Computer Hardware and BIOS

Question 1

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (abbr. as PCIe) is a high-speed, serial expansion bus designed as a replacement for:

Answer 1

• PCI
• PCI-X
• AGP

Question 2

A standardized specification of a Drive, motherboard, Memory (including its dimensions, supported power supply types, and layout of components) is known as

Answer 2

Form Factor

Question 3

A proprietary line of low-power consumption small form factor motherboard types for industrial and embedded PC applications, is known as:

Answer 3

Information Technology Extended (ITX)

Question 4

Name 3 characteristic features of conventional PCI

Answer 4

• 32- and 64-bit BUS
• Parallel Interface
• Max throughput of up to 533MB/sec

Question 5

What is the main power connector used in modern ATX power supplies?

Answer 5

24-Pin Connector

Question 6

Name 3 dedicated expansion slots/ports on the PC motherboard enable(s) connecting an M.2 device

Answer 6

• B key slot
• M key slot
• B+M key slot

Question 7

After replacing a modular hardware component inside the computer case, the updated information about specific parameters of the new device is stored in:

Answer 7

• CMOS RAM (Flash memory Chip)

Question 8

What are 3 ways to reset BIOS configuration to factory settings?

Answer 8

• Jumper on the Motherboard
• Reseating the CMOS Battery (older PCs)
• Via BIOS Settings

Question 9

The CMOS battery allows for maintaining the BIOS configuration settings stored in CMOS RAM (T/F)

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Name 6 characteristics of UEFI

Answer 10

1. Replacement for BIOS
2. DRM Support
3. Mouse Support
4. GUI Mode
5. Secure Boot
6. Network Access

Question 11

There are 2 levels of permissions in BIOS

What are they and their level of priority?

Answer 11

• Supervisor (Highest)
• User (Lowest)

Question 12

What is the purpose of a Supervisor Password on BIOS/UEFI?

Answer 12

Restricts users from making changes to the BIOS/UEFI Settings

Question 13

What is the purpose of a User Password on BIOS/UEFI?

Answer 13

Prevents unauthorized access to a computer at boot. Password must be entered to allow booting of the OS

Question 14

What does TPM stand for?

Answer 14

Trusted Platform Module

Question 15

What are 3 characteristics of TPM?

Answer 15

• Chip embedded into computer motherboard
• International standard for a secure cryptoprocessor
• Designed to secure hardware through cryptographic functions

Question 16

What is HSM stand for?

Answer 16

Hardware Security Module

Question 17

What are 2 characteristics of HSM?

Answer 17

• Typically in the form of an expansion card or an external device
• Designed to secure hardware through cryptographic functions

Question 18

A CPU design based on instruction set that tries to improve speed by utilizing relatively few and simple instructions is referred to as

Answer 18

ARM or RISC

Question 19

A type of CPU architecture where a single physical CPU contains more than one execution core on a single die or chip is known as:

Answer 19

Multicore

Question 20

An Intel-proprietary technology that splits a single CPU core into two virtual cores that can be used simultaneously by an OS is called:

Answer 20

Hyper-Threading

Question 21

Which built-in functionality allows certain CPU models to take over tasks normally executed by a dedicated graphics controller?

Answer 21

Integrated GPU

Question 22

Provide the 3 types of voltages generated by modern PC power supplies

Answer 22

• +3.3 V
• +5 V
• +/- 12 V

Question 23

The power output rating of a PSU is based on a measurement unit known as:

Answer 23

Watt

Question 24

What is a POST card used for?

Answer 24

Troubleshooting computer startup problems