Hardware and Network Troubleshooting (1)

Question 1

You are troubleshooting a computer that will not boot. It tells you that there is no bootable device. You check the BIOS, and it does not show any installed hard drives. What should you do next?

Replace the hard drive with one in an external enclosure

Flash the BIOS

Check the hard drive connections

Answer 1

Check the hard drive connections

Failure to boot at all likely means the drive is dead. But first, do your due diligence and reseat the connections and make sure the BIOS recognizes the drive before replacing it. Most BIOSs today auto-detect the hard drive. If that auto-detection fails, it’s bad news for the hard drive unless there’s a cable, connection, or jumper issue. If the internal hard drive is indeed dead, you might be able to get by temporarily by plugging in one that’s in an external enclosure

Question 2

A technician just replaced a failed hard drive in a desktop computer with an empty hard drive. She needs to boot to the network to connect to an imaging server to restore the computer. How should she do this?

During boot, press the F2 key to boot to the network

During boot, enter the BIOS and change the boot sequence to boot to the network

During boot, press the F7 key to edit the boot sequence menu

Answer 2

During boot, enter the BIOS and change the boot sequence to boot to the network

The system BIOS contains the boot sequence for a system. Most systems probably boot to the first hard drive, but they can also be configured to boot from a secondary hard drive, the optical drive, or the network. This setting is configured in the BIOS

Question 3

A user’s laptop computer does not display anything on the screen, although the power light and other indicator lights are on. You plug in an external monitor and it does not display either. Which component is most likely causing the problem?

Backlight

Screen

Video card

Answer 3

Video card

If a laptop does not display any video, it could be the screen or the video card. To test it, plug in an external monitor (that you know works) and use the function keys on the laptop to switch to external video output. If that doesn’t work, it’s likely that the video card is defective

Question 4

You are troubleshooting a computer making a loud whining noise. Looking at the exhaust fan, you see a thick coating of dust. What should you do next?

Use compressed air to clean the fan

Use a computer vacuum to clean the fan

Use a damp cloth to clean the fan

Answer 4

Use compressed air to clean the fan

Try cleaning the fan before replacing any parts. The power supply fan has a protective grid covering it, and you won’t really be able to get to it with a computer vacuum or a damp cloth. Using compressed air to blow it out is your best option

Question 5

A user reports that his laptop battery does not charge when his laptop is plugged into an AC outlet. What is the best resolution to try first?

Replace the device

Replace the AC adapter

Remove and reinsert the battery

Answer 5

Remove and reinsert the battery

If the battery won’t charge while the laptop is plugged in, try removing the battery and reinserting it. If it still won’t charge, you might want to replace the battery

Question 6

A technician has determined that she needs to replace a motherboard in a laptop. Which of the following procedures should you follow? (Choose two)

Never use a power screwdriver with a laptop

Document and label screw locations

Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions

Remove the keyboard before removing the motherboard

Answer 6

Document and label screw locations

Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions

When repairing laptops, you should always document and label screw and cable locations, organize parts, refer to manufacturer instructions, and use appropriate hand tools. Power screwdrivers can be used. In some cases, but not all, you might need to remove the keyboard to remove the motherboard. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions

Question 7

You have just replaced faulty RAM in a desktop computer. You reboot the computer, and after a few seconds it beeps once. What does this indicate?

The RAM is faulty

The systems BIOS detected an error in the POST routine

The systems BIOS completed the POST routine normally

Answer 7

The systems BIOS completed the POST routine normally

Every computer has a diagnostic program built into its basic input/output system (BIOS) called the power-on self-test (POST). When you turn on the computer, it executes this set of diagnostics. If the computer doesn’t perform the POST as it should, one way to determine the source of a problem is to listen for a beep code. This is a series of beeps from the computer’s speaker. A successful POST generally produces a single beep

Question 8

You are troubleshooting a computer that has been randomly rebooting, and now it refuses to boot properly. Upon boot, you receive one long beep and three short beeps but no video on the screen. What tool should you use to troubleshoot the situation?

Multimeter

Loopback plug

POST card

Answer 8

POST card

This computer is giving you a beep code during the POST routine. One way to troubleshoot this is to use a POST card. This is a circuit board that fits into an expansion slot (PCI or PCIe) in the motherboard and reports numeric codes as the boot process progresses. Each of those codes corresponds to a particular component being checked. If the POST card stops at a certain number, you can look up that number in the manual for the card to determine the problem

Question 9

Over time, the hard drive performance of your computer has gotten slower. You believe that many of the files stored on the drive are fragmented, slowing down disk read and write speeds. What should you do to resolve this issue?

Run Disk Defragmenter

Format the hard drive and restore the data

Run chkdsk

Answer 9

Run Disk Defragmenter

When files are written to a hard drive, they’re not always written contiguously or with all of the data in a single location. As a result, file data is spread out over the disk, and the time it takes to retrieve files from the disk increases. Defragmenting a disk involves analyzing the disk and then consolidating fragmented files and folders so that they occupy a contiguous space, thus increasing performance during file retrieval

Question 10

A user’s computer has failed. When you try to boot it up, you hear a loud, rhythmic clicking sound, and the system does not boot properly. What is most likely the issue?

