220-1101 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting Practice Question
A technician is troubleshooting a laser printer that produces pages with faint text and a gray background. The toner cartridge has already been replaced with a new one, but the issue persists. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume a new toner cartridge would fix all image-quality issues, overlooking that the corona wire is a separate consumable/maintenance item that directly controls drum charging.
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
✓
Clean the corona wire
Faint text with a gray background on a laser printer typically indicates a problem with the primary corona wire (or charge roller) failing to apply a uniform negative charge to the photosensitive drum. Even with a new toner cartridge, if the corona wire is dirty or damaged, the drum will not be properly charged, causing toner to be attracted to non-image areas (gray background) and insufficient toner to be deposited for the image (faint text). Cleaning the corona wire restores the correct electrostatic charge distribution, resolving both symptoms.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Clean the corona wire
Why this is correct
A dirty corona wire fails to deposit a uniform electrostatic charge across the photosensitive drum, which disrupts the latent image formation. As a result, toner is repelled unevenly from the intended image areas, producing faint printed text and a light gray background haze. Manually cleaning the corona wire with a specialized tool removes toner dust and debris, restoring the uniform charge needed for crisp, dark output.
- ✗
Replace the fuser assembly
Why it's wrong here
The fuser assembly uses heat and pressure to melt toner particles into the paper fibers. If the fuser is failing, toner remains powdered and can smear, streak, or wipe off the page, but the overall print density and background are not affected. Faint text and a gray cast point to a primary charging problem, not a fusing defect, so replacing the fuser would not resolve the symptom.
- ✗
Check the transfer roller
Why it's wrong here
The transfer roller applies a positive charge to the paper to pull toner from the drum onto the page. A damaged or worn transfer roller typically causes intermittent transfer issues such as voids, misalignment, or uneven image reproduction, but not a uniform faintness across the entire page plus a gray background. Since the symptom is global, the primary corona wire's charge uniformity is the more direct culprit.
- ✗
Run the printer's self-cleaning cycle
Why it's wrong here
Running the printer's self-cleaning cycle can clear some debris from the paper path and may help in light contamination cases, but it does not specifically target the corona wire with a controlled cleaning action. Most self-cleaning routines are designed for waste toner and paper dust, not the fine deposits that accumulate on a corona wire. Manually cleaning the corona wire is the more direct, reliable solution for faint output caused by charge inconsistency.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 220-1101 question is part of Courseiva's 896-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.