test 1

Question 1

The printer in the accounting department has stopped all
printing processes. The print queue shows seven jobs in
the queue waiting to be printed. Which of the following
would be the BEST next troubleshooting step?
❍ A. Send a test job to the printer and move it to
the top of the queue
❍ B. Restart the printer’s spooler
❍ C. Install an updated version of the printer driver
❍ D. Delete everything in the queue and resend the
print jobs

Answer 1

The Answer: B. Restart the printer’s spooler
The print spooler is the software responsible for storing print jobs and
sending them to the printer. If the printer spooler has failed or has
stopped, then none of the print jobs will be sent to the printer.

Question 2

A user has powered on their computer and received the
message “Operating system not found.” A check of the
system shows that the SATA drive cables are properly
connected. Which of the following would be the NEXT
best troubleshooting step?
❍ A. Boot to Safe Mode
❍ B. Replace the boot drive
❍ C. Restore from a known good backup
❍ D. Check for removable drives

Answer 2

The Answer: D. Check for removable drives
If a USB (Universal Serial Bus) storage device is connected to a computer
and the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is checking USB devices
before the primary storage drive, the “Operating system not found” error
could appear with some USB devices. To avoid this error, the boot order in
the BIOS can be changed, or the USB device can be disconnected during
the boot process and reconnected after the operating system has started.

Question 3

A client’s laptop appears to boot normally, but nothing
ever appears on the LCD. After closer inspection, you
notice the output is visible but it’s too faint to clearly see
anything. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
❍ A. Video card
❍ B. Inverter
❍ C. Video driver
❍ D. Power adapter

Answer 3

The Answer: B. Inverter
The inverter powers the CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display) backlight, allowing you to easily view the pixels
on the display. Most newer laptops will use LED (Light Emitting Diode)
backlights with existing DC (Direct Current) power and these LED lights
don’t require an inverter.

Question 4

Which of the following would be MOST likely found
on an optical disc?
❍ A. Document archive
❍ B. Operating system boot files
❍ C. RAID parity files
❍ D. BIOS configurations

Answer 4

The Answer: A. Document archive
An optical disc such as a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc - Read Only
Memory) has the advantage of a relatively large storage area and the ability
to write once and never worry about an accidental deletion. The storage of
documents and other files is a common use of optical discs.

Question 5

When a user starts their computer, the screen remains
blank and the computer beeps twice. Which of these
would be the MOST likely cause of this issue?
❍ A. The boot device is not connected
❍ B. The memory is faulty
❍ C. The operating system has become corrupted
❍ D. The PC is infected with malware

Answer 5

The Answer: B. The memory is faulty
The POST (Power On Self Test) is the initial hardware check during the
startup process. If a major hardware component is faulty, the computer will
beep and a message will be displayed on the screen. If the issue is related
to a critical component, the computer will not be able to display a message
on the screen and instead will beep a certain number of times as a code to
specify the error.

Question 6

A firewall is configured to block email transfers from
a remote server. Which of the following ports is the
firewall blocking?
❍ A. 443
❍ B. 22
❍ C. 23
❍ D. 25

Answer 6

The Answer: D. 25
Port 25 is used by SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send email
messages from devices and transfer those messages between SMTP email
servers

Question 7

Which of the following ports are used for file transfers?
(Select TWO)
❍ A. 21
❍ B. 110
❍ C. 25
❍ D. 23
❍ E. 20
❍ F. 53

Answer 7

The Answer: A. 21 and E. 20
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard method of transferring files
across different operating systems. FTP uses TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) port 21 for control messages and port 20 to transfer data

Question 8

Which of these technologies do not require a backlight
to provide a viewable display?
❍ A. LCD
❍ B. IPS
❍ C. OLED
❍ D. LED

Answer 8

The Answer: C. OLED
An OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display emits light when a
current is provided to an organic compound. A backlight would not be
necessary with an OLED display

Question 9

A network administrator is troubleshooting a network
outage, and she believes the issue is related to a bad
switch. The old switch is then replaced with a newer
model and the cabling is moved to the new switch.
Which of the following should be the NEXT
troubleshooting steps? (Choose TWO)
❍ A. Test the theory
❍ B. Verify full system functionality
❍ C. Establish a plan of action
❍ D. Identify the problem
❍ E. Document the finding

Answer 9

The Answers: B. Verify full system functionality, and
E. Document the findings
Once the theory has been tested, a plan of action has been determined,
and the plan has been implemented, it’s important to verify that full
system functionality has been restored. After all of this work, it’s useful to
document the problem, the proposed solutions, and the ultimate fix. This
problem might occur again, and it would be useful to have documentation
on the issue.

