CompTIA A+ 1101 Practice Exam A PDF

Practice Exam A Performance-Based Answers A1. Match the interface name to the picture: Lightning Lightning connectors are Apple proprietary connectors. These connectors provide an 8-pin digital signal between a mobile device and a computer. RJ45 RJ45 connectors are 8P8C (Eight position, eight conductor) interfaces, and are commonly used for Ethernet network connections. HDMI HDMI is a common video connection type and is used across a wide variety of computing devices, LCD projectors, and display monitors. Micro-USB The relatively small micro-USB connector is commonly used to connect mobile devices to computers. Practice Exam A - Answers 33 DB-9 DB-9 connectors are often used to communicate with modems, management interfaces, and any other RS-232 serial devices. USB-C USB-C connectors are used to connect and power external devices. The USB-C connector is reversible, so it can be inserted into an interface without maintaining a particular orientation. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.1 - Copper Connectors https://professormesser.link/1101030110 34 Practice Exam A - Answers A2. Order these technologies from slowest throughput to fastest: One stream of 802.11ax - ~1.2 Gbit/sec USB 3.2 Gen 1 - 5 Gbit/sec 10GBASE-T - 10 Gbit/sec SATA Revision 3.2 - 16 Gbit/sec Thunderbolt v3 - 40 Gbit/sec It's useful to know the functionality and limitations of common technologies, and these will become especially helpful for questions asking for the best possible option for transferring data. More information: 220-1101 - Section 2.3 - Wireless Network Standards https://professormesser.link/1101020301 More information: 220-1101 - Section 3.1 - Peripheral Cables https://professormesser.link/1101030104 More information: 220-1101 - Section 3.1 - Network Cables https://professormesser.link/1101030101 More information: 220-1101 - Section 3.1 - SATA Device Cables https://professormesser.link/1101030106 Practice Exam A - Answers 35 A3. Match the port number to the protocol. Not all port numbers will be used. tcp/443 HTTPS - HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure tcp/389 LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol udp/53 DNS - Domain Name System tcp/143 IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol udp/161 SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol tcp/3389 RDP - Remote Desktop Protocol tcp/22 SSH - Secure Shell Port numbers can be challenging to memorize, so you may want to consider making your own lab by adding some firewall rules in Windows Firewall or any third-party firewall front-end. Once you create firewall rules and work with some of the port numbers, you'll find they're much easier to remember. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.1 - Common Network Ports https://professormesser.link/1101020102 36 Practice Exam A - Answers A4. Identify the components on this motherboard: CPU Memory slots Main Power PCI Express slot SATA interfaces Headers More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.4 - Motherboard Connectors https://professormesser.link/1101030403 Practice Exam A - Answers 37 A5. Configure a RAID array with these characteristics: Data remains available if a single drive fails Most efficient use of drive space Fastest access time Total storage size is not a priority Select the RAID type and configure the three drive bays using the available drives. The drives can be used multiple times, and not all drives will be used. SATA SATA SATA Select III III III RAID - - - Type Drive 1 TB Drive 1 TB Drive 1 TB HD A HD B HD C - - - 5 15,000 15,000 15,000 RPM RPM RPM This question can be separated into two parts; deciding which type of RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) to use, and choosing drives that meet the requested criteria. Since data must be available if a drive fails, RAID 0 cannot be used. Four drives are required for RAID 1+0, so the only options remaining are RAID 1 and RAID 5. The most efficient use of drive space from those two options is RAID 5. 38 Practice Exam A - Answers The fastest access time on the available drives is the 15,000 RPM (revolutions per minute) SATA III hard drive (The faster the RPMs, the better the access time). Although the 1 TB (terabyte) of available drive space is not the largest of the available drives, the requirements state that the storage size is not a priority. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.3 - RAID https://professormesser.link/1101030302 Practice Exam A - Answers 39 40 Practice Exam A - Answers Practice Exam A Multiple Choice Detailed Answers A6. The printer in the accounting department has stopped all printing processes. The print queue shows seven jobs in the queue waiting to be printed. Which of the following would be the BEST next troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Send a test job to the printer and move it to the top of the queue ❍ B. Restart the printer's spooler ❍ C. Install an updated version of the printer driver ❍ D. Delete everything in the queue and resend the print jobs The Answer: B. Restart the printer's spooler The print spooler is the software responsible for storing print jobs and sending them to the printer. If the printer spooler has failed or has stopped, then none of the print jobs will be sent to the printer. The incorrect answers: A. Send a test job to the printer and move it to the top of the queue Since the print spooler is the issue, it won't matter where a print job might be in the queue. A test print job will sit at the top of the queue just like any other print job. C. Install an updated version of the printer driver The printer driver on a client workstation is responsible for formatting the print job in a way the printer can properly interpret during the printing process. Changing the print driver won't fix problems with the print spooler. D. Delete everything in the queue and resend the print jobs If the spooler is having problems, then deleting the print jobs will only require users to resend the print requests, which will then sit in the queue and not print. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.6 - Troubleshooting Printers https://professormesser.link/1101050601 Practice Exam A - Answers 41 A7. A system administrator has connected an external USB drive to a computer to transfer some documents. When booting the computer, the system tries to boot from the external drive and gives an error message. Which of the following would be the BEST way to prevent the USB drive from booting? ❍ A. Modify the BIOS to boot from the internal hard drive ❍ B. Modify the boot order in Windows Disk Management ❍ C. Rebuild the MBR on the external hard drive ❍ D. Disable the external drive in Device Manager The Answer: A. Modify the BIOS to boot from the internal hard drive The boot order is managed in the system BIOS, and one way to avoid the computer from attempting to boot from an external storage device is to move the internal drive to have a higher boot priority. The incorrect answers: B. Modify the boot order in Windows Disk Management Windows Disk Management is not used to configure the boot order of the computer. By the time Windows has loaded, the boot order has already been determined. The boot order is configured in the system BIOS. C. Rebuild the MBR on the external hard drive Rebuilding the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the external hard drive will not prevent the computer from attempting to boot to the drive. Rebuilding the MBR would only be necessary if the boot record was erased or damaged. D. Disable the external drive in Device Manager Since Windows Device Manager is only active after the system boots, disabling the external drive would not prevent the boot process. Disabling the drive in Device Manager would only prevent Windows from accessing the drive once the system was booted. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.2 - Troubleshooting Common Hardware Problems https://professormesser.link/1101050201 42 Practice Exam A - Answers A8. A user's print jobs to a new multifunction printer produce pages of garbled text, but jobs from other users are printing normally. Which of the following would be the MOST likely reason for this issue? ❍ A. Printer driver specifies secured prints ❍ B. Faulty network cable ❍ C. Print driver is configured for PCL ❍ D. Application is not authorized to print The Answer: C. Print driver is configured for PCL The page description language configured in a printer driver must match the language on the printer. If a device prints to a PostScript printer using Hewlett-Packard's PCL (Printer Command Language), the output will appear garbled and unreadable. The incorrect answers: A. Printer driver specifies secured prints Secured printing allows the user to associated their print job with a PIN (Personal Identification Number), and the job will not print until the PIN is entered at the printer console. This process does not cause the output to appear garbled or corrupted. B. Faulty network cable A faulty cable would cause the printer to receive data slowly or not at all. The output of the printer would not be affected by a faulty Ethernet cable. D. Application is not authorized to print A print authorization is commonly determined by the user's rights and permissions and is not based on the application. If a user did not have rights to print, then no print job would be queued and no output would be created. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.6 - Multifunction Devices https://professormesser.link/1101030601 Practice Exam A - Answers 43 A9. A network connection in a conference room was installed years ago, and there’s no documentation for the cable run. Connecting a device to the cable results in a successful Ethernet connection, so the other end of the cable should terminate somewhere in the wiring closet. Which of these tools would be the best choice to find the other end of the network connection? ❍ A. Cable tester ❍ B. Tone generator ❍ C. Multimeter ❍ D. Crimper The Answer: B. Tone generator A tone generator is used to produce an analog tone on the cable, and an inductive probe is used to "listen" for the tone on the other end of the cable. The incorrect answers: A. Cable tester A cable tester could be used to confirm the wire map of the cable, but you would first need to locate both ends before that would be possible. A cable tester doesn't provide a way to locate both ends of a cable. C. Multimeter A multimeter could be used to verify continuity and the wire map of the cable, but both ends of the cable would need to be close to the multimeter. A multimeter can't be used to locate both ends of a cable. D. Crimper If the RJ45 connector on the cable was faulty, a crimper could be used to attach a new connector to the cable. