Course Exam Flashcards
You are troubleshooting a laptop with multiple sticking keys that result in misspelled words while the user types. Other than several sticking keys, the laptop appears to be functioning properly. You have cleaned the keyboard with compressed air, but the problem persists. After removing one of the key tops, it becomes apparent that a liquid was spilled into the keyboard.
Which of the following is the next step in resolving the issue of sticking keys?
Clean the keyboard keys with a contact cleaner.
Contact cleaner can be used to clean a keyboard in which liquid has been spilled. Contact cleaners readily evaporate without leaving any residue. If the keys continue to stick, you will need to replace the keyboard.
A technician needs to service a laptop computer that is experiencing an intermittent problem with the display.
Which of the following will be most effective at helping the technician complete the work in a timely and efficient manner? (Select TWO)
Document and label the location of the screws and cables before removing them.
Organize and place all parts and screws and in one place.
While most desktop computers contain only one or two types of screws, a laptop may have a variety of screws and washers in various sizes and lengths. It is imperative that a technician document and label screws and cables before removing them. Inserting a screw that is too long may penetrate a cable or circuit board and cause damage. Inserting a screw that is the wrong size can also strip the threads, causing the correct-sized screw not to tighten properly. Documenting and labeling locations will assist in reassembling the unit.
After documenting and labeling the location of the parts and screws, the technician needs to organize them and keep them in one place. Doing so will assist in reassembling the unit.
When is it okay to touch the inside of a computer that is turned on?
When using a multimeter to measure voltage output
Using a multimeter to measure voltage output is the only exception to touching the inside of a computer that is turned on. Even then, you should be very careful to avoid shock.
Which statement is NOT true regarding motherboards?
Has a heat sink on the PCIe slots
PCIe slots do not have heat sinks. PCIe slots are for expansion cards. If an expansion card requires additional cooling, then the expansion card may contain a heat sink. Heat sinks may be found on top of the CPU with a cooling fan.
A technician has determined that a laptop keyboard will need to be removed in order to replace the laptop’s CPU cooling fan.
Which of the following steps will most likely be required before the technician can remove the keyboard from the laptop? (Select TWO.)
The keyboard bezel will need to be removed.
The keyboard cable(s) will need to be disconnected from the ZIF socket(s).
A technician has determined that a laptop keyboard will need to be removed in order to replace the laptop’s CPU cooling fan.
Which of the following steps will most likely be required before the technician can remove the keyboard from the laptop? (Select TWO.)
The keyboard bezel will need to be removed.
The keyboard cable(s) will need to be disconnected from the ZIF socket(s).
The keyboard bezel is a part of the plastic covers of a laptop and is the cover that surrounds the top of the keyboard. For some laptops, the case top covers the keyboard. Regardless of whether the cover is the bezel or the case top, it will need to be removed first in order to remove the keyboard.
Typical laptop keyboards are connected to the system board via one or more ribbon cables. The system board end of the ribbon cable utilizes ZIF (zero insertion force) sockets. These cables will need to be disconnected prior to removal of the keyboard.
Motherboards may contain which of the following ports on the I/O panel?
RJ-45 LAN port
Multiple USB ports
PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports
Video ports (HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort)
All of these (Correct)
Multiple USB ports, PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, video ports, sound ports, RJ-45 LAN ports, and eSATA ports may be found on the I/O panel.
What configuration can you find for PCIe slots?
x4
x1
x8
x16
All of these (Correct)
PCIe card slots are commonly configured as x1, x4, x8, and x16 representing the number of lanes used for input/output. Some slots may be configured to run differently.
What are the two different methods for partitioning hard drives?
Master Boot Record (MBR)
GUID Partition Table (GPT)
MBR is an older method of partitioning hard drives that allows four partitions and is limited to 2 TB drives.
GPT is a newer method of partitioning hard drives that will allow up to 128 partitions on the hard drive and must be used on drives larger than 2 TB.
Where must virtualization be enabled for VM (virtual machine) software to work?
BIOS/UEFI
Most computers require that virtualization be enabled in the BIOS/UEFI.
Which of the following represents a method for accessing the BIOS/UEFI setup program?
Press a key or combination of keys during the BIOS/UEFI POST
You may access the BIOS/UEFI setup program by pressing a key or combination of keys, depending on the computer.