Question 10

A newly installed MFD provides an option to “scan to
SMB.” Which of the following would BEST describe
this feature?
❍ A. Print jobs can be sent from mobile devices
❍ B. All scans are checked for malware
❍ C. Files are stored on a Microsoft share
❍ D. Documents are scanned from the cloud

Answer 10

The Answer: C. Files are stored on a Microsoft share
SMB (Server Message Block) is the protocol used by Microsoft operating
systems to share files, print jobs, and other information between other
Microsoft OS devices. Many MFDs (Multifunction Devices) can scan a
document and store the scanned file on a central network share
using SMB.

Question 11

What type of device connects multiple computers to the network, but
becomes less efficient as network traffic increases?
❍ A. Switch
❍ B. Hub
❍ C. Repeater
❍ D. Router

Answer 11

The Answer: B. Hub
A hub operates as a multi-port repeater, where incoming traffic is
repeated to every other port in the hub. If more than one device attempts
to communicate at the same time, these conflicting signals are called a
collision. Each time a collision occurs, the sending devices have to stop
transmitting, wait a random amount of time, and try sending the traffic
again. If many devices are sending large amounts of data, the overall
network efficiency will decrease as the number of collisions increase.

Question 12

A network administrator would like to enable DHCP on a laptop, but
they would like the same IP address to be assigned to the laptop each
time it starts. Which of the following would provide this functionality?
❍ A. Create an IP reservation on the DHCP server
❍ B. Administratively configure the laptop’s MAC address
❍ C. Use APIPA addressing
❍ D. Assign the laptop to a static IP VLAN

Answer 12

The Answer: A. Create an IP reservation on the DHCP server
A DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server will
automatically assign IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to devices on the
network from an available pool. This means that the IP address for a
device may change over time based on the addresses currently available
in the pool. To force the same IP address assignment each time, the
network administrator can create an IP reservation in the DHCP server
to associate a specific IP address to the MAC (Media Access Control)
address of the laptop.

Question 13

A user is complaining about slow network performance from their
workstation. A network technician checks the data closet and finds the
wires are not properly seated in the 110 block. Which of the following
should the technician use to correct this issue?
❍ A. Crimper
❍ B. Multimeter
❍ C. Punch-down tool
❍ D. Cable tester

Answer 13

The Answer: C. Punch-down tool
A punch-down tool is used to firmly “punch” a wire into a wiring block.
These blocks are usually located in a wiring closet or on a patch panel

Question 14

A help desk technician needs to use different Windows versions to
study for an industry certification exam. The technician currently uses
a Windows desktop computer with 4 GB of RAM and a 750 GB free
on the hard drive. Which of the following would be the BEST way to
perform this task? (Choose TWO)
❍ A. Install a second monitor
❍ B. Install an additional hard drive
❍ C. Create a Windows Recovery Environment boot drive
❍ D. Upgrade the system RAM
❍ E. Install Windows guest VMs

Answer 14

The Answers: D. Upgrade the system RAM, and
E. Install Windows guest VMs
The easiest way to use multiple operating systems on a single machine
is to run them as virtual machines. Although 750 GB (Gigabytes) is
plenty of storage space for multiple virtual machines, the 4 GB of RAM
(Random Access Memory) on the host computer is too small to support
multiple Windows operating systems at the same time. Once the memory
upgrade is complete, it’s a relatively easy process to install the guest virtual
machines on the existing hard drive

Question 15

While configuring a new workstation in the lab, one of the engineers
recommends using 255.255.255.0. What part of the configuration is this
associated with?
❍ A. Default gateway
❍ B. Subnet mask
❍ C. DNS server
❍ D. IP address

Answer 15

The Answer: B. Subnet mask
Subnet masks are used by a device to determine what subnet it’s connected
to. Subnet masks are a series of binary ones that are used to “mask” the
subnet address from the host address. Instead of representing this mask
in binary, it’s almost always shown in decimal form. Common decimal
representations of subnet mask start with 255, such as 255.255.255.0

Question 16

Which of the following BEST describes a Bluetooth network?
❍ A. PAN
❍ B. WAN
❍ C. LAN
❍ D. MAN