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.8 - Network Tools https://professormesser.link/1101020801 44 Practice Exam A - Answers A10. A network administrator has received a ticket complaining of port flapping on an Ethernet switch. Which of the following would be the MOST likely reason for this issue? ❍ A. Firewall rule is blocking traffic ❍ B. Faulty crimp on an Ethernet connector ❍ C. Excessive jitter measurements ❍ D. Duplex mismatch The Answer: B. Faulty crimp on an Ethernet connector Port flapping describes a network interface that constantly transitions between connected and disconnected. This can sometimes be related to software or firmware, but is most likely associated with a hardware issue. For example, a faulty cable or connector could cause intermittent connectivity and create a flapping Ethernet port. The incorrect answers: A. Firewall rule is blocking traffic Denying or allowing traffic on a firewall would not cause an Ethernet interface to physically disconnect or connect itself from the network. C. Excessive jitter measurements Jitter measures the time between network frames, and excessive jitter could disrupt real-time voice or video communication. However, excessive jitter would not cause an Ethernet interface to physically disconnect or connect. D. Duplex mismatch A duplex mismatch would certainly cause performance issues and slowdowns, but it would not cause an Ethernet link to constantly disconnect and reconnect. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.7 - Troubleshooting Networks https://professormesser.link/1101050701 Practice Exam A - Answers 45 A11. A user has powered on their computer and received the message “Operating system not found.” A check of the system shows that the SATA drive cables are properly connected. Which of the following would be the NEXT best troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Boot to Safe Mode ❍ B. Replace the boot drive ❍ C. Restore from a known good backup ❍ D. Check for removable drives The Answer: D. Check for removable drives If a USB (Universal Serial Bus) storage device is connected to a computer and the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is checking USB devices before the primary storage drive, the "Operating system not found" error could appear with some USB devices. To avoid this error, the boot order in the BIOS can be changed, or the USB device can be disconnected during the boot process and reconnected after the operating system has started. The incorrect answers: A. Boot to Safe Mode Safe Mode is a Windows mode used to launch the operating system with minimal services and OS requirements. Safe Mode requires a bootable drive, so the error message in this question would prevent Safe Mode from starting. B. Replace the boot drive There's not enough information to determine if the boot drive is bad or faulty, so immediately replacing it would be premature. If there aren't any removable storage devices connected to the system, then running hardware diagnostics of the drive would be a good next step before considering a hardware replacement. C. Restore from a known good backup This question doesn't provide enough information about the state of the primary boot drive, so making any significant changes to the data on the drive would not be the best next step. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.3 - Troubleshooting Storage Devices https://professormesser.link/1101050301 46 Practice Exam A - Answers A12. A user is having an issue with a smartphone battery bulging and physically pushing the screen away from the phone. The rest of the phone appears to be operating normally. Which of the following should be the BEST next troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Power off the phone and contact support ❍ B. Upgrade to the latest OS version ❍ C. Replace the screen ❍ D. Perform a factory reset The Answer: A. Power off the phone and contact support A swollen battery indicates damage to the battery and could potentially be a fire hazard. The phone should be powered down and the damaged battery should be removed by a trained smartphone support technician. The incorrect answers: B. Upgrade to the latest OS version Upgrading software on the smartphone will not fix a damaged battery. The best practice with a bulging or swollen battery is to power down the device and replace the battery. C. Replace the screen Although a bulging battery may damage other components, there's nothing in this question that indicates any damage to the screen. Any necessary repairs should take place after the damaged battery is replaced. D. Perform a factory reset A factory reset is a good option for troubleshooting unknown software issues, but it won't correct the damage to a battery. The smartphone should be powered off immediately and repaired. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.5 - Troubleshooting Mobile Devices https://professormesser.link/1101050501 Practice Exam A - Answers 47 A13. A client’s laptop appears to boot normally, but nothing ever appears on the LCD. After closer inspection, you notice the output is visible but it's too faint to clearly see anything. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. Video card ❍ B. Inverter ❍ C. Video driver ❍ D. Power adapter The Answer: B. Inverter The inverter powers the CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) backlight, allowing you to easily view the pixels on the display. Most newer laptops will use LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlights with existing DC (Direct Current) power and these LED lights don’t require an inverter. The incorrect answers: A. Video card A faulty video card might cause the video display to stop working completely, or the information on the screen may be corrupted. A faulty video adapter does not commonly cause the display to have a decreased backlight setting. C. Video driver Bad video drivers often cause issues with resolution settings or aspect ratios, but a bad video driver does not commonly affect the backlight settings. D. Power adapter A bad power adapter would cause a laptop to fail during the boot process or fail to properly charge a battery. A bad power supply would not usually cause everything to work properly except for the backlight. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.2 - Laptop Displays https://professormesser.link/1101010201 48 Practice Exam A - Answers A14. A graphics designer is experiencing increasing delays when accessing files on her hard drive. The user maintains a daily backup of all data on the drive. Which of these would be the BEST next troubleshooting step for this issue? ❍ A. Reinstall Windows ❍ B. Perform a hard drive diagnostic ❍ C. Restore from the daily backup ❍ D. Boot to Safe Mode The Answer: B. Perform a hard drive diagnostic Before making any changes, it would be useful to gather more information about this problem. A hardware diagnostic would determine if the hard drive itself is working properly. If the hard drive is operating normally, the troubleshooting process can then shift to the operating system and software. The incorrect answers: A. Reinstall Windows Reinstalling Windows won't help if the hard drive is not operating properly. The installation process is also a time-consuming and significant change, so it's important to know if the underlying hardware is working. C. Restore from the daily backup The root cause of this issue hasn't been identified, so any significant change to the user's data would be premature. The user may have also modified some of this data since the backup was taken, so restoring the backup could potentially result in the loss of user data. D. Boot to Safe Mode Safe Mode will start Windows with a minimal configuration, and this could help troubleshoot software issues with the operating system itself. Before analyzing the software, it would be important to know if the underlying hardware is working properly. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.3 - Troubleshooting Storage Devices https://professormesser.link/1101050301 Practice Exam A - Answers 49 A15. Which of the following would be MOST likely found on an optical disc? ❍ A. Document archive ❍ B. Operating system boot files ❍ C. RAID parity files ❍ D. BIOS configurations The Answer: A. Document archive An optical disc such as a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc - Read Only Memory) has the advantage of a relatively large storage area and the ability to write once and never worry about an accidental deletion. The storage of documents and other files is a common use of optical discs. The incorrect answers: B. Operating system boot files Although it is possible to boot an operating system from an optical disc, it's not a common use of the format. It's much more common to store operating system files on a local storage drive with a higher storage capacity and throughput, such as a hard drive or SSD (Solid-State Drive). C. RAID parity files A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) array requires that all of the data and parity information reside on the local storage drives. Parity information would not be stored on an optical disc. D. BIOS configurations BIOS configurations need to be accessible from the motherboard of a computer, and not from other storage devices. BIOS configurations would not be found on an optical disc. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.3 - Storage Devices https://professormesser.link/1101030301 50 Practice Exam A - Answers A16. When a user starts their computer, the screen remains blank and the computer beeps twice. Which of these would be the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. The boot device is not connected ❍ B. The memory is faulty ❍ C. The operating system has become corrupted ❍ D. The PC is infected with malware The Answer: B. The memory is faulty The POST (Power On Self Test) is the initial hardware check during the startup process. If a major hardware component is faulty, the computer will beep and a message will be displayed on the screen. If the issue is related to a critical component, the computer will not be able to display a message on the screen and instead will beep a certain number of times as a code to specify the error. The incorrect answers: A. The boot device is not connected A missing boot device would display the normal BIOS startup and display a message on the screen for "No Boot Device Found." C. The operating system has become corrupted A bad operating system would display the normal BIOS startup messages. When the operating system tries to load, the OS will provide error messages on the screen for any issues related to the corrupted files. D. The PC is infected with malware A malware infection would not commonly cause a system to boot with a blank screen and a beep code. Malware would be identified once the operating system has started. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.2 Troubleshooting Common Hardware Problems https://professormesser.link/1101050201 Practice Exam A - Answers 51 A17. A firewall is configured to block email transfers from a remote server. Which of the following ports is the firewall blocking? ❍ A. 443 ❍ B. 22 ❍ C. 23 ❍ D. 25 The Answer: D. 25 Port 25 is used by SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send email messages from devices and transfer those messages between SMTP email servers. The incorrect answers: A. 443 Port 443 is commonly used by web browsers to transfer information using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption protocols. B. 22 The SSH (Secure Shell) protocol uses port 22 as encrypted terminal communication. SSH is commonly used to access the command line terminal of remote devices and servers. C. 23 Port 23 is used by Telnet for non-encrypted terminal communication between devices. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.1 - Common Network Ports https://professormesser.link/1101020102 52 Practice Exam A - Answers A18. A technician is connecting a laptop to an LCD projector in a conference room. The display on the laptop works properly, but the projector image is constantly flickering and pixelating. The technician has modified the resolution and refresh rates, but the projector image continues to flicker. Which of the following would be the BEST next troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Replace the video cable ❍ B. Disable the laptop display ❍ C. Replace the projector bulb ❍ D. Power cycle the projector The Answer: A. Replace the video cable A display issue associated with flickering and poor video quality would commonly point to the connection between the video adapter and the display device. In the case of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projector, there's sometimes a very long (and very worn) cable that can cause signal issues to show on the projected image. The incorrect answers: B. Disable the laptop display Disabling the laptop display won't help with any signal problems. This would probably also hinder the troubleshooting process because you wouldn't be able to properly see the display information due to all of the flickering and pixelating. C. Replace the projector bulb The bulb in an LCD projector either works or doesn't, so it will be very obvious if the bulb is faulty. In this example, the projector bulb is working, but the information displayed on the projector is difficult to see. D. Power cycle the projector The projector itself would not commonly cause any display flickering or image problems, so power cycling the projector wouldn't normally resolve this type of problem. If all other troubleshooting tasks fail, then power cycling everything might be an option, but it wouldn't be the first troubleshooting step. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.4 Troubleshooting Video and Display Issues https://professormesser.link/1101050401 Practice Exam A - Answers 53 A19. The stylus on a Windows tablet will no longer interact with the user interface. Which of these would be the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. Digitizer ❍ B. Backlight ❍ C. Contrast ❍ D. Inverter The Answer: A. Digitizer The digitizer is the component in a touch screen to convert analog input from a fingerprint or stylus into a digital input. If the digitizer is having an issue, then problems will occur with any direct screen input. The incorrect answers: B. Backlight An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen does not produce any light, so a backlight is used to make the screen bright enough to see. The brightness of the screen does not have any effect on the stylus. C. Contrast The contrast and brightness controls do not effect the use of a stylus on an LCD. D. Inverter An inverter is used in older LCDs to invert DC (Direct Current) power into AC (Alternating Current) power. This AC power is used by CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlights. Most of the newer LCDs contain LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlights which use the existing DC power and do not require an inverter. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.2 - Laptop Displays https://professormesser.link/1101010201 54 Practice Exam A - Answers A20. A user in the accounting department needs to print a form on the laser printer on both sides of the page. Which of the following options should be configured in the accounting software? ❍ A. Collate ❍ B. Orientation ❍ C. Duplex ❍ D. Resolution The Answer: C. Duplex The duplex setting prints the output on both sides of the page, and a printer that supports duplexing will flip the page over without any manual intervention from the user. The incorrect answers: A. Collate When printing multiple copies, the collate option will print all of the pages in a document before printing the next copy. B. Orientation The orientation setting will change the output between portrait or landscape. The orientation option will not change which sides of the page are used during the printing process. D. Resolution The resolution setting will modify the number of dots per inch used for the output. A larger number of dots per inch will increase the resolution and make the text and images appear sharper on the page. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.6 - Multifunction Devices https://professormesser.link/1101030601 Practice Exam A - Answers 55 A21. A user needs to connect their laptop to the wired Ethernet network, but the laptop does not have an integrated Ethernet interface. Which of the following would allow the laptop to connect to an Ethernet network? (Pick TWO) ❍ A. Docking station ❍ B. VGA interface ❍ C. USB to Ethernet adapter ❍ D. DisplayPort to HDMI cable ❍ E. DVI to HDMI adapter ❍ F. Bluetooth The Answer: A. Docking station C. USB to Ethernet adapter There are a few options for creating a wired Ethernet connection on a laptop computer. Using a docking station is a common solution to provide many different interfaces, and docking stations often include the option to install a full-size PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) adapter. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) to Ethernet adapter is a simpler solution that only provides an Ethernet interface, but it's much more portable than a docking station. The incorrect answers: B. VGA interface A VGA (Video Graphics Array) interface is an interface for video output and does not provide Ethernet connectivity. D. DisplayPort to HDMI cable Both DisplayPort and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) provide video output and are not used for Ethernet on a laptop computer. E. DVI to HDMI adapter DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI are video interfaces and do not provide a wired Ethernet link. F. Bluetooth Bluetooth is a wireless PAN (Personal Area Network), and it does not provide wired Ethernet connectivity. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.1 - Adapters and Converters https://professormesser.link/1101030109 56 Practice Exam A - Answers A22. A server administrator has received an alert showing one drive in a RAID 1 array has failed. Which of the following would be the best way to resolve this alert? ❍ A. Replace the bad drive and resync the array ❍ B. Replace all drives in the array and resync the array ❍ C. Replace the bad drive and restore from backup ❍ D. Convert the array to RAID 0 and replace the drive ❍ E. Replace all drives in the array and restore from backup The Answer: A. Replace the bad drive and resync the array A RAID 1 (Redundant Array of Independent Disks, level 1) array is a mirrored array, which means all of the information on one physical drive is also copied and maintained on a separate drive. If one drive fails, the drive with the redundant data continues to be available. To repair the array, the bad drive needs to be replaced and the data from the redundant drive is synchronized to the new drive. The incorrect answers: B. Replace all drives in the array and resync the array A RAID 1 array continues to run after a drive outage, and all data continues to be available. There's no reason to replace all of the drives in the array, and if all drives were replaced there would be nothing to resync. C. Replace the bad drive and restore from backup Since no data is lost after a single drive failure in a RAID 1 array, restoring from backup is not necessary. D. Convert the array to RAID 0 and replace the drive RAID 0 is striping data across drives, and there is no redundancy in a RAID 0 array. It's unusual to convert arrays between RAID levels, and a conversion is not necessary to restore full functionality to this RAID 1 array. E. Replace all drives in the array and restore from backup There's no need to restore from backup when replacing a single drive in a RAID 1 array. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.3 - Troubleshooting Storage Devices https://professormesser.link/1101050301 Practice Exam A - Answers 57 A23. A system administrator is building a server for a data center in another country. The server will manage a print queue and provide a local storage partition for temporary file transfers. Which of the following power supply specifications will be the MOST important for this server? ❍ A. Voltage input options ❍ B. Number of PCIe connectors ❍ C. Modular cabling ❍ D. Fan noise rating The Answer: A. Voltage input options Connecting to the power source in a different country is an important consideration when selecting a power supply. If the voltage specifications are incorrect, the server may not operate at all or components in the server may be damaged. Servers using auto-switching power supplies are compatible with the power systems in other countries. The incorrect answers: B. Number of PCIe connectors PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a standard bus type, and some of the adapters on this bus may require additional power. However, none of the requirements of this server would need more PCIe connectors than a standard power supply. C. Modular cabling Using a power supply with modular cables can help with airflow, but this modularity isn't a requirement for most systems. Most data centers are climate controlled, so it shouldn't be difficult to maintain a reasonable temperature with a non-modular power supply. D. Fan noise rating A data center is usually quite noisy, so the noise rating of a power supply is not going to be a significant concern. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.5 - Computer Power https://professormesser.link/1101030501 58 Practice Exam A - Answers A24. Which of the following ports are used for file transfers? (Select TWO) ❍ A. 21 ❍ B. 110 ❍ C. 25 ❍ D. 23 ❍ E. 20 ❍ F. 53 The Answer: A. 21 and E. 20 FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard method of transferring files across different operating systems. FTP uses TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) port 21 for control messages and port 20 to transfer data. The incorrect answers: B. 110 Port 110 is the default port for POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3). POP3 is commonly used to retrieve email messages from an email server to a local email client application. C. 25 Another common email protocol is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which uses port 25 for sending mail to a mail server and to transfer email messages between mail servers. D. 23 Non-encrypted (in-the-clear) terminal communication is provided with the Telnet (Telecommunication Network) protocol over port 23. F. 53 Port 53 is the default port for DNS (Domain Name System). DNS is commonly used to convert fully qualified domain names to IP addresses. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.1 - Common Network Ports https://professormesser.link/1101020102 Practice Exam A - Answers 59 A25. Which of these technologies do not require a backlight to provide a viewable display? ❍ A. LCD ❍ B. IPS ❍ C. OLED ❍ D. LED The Answer: C. OLED An OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display emits light when a current is provided to an organic compound. A backlight would not be necessary with an OLED display. The incorrect answers: A. LCD An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen does not produce any light, so a backlight is required to see the screen contents. Most LCD displays use LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) or CCFLs (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps) as a backlight. B. IPS IPS (In Plane Switching) LCD monitors provide excellent color representation, but they are still LCDs and require a backlight. D. LED LED is a type of backlight commonly used on LCD displays. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.2 - Laptop Displays https://professormesser.link/1101010201 60 Practice Exam A - Answers A26. A system administrator has tripped over an Ethernet cable and the cable’s RJ45 connector has broken. Which of the following should be used to resolve this issue? ❍ A. Punch-down tool ❍ B. Tone generator and probe ❍ C. Cable tester ❍ D. Crimper The Answer: D. Crimper A crimper is used to attach a modular connector to a cable. In this example, a new connector can be reattached to the cable using an RJ45 (Registered Jack type 45) crimper. The incorrect answers: A. Punch-down tool A punch-down tool is used to connect wires to punch-down blocks, such as a 110 block. A punch-down tool can't be used to attach a new RJ45 connector to a cable. B. Tone generator and probe Tone generators and inductive probes are used to find both ends of a cable. Toner probes are not used to connect RJ45 connectors. C. Cable tester Cable testers can be used to determine the wire map of a cable. Once the crimper has been used to attach the RJ45 connector, the cable tester can confirm the connector is properly wired. Cable testers are not used to connect modular connectors to a cable. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.8 - Network Tools https://professormesser.link/1101020801 Practice Exam A - Answers 61 A27. A network administrator is troubleshooting a network outage, and she believes the issue is related to a bad switch. The old switch is then replaced with a newer model and the cabling is moved to the new switch. Which of the following should be the NEXT troubleshooting steps? (Choose TWO) ❍ A. Test the theory ❍ B. Verify full system functionality ❍ C. Establish a plan of action ❍ D. Identify the problem ❍ E. Document the findings The Answers: B. Verify full system functionality, and E. Document the findings Once the theory has been tested, a plan of action has been determined, and the plan has been implemented, it's important to verify that full system functionality has been restored. After all of this work, it's useful to document the problem, the proposed solutions, and the ultimate fix. This problem might occur again, and it would be useful to have documentation on the issue. The incorrect answers: A. Test the theory The testing of possible theories should occur before making any changes. In this example, the replacement of the switch is the theory tested in the lab prior to implementation. C. Establish a plan of action The plan of action was created prior to the replacement of the switch. The plan design might be relatively simple or may have a complex set of processes. The complexity of the plan generally depends on the organization and the type of problem. D. Identify the problem Identifying the problem is the first step in the troubleshooting process. Before you can resolve an issue, it's important to fully understand what might not be working. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.1 - How to Troubleshoot https://professormesser.link/1101050101 62 Practice Exam A - Answers A28. A newly installed MFD provides an option to "scan to SMB." Which of the following would BEST describe this feature? ❍ A. Print jobs can be sent from mobile devices ❍ B. All scans are checked for malware ❍ C. Files are stored on a Microsoft share ❍ D. Documents are scanned from the cloud The Answer: C. Files are stored on a Microsoft share SMB (Server Message Block) is the protocol used by Microsoft operating systems to share files, print jobs, and other information between other Microsoft OS devices. Many MFDs (Multifunction Devices) can scan a document and store the scanned file on a central network share using SMB. The incorrect answers: A. Print jobs can be sent from mobile devices Many mobile devices can send jobs to a local printer, but this feature isn't part of the scanning process. B. All scans are checked for malware Although it's important to protect against all sources of malware, it would be unusual for a newly scanned document on a local MFD to contain any malicious software. D. Documents are scanned from the cloud Many MFDs can support input from different sources, but the scan to SMB feature describes the location of the output file once the original document has been scanned. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.6 - Multifunction Devices https://professormesser.link/1101030601 Practice Exam A - Answers 63 A29. What type of device connects multiple computers to the network, but becomes less efficient as network traffic increases? ❍ A. Switch ❍ B. Hub ❍ C. Repeater ❍ D. Router The Answer: B. Hub A hub operates as a multi-port repeater, where incoming traffic is repeated to every other port in the hub. If more than one device attempts to communicate at the same time, these conflicting signals are called a collision. Each time a collision occurs, the sending devices have to stop transmitting, wait a random amount of time, and try sending the traffic again. If many devices are sending large amounts of data, the overall network efficiency will decrease as the number of collisions increase. The incorrect answers: A. Switch A switch makes forwarding decisions based on destination MAC (Media Access Control) address and can communicate over full-duplex links. This full-duplex communication ensures that no collisions will occur. C. Repeater The relatively simple forwarding process of a repeater ensures that slowdowns will not occur as network traffic increases. D. Router Routers forward traffic based on the destination IP address, and this process does not create an inefficiency as the network traffic increases. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.2 - Network Devices https://professormesser.link/1101020201 64 Practice Exam A - Answers A30. In which of the following would a Lightning cable MOST likely be used? ❍ A. Connect a server to a display monitor ❍ B. Increase the available memory of a device ❍ C. Remotely control a mobile device ❍ D. Charge a mobile device The Answer: D. Charge a mobile device The Lightning interface is a proprietary interface used exclusively on mobile devices from Apple. The Lightning interface is a common connection for data transfers and power charging for many Apple mobile devices. The incorrect answers: A. Connect a server to a display monitor Although there are video output adapters available for Lightning connectors, these options tend to be used exclusively for Apple's phones and tablets and are not commonly used on standalone computers or servers. B. Increase the available memory of a device Although there are options to provide external storage using a lightning connection, the memory used in an Apple mobile device is limited to the installed internal RAM (Random Access Memory). C. Remotely control a mobile device Although there are remote control options available for Apple devices, these solutions use an existing network connection and do not use the Lightning interface. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.1 - Copper Connectors https://professormesser.link/1101030110 Practice Exam A - Answers 65 A31. A network administrator would like to enable DHCP on a laptop, but they would like the same IP address to be assigned to the laptop each time it starts. Which of the following would provide this functionality? ❍ A. Create an IP reservation on the DHCP server ❍ B. Administratively configure the laptop’s MAC address ❍ C. Use APIPA addressing ❍ D. Assign the laptop to a static IP VLAN The Answer: A. Create an IP reservation on the DHCP server A DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server will automatically assign IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to devices on the network from an available pool. This means that the IP address for a device may change over time based on the addresses currently available in the pool. To force the same IP address assignment each time, the network administrator can create an IP reservation in the DHCP server to associate a specific IP address to the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the laptop. The incorrect answers: B. Administratively configure the laptop’s MAC address The MAC address of a device will rarely need to changed through an administrative configuration, and administratively configuring the MAC address will not permanently assign a particular IP address. C. Use APIPA addressing APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) can provide limited networking when a DHCP server is not available, but APIPA addressing does not provide any static or permanent IP addressing on a device. D. Assign the laptop to a static IP VLAN VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) are commonly used to segment the network into individual broadcast domains. Assigning a device to a particular VLAN does not provide a method of static or permanent IP addressing on a device. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.6 - DHCP Configuration https://professormesser.link/1101020602 66 Practice Exam A - Answers A32. A user is complaining about slow network performance from their workstation. A network technician checks the data closet and finds the wires are not properly seated in the 110 block. Which of the following should the technician use to correct this issue? ❍ A. Crimper ❍ B. Multimeter ❍ C. Punch-down tool ❍ D. Cable tester The Answer: C. Punch-down tool A punch-down tool is used to firmly "punch" a wire into a wiring block. These blocks are usually located in a wiring closet or on a patch panel. The incorrect answers: A. Crimper A crimper is used to fasten a modular connector onto the end of a cable. For Ethernet, a crimper attaches the RJ45 connector used by the workstation or laptop. B. Multimeter A multimeter can be used to check for voltages or continuity, but it won't connect wires to a 110 block. D. Cable tester Cable testers can identify the wire map on a cable to ensure that the punch-down or crimping process has been performed properly. After punching down this connection, the technician could use a cable tester to validate that all of the wires are now properly connected. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.8 - Network Tools https://professormesser.link/1101020801 Practice Exam A - Answers 67 A33. A user has just connected to a new wireless network, but they cannot view any Internet web sites. Their network configuration shows the IP address as 169.254.228.109, the subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, and they have not been assigned a default gateway. Which of these is the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. The subnet mask is not correct ❍ B. The Internet provider is experiencing a temporary outage ❍ C. The DHCP server is down ❍ D. The wireless adapter is not working properly The Answer: C. The DHCP server is down If a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server is not responding, the local workstation will configure itself with an APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) address. The usable APIPA addresses range between 169.254.1.0 through 169.254.254.255. An APIPA address is a link-local address, so network communication is limited to the local IP subnet. The incorrect answers: A. The subnet mask is not correct The subnet mask has been configured through APIPA, and the mask of 255.255.0.0 is normal for an APIPA configuration. The subnet mask is not the cause of the browsing issues on the workstation. B. The Internet provider is experiencing a temporary outage In this example, the issue is related to the APIPA link-local address assigned to the workstation. Although the Internet provider could potentially be experiencing issues, it would not be the most likely cause of the problem. D. The wireless adapter is not working properly The wireless adapter has configured itself and assigned a link-local APIPA address, so it appears that the adapter itself is functional. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.7 - Troubleshooting Networks https://professormesser.link/1101050701 68 Practice Exam A - Answers A34. A help desk technician needs to use different Windows versions to study for an industry certification exam. The technician currently uses a Windows desktop computer with 4 GB of RAM and a 750 GB free on the hard drive. Which of the following would be the BEST way to perform this task? (Choose TWO) ❍ A. Install a second monitor ❍ B. Install an additional hard drive ❍ C. Create a Windows Recovery Environment boot drive ❍ D. Upgrade the system RAM ❍ E. Install Windows guest VMs The Answers: D. Upgrade the system RAM, and E. Install Windows guest VMs The easiest way to use multiple operating systems on a single machine is to run them as virtual machines. Although 750 GB (Gigabytes) is plenty of storage space for multiple virtual machines, the 4 GB of RAM (Random Access Memory) on the host computer is too small to support multiple Windows operating systems at the same time. Once the memory upgrade is complete, it's a relatively easy process to install the guest virtual machines on the existing hard drive. The incorrect answers: A. Install a second monitor Multiple monitors can certainly improve overall efficiency and can expand the working desktop of a computer, but it doesn't provide any features specific to multiple operating systems or virtual machines. B. Install an additional hard drive The available hard drive is large enough to support the installation of multiple virtual machines. C. Create a Windows Recovery Environment boot drive A Windows Recovery Environment drive is useful for troubleshooting the existing Windows installation, but it won't help with multiple operating systems. More information: 220-1101, Objective 4.2 - Client-side Virtualization https://professormesser.link/1101040201 Practice Exam A - Answers 69 A35. While configuring a new workstation in the lab, one of the engineers recommends using 255.255.255.0. What part of the configuration is this associated with? ❍ A. Default gateway ❍ B. Subnet mask ❍ C. DNS server ❍ D. IP address The Answer: B. Subnet mask Subnet masks are used by a device to determine what subnet it's connected to. Subnet masks are a series of binary ones that are used to "mask" the subnet address from the host address. Instead of representing this mask in binary, it's almost always shown in decimal form. Common decimal representations of subnet mask start with 255, such as 255.255.255.0. The incorrect answers: A. Default gateway A default gateway on an internal lab network will most likely be using private IP (Internet Protocol) addressing starting with 10, 172, or a 192. IP addresses cannot start with an octet of 255. Therefore, a default gateway in this environment would not have an IP address of 255.255.255.0. C. DNS server Since an IP address cannot start with the octet of 255, this address would not be associated with a DNS server. D. IP address The IP address of a device cannot start with 255. It's most likely that a device in a lab would use an internal IP address that starts with an octet of 10, 172, or 192. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.5 - IPv4 and IPv6 https://professormesser.link/1101020501 70 Practice Exam A - Answers A36. Which of the following BEST describes a Bluetooth network? ❍ A. PAN ❍ B. WAN ❍ C. LAN ❍ D. MAN The Answer: A. PAN A PAN (Personal Area Network) is designed for a small area and usually is associated with an individual. Bluetooth devices such as headsets, speakers, and automobile connections are considered PANs. The incorrect answers: B. WAN A WAN (Wide Area Network) usually connects locations over an extended geographical distance. A network link between cities, states, or countries would be considered a WAN connection. C. LAN The network in your building or home is a LAN (Local Area Network). If you're connected to an Ethernet or 802.11 wireless network, then you're connected to a LAN. D. MAN A MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is a bit bigger than a LAN, but smaller than a WAN. Connecting sites in the same city or metropolitan area would commonly use a MAN link. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.7 - Network Types https://professormesser.link/1101020702 Practice Exam A - Answers 71 A37. Sam, a user in the accounting department, is migrating from Android to iOS. She would like all of her emails, contact lists, and calendar events to be moved to her new phone. Which of the following would be the BEST way to accomplish this task? ❍ A. Use a Windows-based migration tool ❍ B. Save the Android phone data as a CSV file ❍ C. Connect the new phone to the corporate Microsoft 365 service ❍ D. Use a USB-to-Lightning cable The Answer: C. Connect the new phone to the corporate Microsoft 365 service Microsoft 365 manages email, calendar events, and contact information in a single database. Using this central database, Microsoft 365 can be used to synchronize all of this information to both iOS and Android smartphones. The incorrect answers: A. Use a Windows-based migration tool Since most smartphones can synchronize email, calendar, and events to an existing email platform, a third-party migration tool is unnecessary. B. Save the Android phone data as a CSV file Most mobile phones do not provide data in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format. Even if the Android data was available, there's no common way to import that data into an iOS device. D. Use a USB-to-Lightning cable Connecting the phones to another device or to each other would not migrate any data between the devices. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.4 - Mobile Device Configurations https://professormesser.link/1101010403 72 Practice Exam A - Answers A38. A user's smartphone shows a black screen and does not respond to any screen taps or button presses. A check of the SIM card shows a red label but no physical damage. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for these issues? ❍ A. Overheating ❍ B. Digitizer failure ❍ C. Liquid damage ❍ D. Invalid SIM card The Answer: C. Liquid damage Most smartphones and tablets include a liquid contact indicator (LCI). This indicator is usually white, and it can often be seen without disassembling the device. If the LCI turns pink or red, the device has been in close contact with liquid. The incorrect answers: A. Overheating An overheated device will remain off until the system has cooled. A message will be displayed on the screen describing the overheating condition. B. Digitizer failure A digitizer failure may cause the screen to become unresponsive, but the device should still respond to button presses. D. Invalid SIM card An invalid SIM card would cause the device to lose connectivity with the mobile provider, but the smartphone would still work normally and respond to user input. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.5 - Troubleshooting Mobile Devices https://professormesser.link/1101050501 Practice Exam A - Answers 73 A39. A server administrator has been asked to configure the storage requirements for a new database server. The database owner requires the fastest performance and redundancy if a single drive fails. The storage array should support at least 8 TB of available space. Which of the following options would be the BEST choice? ❍ A. RAID 10 with 5,400 RPM, 8 TB drives ❍ B. RAID 5 with 10,000 RPM, 5 TB drives ❍ C. RAID 1 with 7,200 RPM, 8 TB drives ❍ D. RAID 0 with 15,000 RPM, 5 TB drives The Answer: B. RAID 5 with 10,000 RPM, 5 TB drives The question is focused on three requirements; performance, drive space, and redundancy. This option provides the highest number of RPMs (Revolutions Per Minute), RAID 5 (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) redundancy, and drives with enough combined storage to support more than 8 TB (terabytes) of drive space. The incorrect answers: A. RAID 10 with 5,400 RPM, 8 TB drives RAID 10 would meet the redundancy requirement and a series of 8 TB drives would more than cover the storage requirement. However, the slow throughput of 5,400 RPM drives would not meet the performance requirement. C. RAID 1 with 7,200 RPM, 8 TB drives RAID 1 mirroring provides the redundancy required, and 8 TB drives provide plenty of storage space. However, the 7,200 RPM specification is slower than the 10,000 RPMs available in answer B. D. RAID 0 with 15,000 RPM, 5 TB drives 15,000 RPM drives provide a very fast performance, and multiple 5 TB drives would provide more than 8 TB of available space. However, RAID 0 striping does not provide any redundancy if a drive was to fail. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.3 - Storage Devices https://professormesser.link/1101030301 74 Practice Exam A - Answers A40. A user would like to access email from their Windows 10 laptop using a smartphone’s Internet connection. Which of these technologies needs to be enabled on the laptop? ❍ A. LTE ❍ B. 802.11 ❍ C. NFC ❍ D. IR The Answer: B. 802.11 802.11 wireless connections can be used to access a smartphone configured as an Internet hotspot. The laptop will communicate to the smartphone over 802.11, and the smartphone is used to connect to resources on the Internet. The incorrect answers: A. LTE LTE (Long-Term Evolution) may be used by the smartphone for Internet data communication, but the laptop does not communicate using LTE. C. NFC NFC (Near Field Communication) is a short-distance wireless technology commonly used for payment systems or in-person information exchange. NFC is not used for connecting to a hotspot on a smartphone. D. IR IR (Infrared) is often used to control other IR devices, such as entertainment centers or televisions. IR is not used during the hotspot connection process. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.3 - Connecting Mobile Devices https://professormesser.link/1101010301 Practice Exam A - Answers 75 A41. A system administrator needs to upgrade a laptop from a hard drive to an SSD. Which of the following would provide the most efficient method of upgrading this system? ❍ A. Create an image of the hard drive and restore to the SSD ❍ B. Install a new Windows license and application files on the SSD ❍ C. Backup all user documents and copy them to another computer ❍ D. Compress the home directory and upload it to cloud storage The Answer: A. Create an image of the hard drive and restore to the SSD A system image contains everything on the storage drive, so the restored system will have the same operating system, configuration options, user documents, and installed applications as the original system. The incorrect answers: B. Install a new Windows license and application files on the SSD The process of installing a new version of Windows and installing every application will take much longer than creating an image and restoring that image to the SSD. C. Backup all user documents and copy them to another computer This would provide a copy of all of the user's spreadsheets, pictures, movies, and other important files, but it wouldn't install an operating system or all of the user's applications on the new SSD. D. Compress the home directory and upload it to cloud storage Compressing the user's home directory would conserve storage space during the backup process, but it won't install an operating system or the user's applications on the new SSD. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.1 - Laptop Hardware https://professormesser.link/1101010101 76 Practice Exam A - Answers A42. A new employee has been assigned a corporate smartphone, but the camera and the installation of third-party apps has been disabled. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for these issues? ❍ A. The smartphone is out of storage space ❍ B. The smartphone OS needs to be upgraded ❍ C. An MDM has disabled the features ❍ D. The smartphone hardware is faulty The Answer: C. An MDM has disabled the features An MDM (Mobile Device Manager) can enable or disable effectively any feature on the smartphone, including the camera and the app installation process. The incorrect answers: A. The smartphone is out of storage space A lack of storage space could cause issues with the installation of new software, but the phone would provide messages and feedback regarding the lack of space. B. The smartphone OS needs to be upgraded An outdated operating system would not prevent the use of the camera or the installation of third-party apps. D. The smartphone hardware is faulty This could certainly cause some of the issues with the camera or app installation, but it's unlikely that both of those systems would be faulty on the same device. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.4 - Mobile Device Connectivity https://professormesser.link/1101010402 Practice Exam A - Answers 77 A43. A system administrator is using a maintenance kit on a network-connected laser printer. Which of the following should be the LAST step when performing this maintenance? ❍ A. Examine the feed rollers ❍ B. Wait until the fuser unit cools down and replace it ❍ C. Reset the page counter ❍ D. Replace the power cord The Answer: C. Reset the page counter The page counter is a helpful metric to determine how much the printer is used, which in turn determines when the next maintenance should be scheduled. After performing the current maintenance cycle and verifying the printer's operation, the page counter should be reset so the next maintenance time-frame can be properly estimated. The incorrect answers: A. Examine the feed rollers Examining or replacing the feed rollers is a normal part of the maintenance process, but it would not often be the last step in the maintenance process. B. Wait until the fuser unit cools down and replace it Fusers can sometimes be replaced during maintenance, but this would not be the last step in the process. D. Replace the power cord Replacing the power cord is not commonly part of the maintenance process. The only time the power cord would need replacing is if it has been damaged. Power cords do not generally wear out or need replacement. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.7 - Laser Printer Maintenance https://professormesser.link/1101030702 78 Practice Exam A - Answers A44. An application developer needs to test an application across all of the operating systems used by the company. Each operating system will be tested individually in a lab environment. The company would like to minimize any additional hardware purchases for this project. Which of the following would be the BEST way to test this application? ❍ A. Purchase a system that is configured just above the hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create separate VMs for each operating system. ❍ B. Purchase individual test computers that match the hardware requirements for each OS. Install different operating systems on each test computer. ❍ C. Designate existing user workstations to be used as testing systems. Run all application tests during non-working hours. ❍ D. Purchase a system that matches the minimum hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create a system image for each operating system and reimage the computer between tests. The Answer: A. Purchase a system that is configured just above the hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create separate VMs for each operating system. Creating virtual machines for these tests would be a great way to minimize hardware costs, and the machine used for the testing should be able to properly virtualize the testing OS while the host OS is running. Purchasing a system that is slightly more powerful than the highest-level operating system configuration should cover any technical requirements. The incorrect answers: B. Purchase individual test computers that match the hardware requirements for each OS. Install different operating systems on each test computer. Since one of the project requirements was to minimize the hardware cost, purchasing separate computers for all of these systems would be much more expensive than purchasing a single computer and virtualizing the operating systems. Practice Exam A - Answers 79 C. Designate existing user workstations to be used as testing systems. Run all application tests during non-working hours. This solution would certainly minimize the hardware cost, but the process of using existing user workstations would be difficult to manage. This solution would also require the testing to occur during hours when the application developer would, by definition, not be working. D. Purchase a system that matches the minimum hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create a system image for each operating system and reimage the computer between tests. Although this would technically be a valid alternative, it would be time consuming to constantly image and reimage the test system for every operating system. Using virtual machines would allow the application developer to instantly stop and start any operating system at any time. More information: 220-1101, Objective 4.2 - Client-side Virtualization https://professormesser.link/1101040201 80 Practice Exam A - Answers A45. Which wireless standard can operate in the 5 GHz band and provides approximately 10 Gbit/sec of throughput? ❍ A. 802.11ac ❍ B. 802.11g ❍ C. 802.11ax ❍ D. 802.11n The Answer: C. 802.11ax The 802.11ax standard, or Wi-Fi 6, can operate in either the 2.4 GHz or the 5 GHz band, and the maximum theoretical throughput is nearly 10 gigabits per second. The incorrect answers: A. 802.11ac 802.11ac, or Wi-Fi 5, operates in the 5 GHz band and can provide almost 7 gigabits per second of total throughput. B. 802.11g 802.11g operates exclusively in the 2.4 GHz band, and can provide a maximum throughput of 54 megabits per second. D. 802.11n Although 802.11n, or Wi-Fi 4, can operate in the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band, the maximum theoretical throughput of 802.11n is 600 megabits per second. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.3 - Wireless Network Standards https://professormesser.link/1101020301 Practice Exam A - Answers 81 A46. A user in the manufacturing department reports that every page printed from the central networked laser printer has a single black line extending from the top of the page to the bottom. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. The fuser is damaged ❍ B. The printer language is not properly configured ❍ C. The photosensitive drum is damaged ❍ D. The toner is low The Answer: C. The photosensitive drum is damaged A scratched photosensitive drum would cause a line to appear down the printed page as the toner sticks to the scratched part of the drum. Some printers allow individual drums to be replaced, and others require the entire toner cartridge with drum to be replaced. Once the scratched drum is replaced, the black line will no longer appear on the printer output. The incorrect answers: A. The fuser is damaged The fuser provides the heat and pressure required to permanently affix the toner to the printed page. The fuser would not commonly add additional black lines to the printer output. B. The printer language is not properly configured Using an incorrect printer control language will result in garbled or unusual output. An incorrect printer language will not cause a single black line down the output page. D. The toner is low If the printer output was very faint or difficult to read, then the toner levels may be low. Most printers will provide a message when it's time to replace the toner cartridge. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.6 - Troubleshooting Printers https://professormesser.link/1101050601 82 Practice Exam A - Answers A47. Which mobile device connection is commonly used for making payments at a store checkout? ❍ A. NFC ❍ B. DB-9 ❍ C. Cellular ❍ D. Bluetooth The Answer: A. NFC NFC (Near Field Communication) is designed to transfer small amounts of data wirelessly over a limited area. It's common to use a smart phone or smart watch with a credit card terminal to pay for goods or services. The incorrect answers: B. DB-9 A DB-9 serial link is a wired connection commonly used for configuration of switches, routers, and other infrastructure devices. A DB-9 connection would not be used during the checkout process. C. Cellular Cellular networks are used for voice and data communication, but those cellular networks are not part of the in-store purchase process. D. Bluetooth Although Bluetooth supports many different features, it's not used during the checkout process in a store. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.3 - Connecting Mobile Devices https://professormesser.link/1101010301 Practice Exam A - Answers 83 A48. A company hosts a cloud-based application which includes redundant servers located in different data centers around the world. Which of the following cloud computing characteristics would BEST describe this application design? ❍ A. Rapid elasticity ❍ B. High availability ❍ C. Non-metered ❍ D. Desktop as a Service The Answer: B. High availability If a single server fails, there are other servers available in different data centers for clients to access. This high availability ensures the services are always available to the users. The incorrect answers: A. Rapid elasticity Rapid elasticity provides a way to quickly scale up and down as needed. Although this is a common cloud computing characteristic, this specific example does not describe any scalability features. C. Non-metered A cloud service with a flat-fee for access to a resource is defined as non-metered. This example does not describe the billing for the service or the usage costs for any part of the service. D. Desktop as a Service Desktop as a Service, or DaaS, is a technology for running a user's desktop in the cloud. In this example, there's no mention of the application type or how a user's desktop would be integrated into this application. More information: 220-1101, Objective 4.1 - Cloud Characteristics https://professormesser.link/1101040102 84 Practice Exam A - Answers A49. When printing a document on a laser printer, a user finds that all of the text on the page smears when touched. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue? ❍ A. Fuser is damaged ❍ B. Toner cartridge is low ❍ C. Photosensitive drum has been scratched ❍ D. Incorrect printer driver is installed ❍ E. Printer cleaning process is not working The Answer: A. Fuser is damaged The fuser permanently melts the toner to the paper using heat and pressure. If the fuser is not working, the toner will easily smear when touched. The incorrect answers: B. Toner cartridge is low A low toner cartridge will cause the output to appear faded and difficult to read. A low toner cartridge will not cause the output to smear when touched. C. Photosensitive drum has been scratched A scratched drum will cause lines and other stray marks to appear on the printed page. The toner sticks to the scratches and is transferred to the final page output. D. Incorrect printer driver is installed The printer driver will format the output into a page description language that the printer can understand. An incorrect driver would not cause the printer output to smear. E. Printer cleaning process is not working If the cleaning process is not working, then a "ghost" of previous passes around the drum will appear on different parts of the printed page. It's common that poor cleaning will cause multiple faded versions of a page to appear in the printed output. A non-working cleaning process would not cause the printer output to smear, however. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.6 - Troubleshooting Printers https://professormesser.link/1101050601 Practice Exam A - Answers 85 A50. A manager’s computer is able to connect to Internet sites while in conference rooms or in the building courtyard. When the laptop is brought back to the manager’s desk and placed into the docking station, the Internet access is unavailable but all other features are working. Which of the following should be the FIRST troubleshooting task for this issue? ❍ A. Replace the docking station power supply ❍ B. Upgrade the laptop BIOS ❍ C. Replace the docking station ❍ D. Check the docking station network cable The Answer: D. Check the docking station network cable The Internet access on the laptop appears to be working properly on the wireless network, but the docking station connection would use a wired Ethernet connection. If everything else is working properly, then the issue would most likely be associated with the Ethernet interface in the docking station. The incorrect answers: A. Replace the docking station power supply If other docking station features were not working, there could be an issue with the power connection on the docking station. In this situation, all of the other features appeared to be working properly when connected to the docking station. B. Upgrade the laptop BIOS A BIOS upgrade is a significant change, and it's rarely the first step in the troubleshooting process. C. Replace the docking station Although it's certainly possible the docking station could be faulty, there are no obvious issues with other features. Before replacing the entire docking station, it would be useful to check the individual components associated with the problem. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.3 - Mobile Device Accessories https://professormesser.link/1101010302 86 Practice Exam A - Answers A51. A company is developing an internal application for smartphones and tablets. Which of the following would improve the security of the application's logon process? ❍ A. Data caps ❍ B. Two-factor authentication ❍ C. Bluetooth pairing ❍ D. NFC The Answer: B. Two-factor authentication Two-factor authentication requires multiple factors to complete the logon process. For example, a password (something you know) might be combined with a fingerprint (something you are) to properly authenticate users to the application. The incorrect answers: A. Data caps A data cap is commonly used to limit the amount of data used by a particular system. Setting limits on data usage does not provide any additional security to the logon process. C. Bluetooth pairing Before a Bluetooth device can be used, it must be paired with another device. Bluetooth pairing does not provide any additional security to the application authentication process. D. NFC NFC (Near-Field Communication) is a protocol used to transfer data between a mobile device and another system. NFC is commonly used after the authentication process has already occurred. More information: 220-1101, Objective 1.4 - Mobile Device Connectivity https://professormesser.link/1101010402 Practice Exam A - Answers 87 A52. Which of the following would be MOST associated with an IoT device? ❍ A. Multithreading ❍ B. ARM ❍ C. Virtualization support ❍ D. ECC RAM The Answers: B. ARM An ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) processor architecture provides efficient processing, less power, and less heat than other processor types. This efficiency makes ARM a common choice for mobile and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. The incorrect answers: A. Multithreading Multithreading is a common feature across most modern processors, so this would not be a feature most associated with IoT devices. C. Virtualization support Although virtualization support is common on larger computer systems, virtualization support is not commonly used with IoT devices. D. ECC RAM ECC (Error Correction Code) RAM (Random Access Memory) is commonly associated with larger servers and not with low-power IoT devices. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.4 - CPU Features https://professormesser.link/1101030407 88 Practice Exam A - Answers A53. What is the minimum category of unshielded copper cable for a 10 gigabit per second Ethernet link with a fifteen meter distance? ❍ A. Category 5 ❍ B. Category 6 ❍ C. Category 5e ❍ D. Category 6A The Answer: B. Category 6 The physical characteristics of networking cables are separated into categories. An unshielded category 6 cable can support a ten gigabit per second 10GBASE-T network to a distance of fifty-five meters. The incorrect answers: A. Category 5 Category 5 copper cables can support a one gigabit per second 1000BASE-T network up to one hundred meters. Ten gigabit per second speeds are not supported over category 5 cable. C. Category 5e Category 5e (enhanced) is a minor update to category 5, and the Ethernet standards supported for a category 5e cable are identical to those of a category 5 cable. Therefore, category 5e copper cables can support a one gigabit per second 1000BASE-T network up to one hundred meters in length. D. Category 6A Category 6A (augmented) cables can support ten gigabit per second 10GBASE-T connections to a distance of one hundred meters. Category 6A cable would not be the minimum category of cable used for these requirements More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.1 - Network Cables https://professormesser.link/1101030101 Practice Exam A - Answers 89 A54. An engineer has manually configured IP addresses for a small office that uses a cable modem for Internet connectivity. However, none of the devices configured with a manual IP address are able to browse Internet websites. All devices are connected to the cable modem with twisted-pair Ethernet cables. This is the configuration of one device: IP address: 192.168.1.7 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 Default gateway: 192.168.1.1 DNS: 192.168.1.7 The engineer can successfully ping the local IP address and the default gateway address. Which of the following should be the NEXT troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Check for duplicate IP addresses ❍ B. Replace the Ethernet cable ❍ C. Check the DNS configuration ❍ D. Replace the cable modem The Answer: C. Check the DNS configuration One of the most noticeable IP (Internet Protocol) configuration settings was the DNS (Domain Name Service) server IP address set to the same IP address the local device. Since DNS servers are commonly separate devices, it would be unusual to see a DNS configured with the same IP address of the local device. The next step should be to confirm the DNS settings with the local network administrator. The incorrect answers: A. Check for duplicate IP addresses No mention was made of an duplicate IP address warning, and the ping tests worked properly to devices on the local subnet. B. Replace the Ethernet cable Since the ping tests worked locally, we can conclude that the Ethernet cable is most likely not related to this issue. D. Replace the cable modem The cable modem is most likely the default gateway, and a ping of that IP address worked properly. More tests would need to be performed before replacing any hardware. More information: 220-1101, Objective 2.5 - IPv4 and IPv6 https://professormesser.link/1101020501 90 Practice Exam A - Answers A55. A user in a remote office is connecting a device using an F-connector. Which of the following would be MOST likely associated with this connection? ❍ A. Cable modem ❍ B. Switch ❍ C. Punchdown block ❍ D. DSL modem The Answer: A. Cable modem A cable modem is commonly associated with a coaxial cable input using an F-connector. The output from the cable modem commonly uses an RJ45 Ethernet connector. The incorrect answers: B. Switch A switch is usually associated with Ethernet connections, and Ethernet commonly uses RJ45 connectors and not F-connectors. C. Punchdown block A punchdown block is often used instead of connectors, and individual wires will be physically pressed or "punched" into the block. A punchdown block is not commonly associated with F-connectors. D. DSL modem A DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) modem uses POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) with RJ11 connectors to provide connectivity to the Internet service provider. A DSL modem does not commonly include F-connector interfaces. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.1 - Copper Connectors https://professormesser.link/1101030110 Practice Exam A - Answers 91 A56. A user in the accounting department has turned on their computer and received the message “Date and Time not set.” Which of the following would be the MOST likely reason for this message? ❍ A. The motherboard battery has discharged ❍ B. Windows update has rebooted the computer ❍ C. Daylight Saving Time occurred during the weekend ❍ D. The BIOS was just upgraded The Answer: A. The motherboard battery has discharged The battery on a motherboard is used to maintain the date and time configuration when the computer is not connected to a power source. If the battery has discharged, the computer will not be able to maintain the proper time and an error message will appear during startup. The incorrect answers: B. Windows update has rebooted the computer Rebooting the computer will not cause the date and time to be reset. C. Daylight Saving Time occurred during the weekend Daylight Saving Time does not cause the computer's date and time to be reset, and any changes to the clock in Windows will be reflected in the BIOS. D. The BIOS was just upgraded A BIOS upgrade does not commonly reset the date and time on the system clock. More information: 220-1101, Objective 3.4 - BIOS Settings https://professormesser.link/1101030406 92 Practice Exam A - Answers A57. A user in the accounting department is connecting to their monitor using HDMI. The video appears normal, but the user does not hear any audio through the monitor's speakers. Which of the following would be the two MOST likely reasons for this audio issue? (Select TWO) ❍ A. Video output does not match the native resolution ❍ B. Audio controls are muted ❍ C. Not enough bandwidth for audio ❍ D. Internet connectivity is unavailable ❍ E. OS is not configured for HDMI audio output ❍ F. Display has a dead pixel The Answers: B. Audio controls are muted, and E. OS is not configured for HDMI audio output If the audio controls are muted, then no audio will be heard on any output device. The muted controls may be on the monitor or the operating system, so both will need to be checked during the troubleshooting process. The operating system will also need to be configured with the correct audio output location, and in this example the audio output should be configured for the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) link. The incorrect answers: A. Video output does not match the native resolution To get the sharpest image, the output from the computer should match the native resolution of the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor. However, this configuration setting does not disable or prevent the audio output. C. Not enough bandwidth for audio The HDMI connection has dedicated bandwidth for audio, so the audio signal will always be available to the monitor. Practice Exam A - Answers 93 D. Internet connectivity is unavailable The network connectivity from the computer does not have any impact on the monitor's ability to play audio. F. Display has a dead pixel A dead pixel on the display will always show as a blank dot, even if the rest of the monitor is showing a white page. However, this visual issue does not cause any problems with the audio output over HDMI. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.4 Troubleshooting Video and Display Issues https://professormesser.link/1101050401 94 Practice Exam A - Answers A58. A system administrator has created a cloud configuration which automatically monitors utilization for usage-based billing. Which of the following describes this cloud computing characteristic? ❍ A. Metered ❍ B. File synchronization ❍ C. Rapid elasticity ❍ D. High availability The Answer: A. Metered Metering will measure transaction activity, CPU utilization, storage use, and other important metrics. These are often used for billing purposes, where the customer will pay for CPU or storage by the application instance. However, this metering does not automatically add or remove instances. The incorrect answers: B. File synchronization File synchronization keeps all shared data identical between multiple application instances, but synchronizing the data doesn't add or remove resources from the application instance. C. Rapid elasticity Rapid elasticity is the characteristic of scaling up or down cloud resources with demand. More resources will be made available during busy times, and those resources will be seamlessly removed when the demand is low. D. High availability Many cloud implementations will have methods for maintaining uptime and availability if an outage occurs. This redundancy doesn't provide a method of dynamically increasing or decreasing the available application instance resources. More information: 220-1101, Objective 4.1 - Cloud Characteristics https://professormesser.link/1101040102 Practice Exam A - Answers 95 A59. A group of wireless laptops in a conference room are reporting intermittent connectivity issues. The wired computers in the room are not experiencing any network problems. A check of the laptops shows that the IP addresses and configurations appear to be correct. Which of the following would be the best NEXT troubleshooting step? ❍ A. Verify the wireless signal strength ❍ B. Check the ARP table on the default gateway ❍ C. Confirm the operation of the DHCP server ❍ D. Perform a wire map on the network drops The Answer: A. Verify the wireless signal strength Since the wired devices are working properly, the troubleshooting process should focus on the wireless network. The connectivity is also intermittent, which means that the network is operating normally during certain periods. This would move the focus from the network configuration to a connectivity or signal strength issue. The incorrect answers: B. Check the ARP table on the default gateway Since the wired devices are working normally and the network is intermittently working, the overall configuration of the network would not be the first place to start the troubleshooting process. C. Confirm the operation of the DHCP server An inoperable DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server would cause the local devices to automatically configure a link-local IP address. Since there are no reports beyond general connectivity issues and DHCP server outages are relatively unusual, checking on the DHCP server would not be the next step in the troubleshooting process. D. Perform a wire map on the network drops The issue reported in this scenario is relating to the wireless network only. The wired devices are not experiencing any issues with connectivity, so obtaining a wire map would not be the next troubleshooting step. More information: 220-1101, Objective 5.7 - Troubleshooting Networks https://professormesser.link/1101050701 96 Practice Exam A - Answers A60. A server administrator has been asked to troubleshoot a system that has been slowing down over time. While examining the computer, the administrator can hear a series of clicks from the inside of the case. Which of the following should be the FIRST step to address this issue? ❍ A. Replace the motherboard ❍ B. Power the system off and back on ❍ C. Replace the hard drive ❍ D. Perform a full backup of the server ❍ E. Replace the power supply The Answer: D. Perform a full backup of the server A clicking noise indicates some type of hardware issue with the computer, so the first step would be to confirm that a recent backup is available for all of the data on this system. If the computer fails completely, at least the data will be secure. The incorrect answers: A. Replace the motherboard Motherboards don't tend to have moving parts, so a clicking noise would probably not be related to the motherboard. There's also not enough information to definitively identify the source of the noise, so replacing hardware would not commonly b

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