Jenny is working on a laptop computer and notices that the computer is not running very fast. She looks and realizes that the laptop supports 8GB of RAM and that the computer is running only 4GB of RAM. Jenny would like to add four more gigabits of RAM. She opens the computer and finds that there is an open slot for RAM. She checks the other module and determines that the module has 204 pins.
What module should Jenny order?
O-DIMM DDR3
SO-DIMM DDR3 has 204 pins. The amount of data transferred using DDR 3 per second can range from 8.5GB to 14.9GB, depending on the speed of the FSB (front-side bus).
A processor housing that contains more than one processor is referred to as what term?
Multicore processor
Multicore processors contain more than one processor in the processor housing.
What type of RAM is typically installed onto a motherboard and loses data rapidly, requiring it to be refreshed often?
DRAM
DRAM, or dynamic RAM, is the most common type of RAM and loses its data rapidly, so the memory controller must refresh it several thousand times a second.
Hybrid processors that can process 32 bits or 64 bits are known by what term?
x86-64
When selecting a processor to match system needs, what features should you NOT consider?
Finding the latest and most powerful processor available no matter the cost
Sometimes you will need to balance power with cost. The latest and most powerful processors will generally cost more.
George is involved with a project at work and notices that he has a pending update for his computer. George knows that updates are important, and he decides to take a break and complete the restart of the computer so that the update can install. After George restarts the computer, he notices that his AutoCAD program is running slowly. The issue continues to the point that George decides to call the technician and ask him to check what is going wrong on his computer. The technician tells George to turn the computer off and then on again and asks George how much RAM is counted. The amount of RAM is 8GB less than the amount that was installed on George’s system.
What hardware could be causing this problem? (Select all that apply.)
Motherboard
RAM
The motherboard DIMM slot could also be causing this problem. The best way to determine whether the motherboard is the problem is to remove and replace all the RAM, one module at a time. This process tests each slot to see whether a particular memory slot is the issue.
The most common cause of RAM not being detected is a memory module that is not seated properly. The technician should reseat all the RAM and see if that fixes the problem. If not, then he should check each RAM module individually by placing only one module in a RAM slot and restarting the system to see if a particular RAM module has gone bad.
You are troubleshooting a computer that your client said turns off during normal operation. While you are trying to identify the problem, the client also informs you that if he waits a while, the computer will turn back on and run normally for a bit. You open the system and immediately notice a large dust buildup around the processor fan and heat sink.
What problem can you detect on the computer and confidently report to your client?
System is overheating.
The dust buildup is not allowing air to flow around the processor and is causing it to overheat. The processor has a diode that will shut the computer down before the processor is damaged. Therefore, your client can turn the computer back on after it has cooled down, and it will still work.
You go to work after a long weekend and try to turn on your computer. When you push the button on the desktop, the system does not start to boot. The monitor turns on and displays a message saying that there’s no signal. When you push the desktop button again, you notice that the lights on the computer are turning on, but you don’t hear any sounds coming from the desktop.
What is a possible problem with your computer?
Power cord is unplugged.
An unplugged power cord will not allow a computer to turn on, as no power is available. This could have happened accidentally while your office was being cleaned.
Paul is playing a game when his computer shuts down unexpectedly. Paul has noticed recently that his fans are running very loud. When Paul turns his computer back on, it starts to boot and then shuts off again.
What is a possible problem with Paul’s computer?
Computer is overheating.
His computer is likely overheating, causing the computer to shut down. The fans running louder than usual indicates that the heat sensor is detecting that the processor’s temperature is rising.
Tim has an old server computer that his company uses as a backup. One of the hard drives has gone bad and needs to be replaced. The cable that the hard drive uses is not one that Tim has ever seen before, so he posts a picture of it on the company collaboration board to get help in deciding what type of hard drive he will need to order.
Identify the type of cable from the picture.
SCSI
This picture shows a SCSI cable. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) allows up to 15 devices to connect inside or outside the computer. Each device has a priority number that tells the controller who has priority on the line. SCSI hard drives are used primarily on server computers.
A new Cat6 cable run and keystone jack were installed for a workstation that was moved from the sales department to the shipping department. Since the move, the user has been complaining of slow transfer speeds on both Internet and local network communications. The technician ran a test and is viewing the following output on the tester.
Which of the following is the most likely reason for the sluggish network speeds?
The cable run exceeds the specifications for Ethernet over twisted pair.
The length of the cable run exceeds the specifications for Ethernet causing the NIC and switch to auto-negotiate to 10 Mbps and half-duplex. The distance limitation for Cat6 UTP is 100 meters (328 feet)