Answer 16

The Answer: A. PAN
A PAN (Personal Area Network) is designed for a small area and usually is
associated with an individual. Bluetooth devices such as headsets, speakers,
and automobile connections are considered PANs

Question 17

Sam, a user in the accounting department, is migrating from Android to
iOS. She would like all of her emails, contact lists, and calendar events to
be moved to her new phone. Which of the following would be the BEST
way to accomplish this task?
❍ A. Use a Windows-based migration tool
❍ B. Save the Android phone data as a CSV file
❍ C. Connect the new phone to the corporate Microsoft 365 service
❍ D. Use a USB-to-Lightning cable

Answer 17

The Answer: C. Connect the new phone to the corporate
Microsoft 365 service
Microsoft 365 manages email, calendar events, and contact information in
a single database. Using this central database, Microsoft 365 can be used to
synchronize all of this information to both iOS and Android smartphones

Question 18

A server administrator has been asked to configure the storage
requirements for a new database server. The database owner requires the
fastest performance and redundancy if a single drive fails. The storage
array should support at least 8 TB of available space. Which of the
following options would be the BEST choice?
❍ A. RAID 10 with 5,400 RPM, 8 TB drives
❍ B. RAID 5 with 10,000 RPM, 5 TB drives
❍ C. RAID 1 with 7,200 RPM, 8 TB drives
❍ D. RAID 0 with 15,000 RPM, 5 TB drives

Answer 18

The Answer: B. RAID 5 with 10,000 RPM, 5 TB drives
The question is focused on three requirements; performance, drive space,
and redundancy. This option provides the highest number of RPMs
(Revolutions Per Minute), RAID 5 (Redundant Array of Independent
Disks) redundancy, and drives with enough combined storage to support
more than 8 TB (terabytes) of drive space

Question 19

A system administrator needs to upgrade a laptop from a hard drive to an
SSD. Which of the following would provide the most efficient method of
upgrading this system?
❍ A. Create an image of the hard drive and restore to the SSD
❍ B. Install a new Windows license and application files on the SSD
❍ C. Backup all user documents and copy them to another computer
❍ D. Compress the home directory and upload it to cloud storage

Answer 19

The Answer: A. Create an image of the hard drive and restore to the SSD
A system image contains everything on the storage drive, so the restored
system will have the same operating system, configuration options, user
documents, and installed applications as the original system

Question 20

A system administrator is using a maintenance kit on a
network-connected laser printer. Which of the following should be the
LAST step when performing this maintenance?
❍ A. Examine the feed rollers
❍ B. Wait until the fuser unit cools down and replace it
❍ C. Reset the page counter
❍ D. Replace the power cord

Answer 20

The Answer: C. Reset the page counter
The page counter is a helpful metric to determine how much the printer
is used, which in turn determines when the next maintenance should be
scheduled. After performing the current maintenance cycle and verifying
the printer’s operation, the page counter should be reset so the next
maintenance time-frame can be properly estimated.

Question 21

An application developer needs to test an application across all of the
operating systems used by the company. Each operating system will be
tested individually in a lab environment. The company would like to
minimize any additional hardware purchases for this project. Which of
the following would be the BEST way to test this application?
❍ A. Purchase a system that is configured just above the hardware
requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create separate
VMs for each operating system.
❍ B. Purchase individual test computers that match the hardware
requirements for each OS. Install different operating systems on
each test computer.
❍ C. Designate existing user workstations to be used as testing systems.
Run all application tests during non-working hours.
❍ D. Purchase a system that matches the minimum hardware
requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create a system
image for each operating system and reimage the computer
between tests.

Answer 21

The Answer: A. Purchase a system that is configured just above the
hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create
separate VMs for each operating system.
Creating virtual machines for these tests would be a great way to
minimize hardware costs, and the machine used for the testing should be
able to properly virtualize the testing OS while the host OS is running.
Purchasing a system that is slightly more powerful than the highest-level
operating system configuration should cover any technical requirements.

Question 22

Which of the following would be MOST associated with an IoT device?
❍ A. Multithreading
❍ B. ARM
❍ C. Virtualization support
❍ D. ECC RAM

Answer 22

The Answers: B. ARM
An ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) processor architecture provides
efficient processing, less power, and less heat than other processor types.
This efficiency makes ARM a common choice for mobile and IoT
(Internet of Things) devices.

