220-1201 Practice Questions

Question 1

After replacing a motherboard, a technician installs Windows but the system will not boot from the SSD. The drive is detected in UEFI. The technician recalls the previous motherboard used Legacy BIOS. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The UEFI is set to UEFI mode but the drive uses MBR. If the new motherboard defaults to UEFI mode but the SSD was formatted with an MBR partition table (for Legacy), the system cannot boot. Changing to Legacy/CSM mode or reinstalling with GPT is needed. This tests understanding of partition table and boot mode compatibility.

Answer

The SSD is not getting power

Answer

Secure Boot is blocking the Windows bootloader

Answer

The CMOS battery is dead

Question 2

A company uses a Type 1 hypervisor for production servers. A technician needs to migrate a running VM from one host to another without any downtime. Which feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Perform a live migration using the hypervisor's built-in feature. Live migration (vMotion in VMware) moves a running VM between hosts with zero downtime. This is a key feature of enterprise hypervisors for maintenance and load balancing.

Answer

Snapshot the VM and restore on the new host

Answer

Use virtual machine cloning

Answer

Export the VM as an OVF and import on the new host

Question 3

A client in a dense urban apartment building wants internet service but cannot install a satellite dish due to HOA rules. They have a phone line but no cable TV outlet. Which connection type is most practical and cost-effective?

Accepted Answer

DSL. DSL uses existing phone lines and is widely available in urban areas, making it a practical choice. Cable requires a coaxial outlet, satellite is prohibited, and fiber may not be available in all apartment buildings. DSL offers a balance of availability and cost.

Answer

Cable broadband

Answer

Satellite

Answer

Fiber-optic

Question 4

A customer reports that their laptop can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi but cannot access any network shares on the local file server. Other devices on the same network can access the shares. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The laptop has a misconfigured subnet mask.. This scenario tests understanding of network segmentation and IP addressing. The laptop can reach the internet (default gateway works) but not local resources, indicating a subnet mask or VLAN mismatch. The most common cause is an incorrect subnet mask, which prevents the laptop from recognizing the file server as local.

Answer

The file server is powered off.

Answer

The Wi-Fi router is overloaded.

Answer

The laptop's firewall is blocking all traffic.

Question 5

A small office has an all-in-one printer that supports scanning to email, but users report that scanned documents are not being delivered. The printer's network settings show a valid IP address, and the SMTP server address is correct. What should the technician check next to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Check the SMTP authentication credentials configured on the printer. This question tests understanding of multifunction device network configuration, specifically scanning to email. The most likely cause is incorrect authentication credentials for the SMTP server, as the printer must log in to send email. Checking network connectivity or DNS would be secondary if the IP is valid and the server address is correct.

Answer

Verify the printer's DNS settings

Answer

Replace the printer's toner cartridge

Answer

Reboot the network switch

Question 6

A user reports that they cannot access a website hosted on a remote server. The technician finds that the firewall allows HTTP and HTTPS traffic, but the website uses a non-standard port. The user's browser shows 'connection refused'. Which tool can the technician use to verify if the remote port is open?

Accepted Answer

Telnet. Telnet can be used to test connectivity to a specific port (e.g., telnet example.com 8080). Ping uses ICMP, not TCP ports. Nslookup tests DNS resolution. Tracert traces the route but does not test port status.

Answer

Ping

Answer

Nslookup

Answer

Tracert

Question 7

A user reports that their laser printer occasionally prints pages with a faint ghost image of the previous page. The ghost image appears about 2 inches below the current content. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The drum cleaning blade is worn. Ghosting in laser printers is often caused by a worn or damaged cleaning blade that fails to remove residual toner from the drum. The leftover toner transfers to the next page, creating a faint duplicate. Replacing the cleaning blade or drum unit usually fixes the problem.

Answer

The toner cartridge is low

Answer

The fuser is overheating

Answer

The paper is damp

Question 8

A technician is tasked with enabling hardware-level virtualization on a desktop to run a virtual machine. Which UEFI setting must be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V. Intel VT-x or AMD-V is the hardware virtualization feature that must be enabled in the CPU configuration section of UEFI. Without it, virtual machines will run slowly or fail to start. This tests knowledge of common UEFI settings for virtualization.

Answer

Enable Secure Boot

Answer

Enable Execute Disable Bit (XD/NX)

Answer

Set SATA mode to AHCI

Question 9

A technician is setting up a new Android tablet for a field sales representative. The tablet needs to connect to the internet via a cellular data plan. The technician inserts a nano-SIM card from the company's carrier, but the tablet shows 'No SIM card' in the status bar. The SIM card works in another tablet. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SIM card is not fully inserted or is inserted incorrectly.. If the SIM card works in another device, the issue is with the tablet itself. The most common cause is that the SIM card is not fully seated or is inserted incorrectly. Some tablets use a tray that requires the SIM to be oriented a specific way. A less common cause is a faulty SIM slot, but that should be checked after verifying correct insertion.

