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A+ 220-1001 > 1001: Hardware and Network Troubleshooting > Flashcards

1001: Hardware and Network Troubleshooting Flashcards

1
Q

List the steps involved in the troubleshooting process.

A
  1. Identify the problem
  2. Establish theory of probable cause
  3. Test theory to determine cause
  4. Establish a plan of action
  5. Verify functionality
  6. Document your findings
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2
Q

When a computer experiences a blue screen of death (BSOD) or pinwheel of death, what component of the computer is likely at fault?

A

Operating system

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3
Q

Power or operating system issues can cause abrupt shutdowns, but what could be a probable cause of a computer unexpectedly restarting?

A

Overheating

Interruptions in the power supply signal to the motherboard

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4
Q

A computer is locked up and not responding to any input from the keyboard or mouse. What are 3 probable causes of this lockup?

A

Memory issues
Virus or Malware
Bad Video Driver

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5
Q

When the computer encounters an error before it is able to reach a point with video output, what is used to indicate the error?

A

Beep Codes

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6
Q

While the computer is booting up, what is generally indicative of one short beep?

A

Everything in the POST test was okay

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7
Q

What is an important consideration when interpreting beep codes?

A

Each motherboard manufacturer may have different codes

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8
Q

You turn your computer on and you can hear the fan running, but the computer does not initiate the boot process. What could be the issue?

A

Motherboard is not receiving power

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9
Q

What may be a symptom of a dying CMOS battery?

A

Having to continually reset the system time

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10
Q

What is “chip creep” and what is its primary cause?

A

When motherboard components unseat themselves due to repeated heating and cooling of the PC (poor air circulation)

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11
Q

What is the risk of leaving slot covers open/exposed without an expansion card installed?

A

Allows dust to enter the system

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12
Q

If a computer is making loud noises it is generally caused by a moving component. What components within a computer could be the cause of noise?

A

Fan and hard drive (except SSDs)

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13
Q

What might be happening if the fans on the PC are spinning, but some of your external devices are not receiving power?

A

The power being drawn by one or more devices is exceeding the output of the power supply

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14
Q

In Windows, what is the most common cause when receiving BSOD error messages such as:
Data_Bus_Error
Unexpected_Kernel_Mode_Trap
Page_Fault_in_nonpaged_area

A

Most often a hardware problem, either installing bad hardware or existing hardware has gone bad.

Overclocking the CPU can sometimes cause this as well

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15
Q

What has likely happened when receiving the BSOD error message: irq1_not_less_or_equal

A

A kernel driver was attempting to access a memory address which it does not have permission. Likely a driver version incompatibility.

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16
Q

What is Apple’s proprietary version of Microsoft’s BSOD?

A

PWOD (Pinwheel of death)

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17
Q

If you receive the PWOD on an Apple device while running one specific application, it could possibly be an application permission issue. What tool can you use to resolve permission issues?

A

“Permission Repair” under the Disk Utility tool

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18
Q

You are experiencing a PWOD with a single application and want to clear the dynamic link editor cache to help resolve the issue. What is this cache and how do you clear it?

A

Recently used entry points to the dynamic link library.

Launch Terminal, use the command:
sudo update_dyld_shared_cache -force

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19
Q

Where can the recovery drive be found on an OS X device, and how can you boot a device from this drive to recover a corrupted system?

A

It is a partition on the local hard drive.

After the chime on startup, hold Command+R and select to boot from the recovery partition

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20
Q

What are some signs that a capacitor may be going bad? What symptoms can a bad capacitor cause?

A

Capacitor appears swollen, brown residue

Can cause intermittent reboots

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21
Q

What is an early warning sign of a failing hard drive?

A

Read/write failures

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22
Q

What is happening when a drive makes loud clicking sounds, known as the “click of death”?

A

The heads are making contact with the platters

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23
Q

What can be indicated by receiving an “IDE drive not ready” message when booting a system?

A

Drive may not be spinning fast enough to read

24
Q

What does the acronym SMART stand for when talking about drives?

A

Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology

25
Q

RAID can be software or hardware implemented. What is used to manage a hardware-based RAID array?

A

Controller Card

26
Q

You have installed a new RAID array but cannot get it to function. you have checked all cables and cards to ensure they are connected and seated correctly. What could the problem be?