Question 23

What is the minimum category of unshielded copper cable for
a 10 gigabit per second Ethernet link with a fifteen meter distance?
❍ A. Category 5
❍ B. Category 6
❍ C. Category 5e
❍ D. Category 6A

Answer 23

The Answer: B. Category 6
The physical characteristics of networking cables are separated into
categories. An unshielded category 6 cable can support a ten gigabit per
second 10GBASE-T network to a distance of fifty-five meters

Question 24

A user in a remote office is connecting a device using an F-connector.
Which of the following would be MOST likely associated with this
connection?
❍ A. Cable modem
❍ B. Switch
❍ C. Punchdown block
❍ D. DSL modem

Answer 24

The Answer: A. Cable modem
A cable modem is commonly associated with a coaxial cable input using
an F-connector. The output from the cable modem commonly uses an
RJ45 Ethernet connector

Question 25

When pressing the power button on a desktop computer, the power
indicator lights up but the computer does not display any message on the
screen. The voltage at the wall outlet has been checked and it appears to
be normal. The motherboard power connector voltage was checked, and
the 12 volt pin was showing 6 volts. What is the MOST likely cause of
this issue?
❍ A. The components that use 12 volt power are faulty
❍ B. The power supply is faulty
❍ C. The wall outlet voltage does not match the power supply
❍ D. The motherboard is faulty

Answer 25

The Answer: B. The power supply is faulty
If the 12 volt line from the power supply to the motherboard is showing
6 volts, it’s likely a problem with the power supply itself. A power supply
replacement should be the next troubleshooting step for this system.

Question 26

A manager in the marketing department is printing many copies of a
twenty page document. The manager would like to print all twenty pages
of the document before the next copy begins printing. What setting
should the manager configure in the output settings?
❍ A. Duplex
❍ B. Collate
❍ C. Quality
❍ D. Orientation

Answer 26

The Answer: B. Collate
The printing of multiple copies in their proper order is collating the
output. If the output was not collated, all of the page one copies would
print, then all of the page two, etc.

Question 27

A remote user is visiting their corporate office. They have connected
their laptop to the wireless network, but the corporate Internet access is
performing much slower than their remote site network. Which of the
following would be the most likely reason for this issue?
❍ A. The default gateway is incorrect
❍ B. The laptop has been assigned an APIPA address
❍ C. The user does not have permission to use the wireless network
❍ D. There is interference with the wireless signal

Answer 27

The Answer: D. There is interference with the wireless signal
The name of the wireless network, or SSID (Service Set Identifier) is
normally broadcast to all nearby devices. If the SSID broadcasts are
administratively disabled, the network name will not appear in the drop-
down list of available wireless networks.

Question 28

A system administrator has received a report of customers receiving
email messages from the company, but upon further analysis the
administrator finds the messages were not actually sent by the
corporation. Which of the following should be implemented to
prevent these spoofed email messages?
❍ A. Add multi-factor authentication to all email logins
❍ B. Change the passwords on all email accounts
❍ C. Configure an SPF record in the DNS
❍ D. Modify the firewall rules to prevent outgoing emails

Answer 28

The Answer: C. Configure an SPF record in the DNS
An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record in the DNS (Domain Name
System) server provides a list of all servers authorized to send emails for
a domain. Any emails not originating from an authorized source can be
dismissed as unauthorized or invalid

Question 29

A system administrator has configured a VM for dual processors, 16 GB
of RAM, and 120 GB of disk space. Which of the following is required
to start this VM?
❍ A. Shared network address
❍ B. Hypervisor
❍ C. Virtual switch
❍ D. Video display

Answer 29

The Answer: B. Hypervisor
A hypervisor, or virtual machine manager, is the software that manages the
virtual platform and guest operating systems

Question 30

A site manager has noticed her smartphone has a short battery life when
used at work, and the battery life is normal when working from home.
The work location has limited mobile service reception, but most office
services are provided over the local 802.11 Wi-Fi network. The site
manager does not enable Bluetooth on her smartphone. Which of the
following would be the BEST way to extend the battery life of her
mobile device?
❍ A. Disable 802.11 Wi-Fi
❍ B. Disable the cellular radio at work
❍ C. Replace the battery
❍ D. Enable Bluetooth on the mobile device

Answer 30

The Answer: B. Disable the cellular radio at work
When a mobile provider’s network isn’t available, a phone will constantly
try to find and reconnect to a cellular network. This reconnection process
constantly uses the radio, and subsequently more of the battery is used
in the process. To conserve battery life, it would be useful to disable the
cellular network connection when outside of a coverage area

Question 31

What kind of device is commonly used to filter traffic based on a
predefined set of rules?
❍ A. PoE switch
❍ B. Repeater
❍ C. DSL modem
❍ D. Firewall

Answer 31

The Answer: D. Firewall
A firewall is designed to evaluate inbound traffic, compare that traffic to
predefined security policies, and allow or block that traffic from passing
through the firewall. Firewalls are common security appliances between an
organization’s internal network and the Internet.

