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CompTIA A+ 220-1101 > Hardware and Network Tblsh (Chapter 12) > Flashcards

Hardware and Network Tblsh (Chapter 12) Flashcards

1
Q

What are two possible causes of data loss or extended read and write times on an HDD?

A

The drive is too full and doesn’t have enough room to move temporary files or it’s failing.

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2
Q

What is HD IOPS?

A

Input/output operations per second

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3
Q

What is HD SMART?

A

Self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology—essentially just analytics.
It lets you know if a hard drive is going to fail

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4
Q

How can you tell if a RAID disk has failed?

A

It shows a steady light meaning it needs to be replaced.

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5
Q

What could cause the system to say it can’t find the OS?

A

A problem with the MBR.

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6
Q

How do you fix a broken MBR?

A

Open WinRE command prompt and enter bootrec /fixmbr or /fixboot for the boot sector.

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7
Q

Why might windows not detect a new drive?

A

It hasn’t been formatted or configured in Disk Management yet

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8
Q

What are the first two things you should do in troubleshooting a lack of display with laptop and second display such as a projector or TV?

A

Check the output with the fn key on the laptop
Make sure the external display is set to the correct input

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9
Q

Do projector bulbs last forever?

A

No, and over time, heat can shorten the life span of them. If it burns out, replace it.

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10
Q

Why might a projector have a fuzzy image?

A

It may not be focused for that distance. Check menu options or manually adjust it.

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11
Q

Why might an LCD appear fuzzy?

A

May be set for the wrong resolution. More rarely, it can be caused by interferences such as magnets.

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12
Q

How can you check for a dead pixel?

A

Set to a white background and see if it’s still off.

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13
Q

What are the two most likely reasons for a flickering LCD?

A

The backlight or power inverter is failing
You can also check for loose cables.

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14
Q

Why might an LCD show incorrect colors?

A

The controller board is failing.

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15
Q

Why might an LCD be too dim?

A

The backlight is failing or the brightness is turned down.

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16
Q

What can cause a projector to randomly shut down?

A

Overheating
Check for fan functionality or dust buildup.

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17
Q

What can you do if a laptop battery will not charge?

A

Remove and reseat battery.

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18
Q

How can you verify if there is a short or power drain from an external device on a laptop?

A

Remove all devices and see if it helps.

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19
Q

On modern phones, what’s the most likely solution for a swollen battery?

A

Get a new phone. But turn it off first.

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20
Q

What is the first way to test an overheating laptop after checking the fans or dust?

A

Swap out the battery.

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21
Q

What key can you test to see if it’s stuck when the keyboard doesn’t appear to be working?

A

The FN key.

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22
Q

What can cause a ghost cursor?

A

Unintentionally touching the touchpad when typing. Disable it.

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23
Q

What input device can cause cursor drift?

A

The point stick not centering itself

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24
Q

What should you do for a poorly functioning laptop digitizer/touchscreen?

A

Recalibrate it under Control Panel>Hardware and Sound

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25
Q

If the touchscreen on a mobile device isn’t working, what’s the best you can do?

A

Restart it.

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26
Q

What’s the first step in troubleshooting the wireless connection on a laptop?

A

Make sure the NIC is turned on.

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27
Q

What is a common cause for a weak wireless signal that keeps dropping?

A

Distance from or obstructions between the WAP

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28
Q

How can you fix a physically damaged port?

A

Replace it,

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29
Q

What’s the first step in troubleshooting malware?

A

Identify the type.

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30
Q

What should you do after identifying the type of malware on a computer?

A

Quarantine it

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31
Q

What’s the very last step in troubleshooting malware?

A

Educate the end user.

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32
Q

What’s the most common way malware ends up on mobile phones?

A

Downloading malicious apps

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33
Q

On an impact printer, what can cause a small blank or black line down the page?

A

A print head pin stuck in the out or in position.

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34
Q

How can a stepper motor be unintentionally damaged?

A

By forcing them in any direction while turned on. It generates a charge and damages it.

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35
Q

How can you detect a damaged main stepper motor?

A

The lines will be unevenly spaced.

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36
Q

What printer component can cause a grinding or squealing sound?

A

The stepper motor. They need to be replaced.

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37
Q

What happens if you don’t use an inkjet printer for a while?

A

The cartridges dry out and block the nozzles.

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38
Q

How can a blocked inkjet nozzle be detected?

A

Thin, blank lines through all lines of text.

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39
Q

How can faded printing be fixed in an inkjet printer?

A

Replace the inkjet cartridge.

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40
Q

Should you refill ink cartridges?

A

No. They’re not designed to be refilled.

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41
Q

What can cause smeared letters with an inkjet printer?

A

The ink cartridge is damaged or has a hole. Causes too much ink to be dispensed.

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42
Q

What causes prints to quickly go from dark, to light, to nothing? How is it fixed?

A

The priming pump is broken. Replace the cartridge.

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43
Q

What two things can cause an incorrect chroma? How can it be fixed?

A

Leaking cartridge or wrong type of paper.
If both of these are correct, try cleaning the cartridges and verify they are installed in the right spots.