Answer

The tablet's cellular radio is disabled in the settings.

Answer

The SIM card is not compatible with the tablet's LTE bands.

Answer

The tablet requires a software update to enable cellular functionality.

Question 10

A technician is tasked with upgrading a desktop computer that has a 500GB SATA SSD and a 2TB SATA HDD. The motherboard has one M.2 slot (PCIe 3.0 x4) and four SATA III ports. The user wants faster boot times and application loading. Which upgrade will provide the most noticeable performance improvement?

Accepted Answer

Install an M.2 NVMe SSD and migrate the OS and applications to it.. This question tests understanding of storage performance hierarchy. The existing SATA SSD is already fast for boot and applications, but an M.2 NVMe SSD is significantly faster (3-5x). Replacing the HDD with another SSD would not improve boot times as much, and adding RAM does not directly affect storage speed.

Answer

Replace the 2TB HDD with a 2TB SATA SSD.

Answer

Add more RAM to the system.

Answer

Replace the 500GB SATA SSD with a larger SATA SSD.

Question 11

A technician is deploying 20 new tablets for a hospital's nursing staff. After configuring Wi-Fi and email, they find that the tablets will not connect to the corporate 5 GHz wireless network, only to the 2.4 GHz network. All tablets are the same model. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The tablets only support 802.11b/g/n on the 2.4 GHz band and lack 5 GHz hardware support.. This is a common deployment issue where the device's wireless radio supports 2.4 GHz but not 5 GHz, or the 5 GHz channel is not supported. Older or budget tablets may lack 5 GHz capability, or the corporate network may use a 5 GHz channel (e.g., DFS channels) that the tablet's radio cannot use. Checking the tablet's Wi-Fi specifications is the correct first step.

Answer

The 5 GHz SSID is hidden and requires manual entry.

Answer

The corporate 5 GHz network requires 802.1X authentication that is not configured on the tablets.

Answer

The tablets have a defective Wi-Fi antenna.

Question 12

A technician is installing a new power supply in a high-end gaming PC. The PSU has two +12V rails rated at 20A each. The GPU requires a single +12V rail with at least 30A. What potential issue could arise?

Accepted Answer

The GPU may cause overcurrent protection to trip on one rail, causing shutdowns.. Multi-rail PSUs split the +12V output across separate rails, each with its own overcurrent protection. If the GPU draws more than 20A from one rail, it can trip the protection, causing shutdowns. Using a single-rail PSU or ensuring the GPU is connected across both rails (if the PSU allows) would avoid this.

Answer

The PSU will automatically combine the rails to provide 40A to the GPU.

Answer

The PSU will deliver stable power as long as the total wattage is sufficient.

Answer

The GPU will automatically draw power from both rails equally.

Question 13

A customer reports that their desktop computer, which is connected to the network via a wall jack, can access the internet but cannot see other computers on the same local network. The network uses a single switch and a router. What is the most likely misconfiguration causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

The computer's network profile is set to 'Public', disabling Network Discovery.. When a Windows computer's network profile is set to 'Public', the Windows Firewall automatically enables the 'Public' profile rules, which block Network Discovery and file sharing. This prevents the computer from seeing other devices on the local subnet even though internet access (which uses the default gateway) remains functional. The symptom—internet works but LAN visibility fails—is a classic indicator of a network profile misconfiguration.

Answer

The switch is a hub, not a switch.

Answer

The router is blocking multicast traffic.

Answer

The Ethernet cable is a crossover cable.

Question 14

A user is building a new gaming PC and wants to install 32 GB of DDR4 RAM in a dual-channel configuration. They have two 16 GB sticks. Which motherboard slots should they use to ensure dual-channel operation?

Accepted Answer

Slots 2 and 4 (alternating slots).. For dual-channel operation, memory modules must be installed in the correct slots, typically alternating colors or labeled as A2 and B2 (or slots 2 and 4) on most modern motherboards. This ensures the memory controller can access both sticks simultaneously, increasing bandwidth. The user manual or motherboard labeling is the definitive guide, but the common practice is to use the second and fourth slots from the CPU.

Answer

Slots 1 and 2 (adjacent to each other).

Answer

Slots 1 and 3 (alternating slots).

Answer

Any two slots will work; dual-channel is automatic.

Question 15

A customer reports that their external monitor connected via HDMI to a laptop shows a 'No Signal' message, even though the laptop screen works fine. The monitor has been tested with another device and works. What should you check first?

Accepted Answer

Press the function key to toggle display output.. This scenario tests basic display troubleshooting. The monitor works with another device, so the issue is likely with the laptop's video output or connection. The first step is to check if the laptop is set to output to the external display, often via a function key like F4 or F8.

Answer

Replace the HDMI cable.

Answer

Update the graphics driver.

Answer

Check the monitor's power cable.

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Top 220-1201 questions

CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 practice questions