Question 32

An engineering firm is upgrading their storage array to include additional
drive space for documents and designs. The primary goal is to provide
high performance and uptime, even if two drives were to fail. Which of
the following would be the BEST choice for this firm?
❍ A. RAID 1
❍ B. RAID 5
❍ C. RAID 0
❍ D. RAID 10

Answer 32

The Answer: D. RAID 10
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a method of
combining storage drives together to add speed and/or redundancy. A
RAID 10 array is a nested RAID configuration that creates a mirrored set
of RAID 0 drives. As long as only one drive fails in each RAID 0 mirror,
the redundancy will remain valid and the user’s data will continue to be
available

Question 33

A network administrator is deploying a firewall to the cloud using an API
to configure the device. Which of the following would BEST describe
this deployment type?
❍ A. SDN
❍ B. IaaS
❍ C. LDAP
❍ D. DKIM
❍ E. VPN

Answer 33

The Answer: A. SDN
SDN (Software Defined Networking) allows the functions of a
networking device to be split into logical units and virtualized into a
software-based deployment. This allows for easy deployment of switches,
routers, firewalls, and other networking devices into a cloud-based
infrastructure

Question 34

A company has designed a platform to scale up when the application
use increases during the day, and scale back down at night. Which of the
following BEST describes this characteristic of cloud computing?
❍ A. Resource pooling
❍ B. Measured service
❍ C. Hybrid
❍ D. Rapid elasticity

Answer 34

The Answer: D. Rapid elasticity
Scaling up and down as needed is a significant characteristic of cloud
computing. This allows organizations to manage and pay for resources
when busy, but save time and money when the resources are no longer
needed

Question 35

A user’s tablet has stopped responding to any type of finger input on the
screen. The clock and other tablet functions appear to be working. Which
of the following would be the BEST way to correct this issue?
❍ A. Replace the screen
❍ B. Reset the wireless network
❍ C. Connect to a power source
❍ D. Restart the tablet

Answer 35

The Answer: D. Restart the tablet
Before making any changes to hardware or software, it’s useful to restart
the tablet to see if a software glitch may have been the underlying issue

Question 36

A system administrator needs a secure method of storing encryption keys.
Which of the following would be the BEST choice for this requirement?
❍ A. BIOS
❍ B. Secure Boot
❍ C. NTFS
❍ D. HSM

Answer 36

The Answer: D. HSM
An HSM (Hardware Security Module) is commonly used as a secure
method of key backup. The HSM can be deployed as a standalone server
or in a lightweight form with Smart Cards or USB keys

Question 37

A workstation has been assigned an APIPA address. Which of the
following would be the MOST likely reason for this assignment?
❍ A. The workstation is not connected to the wireless network
❍ B. The DNS server is misconfigured
❍ C. The network is using public Internet addresses
❍ D. The DHCP server is down

Answer 37

The Answer: D. The DHCP server is down
APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) is an IPv4 (Internet Protocol
version 4) link-local addressing scheme. If a device does not have a static
IP address and an address is not available from a DHCP server, the local
device will assign itself an APIPA address and communication to other
APIPA devices on the same subnet will be available

Question 38

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

Answer 38

The Answer: B. Enable Secure Boot
Secure Boot is part of the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
standard for a computer BIOS (Basic Input Output System). Secure Boot
ensures that the underlying operating system has not been modified by
malware or any other process

Question 39

A Windows user would like to temporarily store information from RAM
onto their SSD. Which of the following features should be configured?
❍ A. Multi-channel memory
❍ B. ECC
❍ C. System Protection
❍ D. Virtual Memory

Answer 39

The Answer: D. Virtual memory
Virtual memory is used to extend the size of available memory by
temporarily moving unused data out of RAM and onto a local storage
drive