throttling or failure, while a failing CPU would often cause random reboots or crashes under load rather than a predictable time-based freeze.
- ✓
Failing capacitors on the motherboard
Why this is correct
Bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard can cause instability after the system warms up. This is a well-known failure mode where voltage ripple increases over time, leading to crashes. Replacing the power supply, RAM, and GPU would not address this motherboard-level issue.
- ✗
Defective hard drive
Why it's wrong here
A failing hard drive usually causes slow performance, file access errors, or failure to boot entirely. It would not cause a blank screen and unresponsive system after several minutes of normal use unless the OS was actively trying to read from a damaged sector, which is less consistent.
- ✗
Weak CMOS battery
Why it's wrong here
A weak CMOS battery is irrelevant to runtime freezes because its sole function is to maintain the real-time clock and BIOS settings while the system is powered off. Once the computer is booted and running from the main power supply, the CMOS battery is not used for any active operation. A failing battery typically produces symptoms like lost date/time, BIOS reset errors, or 'CMOS checksum failed' messages on startup, but it cannot cause a system to freeze mid-session. Therefore, this option is incorrect for the described symptom of a blank screen and unresponsive system after several minutes of normal use.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
BIOS and UEFI Settings
Key term
Dual In-line Memory Module
A Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) is a small circuit board that holds memory chips and plugs into a computer's motherboard to provide Random Access Memory (RAM).
Key term
RAM
RAM (Random-Access Memory) is volatile computer memory that temporarily stores data for quick access by the CPU.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1101 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 220-1101 exam.