A

RAID needs to be enabled in the BIOS

The PC may have an integrated RAID controller causing conflicts.

27
Q

In the event of a failed hard drive in a RAID 1 (mirrored) array, how can you determine the bad drive?

A

Remove each drive 1 by 1, rebooting in between until you find the bad drive. Replace the drive and rebuild the array.

28
Q

What happens when more than one drive fails in a RAID 5 array?

A

The array cannot be rebuild. You must replace the bad drives, rebuild the array, and restore the data from backup.

29
Q

You boot a system after replacing a bad drive in a RAID array and the PC cannot find the OS file. What likely happened?

A

The system rearranged the drives when the bad drive was replaced

30
Q

When a display reverts back to 16-bit VGA mode and does not function at the video card’s supported resolution level, what is most often the issue?

A

Video driver (not installed or incorrect version)

31
Q

What are some indicators of an overheating video card?

A

Garbled display, flickering, or the display failing shortly after rebooting

32
Q

What is the probable cause of a projector shutting down unexpectedly after some use?

A

Overheating bulb, allow to cool and then try restarting

33
Q

What’s the difference between a “stuck” pixel and a “dead” pixel?

A

Stuck - filled with a single color and will not change

Dead - black with no color

34
Q

Your PC has an LCD screen that is very dim and hard to read. Adjusting the screen brightness does not help. What is likely the issue?

A

Since it is LCD, the backlight is likely going bad

35
Q

What may happen to a display if there is a mismatch between the resolution and the screen refresh rates?

A

Flickering image

36
Q

What is the most common cause of a screen displaying a distorted image?

A

Power issues

37
Q

What types of displays are most susceptible to burn-in? When are these displays most susceptible?

A

Plasma and OLED

Within the first few hours of operation

38
Q

A laptop has a NiCad battery and has troubles staying powered on under battery power for longer than 30 minutes. What is likely the issue?

A

The battery is susceptible to having a “memory” and needs to be discharged completely to restore its memory

39
Q

What can often be the culprit of a ghost cursor on a laptop?

A

Overly sensitive trackpad, possibly by overheating. Updating drivers often resolves

40
Q

What is a common way to fix pointer drift on a Windows machine with multiple displays?

A

Adjust the scaling settings for multiple monitors

41
Q

What tool on Android mobile devices allows you to test and troubleshoot the functionality of a touch screen?

A

Device Diagnostics Tool

42
Q

What must be enabled on mobile devices in order to send and receive encrypted emails?

A

S/MIME

43
Q

What often causes lithium-ion batteries to swell?

A

Overcharging

44
Q

What is the issue if you pull a printed sheet off a laser printer and you can smear the toner with your finger?

A

Fuser problem

45
Q

What can cause excessive smearing on an inkjet page?

A

Damaged in cartridge or print head

46
Q

What could be the cause of ghost images on a laser printed page?

A

Bad erasure lamps or cleaning blade

47
Q

What is the most common problem encountered with laser printers due to the speed at which they operate?

A

Paper jams

48
Q

What happens to the paper passing through a laser printer if the static eliminator strip is damaged or not operating?

A

The paper will stick to the drum and jam

49
Q

On a laser printer, what are likely causes of vertical black lines on a printed page?

A

A scratch on the EP drum

Dirty charge corona wire

50
Q

What is the most common cause of vertical white lines on a laser printed page?

A

Debris or toner on the transfer corona wire

51
Q

How often should you clean the print heads on an inkjet printer?

A

At least once a month

52
Q

Where is a problem likely rooted if you can ping a remote device by IP address but not hostname?

A

DNS failing to resolve

53
Q

What command can be used to clear the local DNS cache on a PC?

A

ipconfig /flushdns

54
Q

A user can reach everything within their own internal network just fine, but cannot reach the internet or anything external to the network. What are two possible causes of this?

A

Default gateway configuration

DNS issues

55
Q

What is the advantage of a device assigning itself an APIPA or link-local address when none is assigned and a DHCP server is not avaialble?

A

It allows the device to communicate with other devices that have similar addresses

56
Q

What can be done to resolve an IP address conflict when DHCP is active and in use?

A

Release and renew the IP address lease on the affected host

A+ 220-1001 (8 decks)

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