hardMultiple Choice
FC0-U71 Practice Question: A help desk technician receives a call from a…
A help desk technician receives a call from a user who cannot connect to a network share. The user's computer shows a network icon with a red X. The technician asks the user to check the network cable connection. The user reports that the cable is securely connected. The technician then pings the default gateway from their own computer and the ping is successful. Which of the following is the NEXT step the technician should take?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume a red X always means a bad cable or physical disconnection, but the question explicitly states the cable is secure, so the next step is to verify the logical configuration (IP address) rather than blindly replacing hardware or restarting servers.
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
✓
Check the IP configuration on the user's computer
The user's computer shows a network icon with a red X, indicating a physical or data-link layer issue, but the cable is reported as securely connected. The technician successfully pings the default gateway from their own computer, proving the network infrastructure (router, switch, cabling) is functional. The next logical step is to check the IP configuration on the user's computer, as a missing or misconfigured IP address (e.g., APIPA 169.254.x.x due to DHCP failure) could prevent connectivity even with a good cable. This isolates the problem to the user's device rather than the network.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Check the IP configuration on the user's computer
Why this is correct
The red X indicates a link-layer problem local to the user's machine, while the successful gateway ping proves the network path and gateway are healthy. Verifying the user's IP configuration (address, subnet mask, default gateway) isolates whether a bad static address or DHCP failure is blocking connectivity.
- ✗
Replace the network cable
Why it's wrong here
The user only visually confirmed the cable is seated; the red X means no link, so the cable and its ports still need testing or substitution. Swapping a cable is right once link negotiation fails on a known-good switch port.
- ✗
Restart the network share server
Why it's wrong here
The red X shows the user's own link is down, and the technician's successful gateway ping proves the server and network path are reachable, so restarting the server cannot restore a broken local link. Server restarts suit unresponsive services affecting many connected clients.
- ✗
Disable the firewall on the user's computer
Why it's wrong here
A host firewall cannot produce a red X, which indicates no physical link, and the share is unreachable before any traffic reaches the user's stack. Disabling a firewall suits blocked SMB traffic when the network icon shows a healthy connection.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.