HDD failure

SDD failure

RAM failure

Answer 10

HDD failure

A rhythmic clicking sound can be made only by components with mechanical parts, such as a conventional hard drive. A power supply fan failure will usually result in a whining sound or no sound at all because the fan doesn’t work, but it will not cause a system boot failure

Question 11

A laser printer you are working with consistently produces images with white streaks running down the page. What can you do to resolve this issue?

Clean the transfer corona wires

Clean the EP drum

Clean the fusing assembly

Answer 11

Clean the transfer corona wires

Vertical white lines running down all or part of the page is because of foreign matter (more than likely toner) caught on the transfer corona wire. The dirty spots keep the toner from being transmitted to the paper (at those locations, that is), with the result that streaks form as the paper progresses past the transfer corona wire. Clean the transfer corona wires

Question 12

The dot-matrix printer in your office recently started creasing papers and producing paper jams. Which of the following are likely to cause these problems? (Choose two)

Bits of paper in the paper path

Paper tension settings

Using the wrong paper

Paper perforations

Answer 12

Bits of paper in the paper path

Using the wrong paper

Printer jams and creased paper happen when something prevents the paper from advancing through the printer evenly. There are generally three causes of printer jams: an obstructed paper path, stripped drive gears, and using the wrong paper

Question 13

The monitor for your desktop computer will randomly shut down after long periods of use. What is the most likely cause of this problem?

Video card failure

Monitor overheating

Backlight failure

Answer 13

Monitor overheating

The most likely explanation is that the monitor is overheating. It could possibly be a backlight issue (if it’s an LCD monitor), but backlights usually dim or flicker if they are failing

Question 14

You power on a desktop computer, and you hear the fan spinning. However, you do not see any indicator lights or get a POST beep. Which component is likely causing the problem?

CPU

PSU

HDD

Answer 14

PSU

This is most likely a problem with the power supply. Test it with a power supply tester or a multimeter

Question 15

You have just replaced a toner cartridge in an HP Laser Jet printer. It is displaying “Error 14 No EP Cart” What should you do to resolve the issue?

Remove the toner cartridge and press the Reset button

Remove the toner cartridge and reinsert it

Remove the toner cartridge and replace it with a ne one

Answer 15

Remove the toner cartridge and reinsert it

The error message indicates that the printer does not detect the toner cartridge. That can happen if the toner cartridge isn’t seated properly. Remove it and reinsert it, and the problem should go away

Question 16

Your office uses an ink-jet printer. Recently, it started having problems picking up paper. Which component is likely to cause this problem?

Transport rollers

Pickup rollers

Exit rollers

Answer 16

Pickup rollers

If your printer fails to pick up paper, it could indicate that the pickup rollers are too worn. They press up against small rubber or cork patches known as separator pads. These help to keep the rest of the paper in the tray so that only one sheet gets picked up at a time. A pickup stepper motor turns the pickup rollers

Question 17

Your office uses an old dot-matrix printer. Recently, the printer has started producing output that goes from dark to light when you look at the paper from left to right. What is causing this problem?

A worn-out printer ribbon

The ribbon-advance mechanism

The print head

Answer 17

The ribbon-advance mechanism

If your dot-matrix printer prints lines that go from dark to light as the print head moves across the page, it’s the printer ribbon-advance gear slipping. Replace the mechanism

Question 18

Your network uses 802.11n for all client computers. Recently, several users moved from one office space to another, increasing the users in the area from 20 to about 50. Now both new and old users are reporting very slow network transfer speeds. What is most likely the cause of the problem?

It’s too far from the wireless access point

There are too many users for one wireless access point

The new users all have 802.11b network cards

Answer 18

There are too many users for one wireless access point

It’s recommended that no more than 30 or so client computers use one wireless access point (WAP) or wireless router. Any more than that can cause intermittent access problems. Too many users can easily result in slow network speeds

Question 19

Your computer has been intermittently rebooting when you play an online video game. You need to install a hardware monitoring utility and notice in the log that the CPU temperature spikes before the system shuts down. Which action should you take first to help resolve the issue?

Replace the CPU and heat sink

Reseat the CPU heat sink

Replace the power supply

Answer 19

Reseat the CPU heat sink

If the CPU is overheating, it may be that the heat sink is not functioning properly or is not connected properly to the CPU. After the system cools down, try reseating the heat sink. Overclocking will only make the processor run hotter. If reseating the heat sink does not work, you might need to replace the processor

Question 20

Users in one section of your building report that wireless network service is spotty. Their workstation have slow connectivity and frequently drop the connection. Which tool should you use to test the problem?

Wireless locator

Loopback plug

Packet sniffer

Answer 20

Wireless locator

Tools for locating Wi-Fi networks and analyzing their traffic are indispensable today. A wireless locator or a Wi-Fi analyzer can be either a handheld hardware device or specialized software that is installed on a laptop and whose purpose is to detect and analyze Wi-Fi signals