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44
Q

What can cause dots or speckling on inkjet prints?

A

Paper dust or residue. Clean or blow it out.

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45
Q

In inkjet printers, what two things are most likely to cause paper jams?

A

Worn pickup roller, wrong type of paper

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46
Q

What part is responsible for making sure only one page of paper is picked up?

A

Separation pads

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47
Q

What problems does sticky or humid paper cause?

A

Jams or multifeed

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48
Q

In an inkjet printer, what component failure can cause uneven spacing or scrunched letters?

A

Stepper motor

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49
Q

Recall the EP process using People Choose to Eat Donuts To Feel Content

A

Processing
Charging
Exposing
Developing
Transferring
Fusing
Cleaning

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50
Q

The failure of what component will cause a printer to not start up?

A

Transformer

51
Q

What settings should be checked if the printer is having connection problems?

A

IP. Change with the LCD or through telnet/ssh to get to the management software.

52
Q

What’s a solution to a prolonged “processing data error”?

A

You can restart it or add more memory if the problem persists.

53
Q

Besides paper type and rollers, what other component can can cause a jam in a laser printer?

A

The static charge eliminator strip which drains the corona from the paper. When this breaks, the paper can stick to the EP cartridge and jam.

54
Q

What’s the most basic reason for a blank page from a laser printer?

A

Low or no toner. Shake it to see if there’s any there.

55
Q

What’s a potential issue with using reconditioned toner cartridges?

A

It can have the wrong toner and cause it to not be repelled from the EP drum.

56
Q

What component failure can cause a blank page with a laser printer?

A

Damaged transfer corona roller/wire will cause the toner to not transfer from the drum to the paper.

57
Q

If the transfer corona roller/wire isn’t damaged or missing, what other related component might cause a blank page?

A

Broken HVPS. It will not charge any coronas if it fails.

58
Q

What can cause an all-black page with a laser printer?

A

Charging unit (corona wire or roller (not the transfer one)) failure. The EP drum won’t get a charge and the toner will stick all over it.

59
Q

What can leave toner marks spaced out across a page?

A

Spilled toner inside the printer which gets stuck on one of the rollers. You can consult the manual to see which roller it might be,

60
Q

In a laser printer, what causes vertical white lines down a page? How can it be fixed?

A

Debris on the transfer corona. It won’t attract toner to the paper in those spots. Clean it.

61
Q

What can cause toner smudging after a print is completed?

A

Failing fuser that didn’t get hot enough to melt it.

62
Q

What can cause ghosting in a laser printer? How can it be fixed?

A

Bad cleaning blade or erasure lamp. Replace them.

63
Q

What are the two possible causes for a printer printing garbage?

A

Incorrect driver or a bad formatter board

64
Q

What are the two possible causes for a printer printing garbage?

A

Incorrect driver or a bad formatter board

65
Q

What’s a sign that the print spooler has stalled?

A

No prints for no apparent reason.

66
Q

What’s a multimeter used for?

A

Measuring voltage, current and resistance on a wire

67
Q

What are crimpers and cable strippers used for?

A

Putting connectors on wires

68
Q

What does a Wifi analyzer do?

A

Locate and monitor Wi-Fi networks. Think WifiMan.

69
Q

What is a toner probe used for?

A

Tracing a wire from one location to another

70
Q

What’s a punch down tool used for?

A

Connect wire ends to a harness like a 110 punch down block

71
Q

What does a loop back plug do?

A

Plugs into an adapter to test its ability to send a receive. This tells you if the card itself is not working instead of a configuration or some other issue down the road.

72
Q

What is a network tap?

A

A device that replicates network traffic for monitoring devices to use without disrupting anything.

73
Q

How can you verify if a host is able to communicate with DHCP?

A

Use ipconfig /all and look for an APIPA address

74
Q

Can you release an APIPA address?

A

No. /release is for giving up an IP received from DHCP. APIPA addresses are not valid IPs from DHCP. You can use /renew however to attempt to get one again.

75
Q

How far in a network can an APIPA address communicate?

A

Within the subnet

76
Q

What does ping do?

A

Determines if a host can be reached and how long it takes to get a return packet.

77
Q

What does netstat do?

A

Displays outbound and inbound TCP/IP connections

78
Q

What does nslookup do?

A

Helps verify entries on a DNS server
Has an interactive (continuous commands) and non-interactive (one at a time) mode

79
Q

What does the net […] command do?

A

Control services in the OS. Can also interact with hidden or admin shares not visible in the GUI.

80
Q

What does the tracert command do?

A

Shows hops to different addresses during the route a packet took to its destination

81
Q

What does the pathping command do?

A

Combines ping with tracert. Pings and traces routes.

82
Q

If only one user is having a problem, what’s the first command you should run?

A

ipconfig
If APIPA is there, they don’t have a valid address.

83
Q

If you want to communicate outside your LAN, what TCP/IP setting do you need to have?

A

Default gateway

84
Q

If you don’t have a valid IP address, what should you do next (2 steps) to see how far your connection can go?

A

Ping 127.0.0.1 or ::1 to see if the adapter works at all, then ping.

85
Q

If you can ping an IP address but not a hostname, what’s the issue?

A

DNS

86
Q

Does fe80::/10 work through a router?

A

No, it’s a link local/APIPA address

87
Q

What is port flapping?

A

A switch port opening and closing very quickly

88
Q

In general, what can cause slow speeds on a network with multiple users?

A

Load

89
Q

How can poor VoIP quality be fixed?

A

Adjust QoS priorities for this type of traffic

90
Q

How can port flapping be fixed?

A

Fixing a speed or duplex mismatch. Also check switch error logs.

91
Q

What happens when you get further away from a WAP? How can this be fixed?

A

The signal weakens and causes dropouts. Get closer.

92
Q

What PC component can cause clicking or scratching sounds?

A

Hard drive

93
Q

What are most print quality issues with an impact printer related to?

A

The print head or ribbon

94
Q

What can you check for first to see if an Ethernet adapter is working?

A

Link lights
Try loopback next

95
Q

What issue causes a PC to work then lock up?

A

Overheating. Check the fans.

96
Q

What kind of memory is the BIOS written on?

A

EPROM
erasable, programmable, read-only memory

97
Q

How should you troubleshoot a black screen on a monitor?

A

Make sure its plugged in, then try a different monitor and video cable

98
Q

Whats most commonly causes BSODs?

A

Memory issues

99
Q

What memory-related issue can cause sluggish performance?

A

Not enough room on the HD for the paging file

100
Q

Whats the first easiest troubleshooint step to take for Windows being slow?

A

Check resource usage in the Task Manager

101
Q

How much free space should a HD have at minimum?

A

10%
Otherwise you run into pagefile problems

102
Q

Whats the first step in trouble shooting zero power?

A

Test the outlet

103
Q

What could the issue be if the PSU fan spins but the system doesn’t start up?

A

The motherboard or PSU itself

104
Q

If the system says “OS not found”, what’s another good step to take?

A

Check for removeable drives
The BIOS could be switching the boot order automatically

105
Q

If POST beeps and there is no display, whats the issue?

A

A critical component has failed
For “no boot device found”, it wouldn’t beep and the screen would display the message

106
Q

Consider a RAID 1 array where on drive has failed. Whats the best way to resolve it?
1. Replace the bad drive and restore from backup.
2. Replace the bad drive and resync the array.

A

2
The redundant drive remains available, so no backup restore is needed. Only the bad drive needs to be replaced and synchronized.

107
Q

If a question brings up installing a PSU in another country, which detail is most important?

A

Voltage input options

108
Q

If a user is moving from Android to iOS, how can corporate emails, contact lists and calendar events be moved to the new phone?

A

Connect the new phone to the corporate Exchange server

109
Q

Whats the MOST accurate way to figure out which model a component is in a PC?

A

Take it apart and look at it. Drivers don’t always show all details.

110
Q

A system administrator made some BIOS changes to a desktop computer running Windows 10, and now this message appears when starting the computer: “This drive can only boot in UEFI mode.” Which of the following would be the BEST next troubleshooting step?

A. Modify the boot drive sequence
B. Enable Secure Boot
C. Remove the BIOS password
D. Boot the system with the Windows setup media

A

B. Enable Secure Boot because it ensures UEFI.

Explanation:

The message “This drive can only boot in UEFI mode” suggests that the system can only boot only in UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) mode, which is a modern firmware interface for PCs, designed to replace the traditional BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).

When the system administrator made BIOS changes, it’s possible that Secure Boot was inadvertently disabled or not properly configured. Enabling Secure Boot ensures that the system boots securely in UEFI mode, which is required by the current drive configuration.

111
Q
A
111
Q

Note: when there’s an external display issue, the BEST next step will more than likely be to check/replace the cable first.

A
112
Q

If DNS isnt working, what cmdlet can fix it?

A

ipconfig /flushdns
Clears resolver cash of its records including those that might be outdated or incorrect

113
Q

If a projector keeps shutting off, whats the first thing that should be done?

A

Clean the filter
Its probably overheating

114
Q

What are the five steps in troubleshooting malware?

A
  1. Identify malware symptoms
  2. Quarantine the infected system
  3. Remediate system
  4. Schedule scans and updates
  5. Educate the end user
115
Q

While troubleshooting monitor issues, you should always do what first?

A

Check the obvious
(is it plugged in?)

116
Q

What printer part is most likely to cause vertical toner streaks?

A

Drum
Could be damaged or stops working because its old

117
Q

What is the first and most efficient step in troubleshooting a paper jam, regardless of location?

A

Check the printer path for any obstructions

118
Q

A chemical smell is related to what PC component?

A

Motherboard

119
Q

How should you install dual-channel RAM in a desktop?

A

Consult the manual

120
Q

What networking device can reduce the number of collisions taking place on a single hub?

A

Switch

121
Q

Whats the most common key used to enter the BIOS?

A

F12

122
Q

Besides dusting, what can be done about noisy, whining fans?

A

Add oil

123
Q

If a device with static IP and another device on the network have connection failures, whats the most likely cause?

A

IP conflict or DHCP

CompTIA A+ 220-1101 (11 decks)

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