Answers
CompTIA A+ 220-701
1. A and B
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. C
9. D
10. B
11. C
12. D
13. C
14. A
15. A
16. C
17. D
18. C
19. B
20. C
21. C
22. B
23. A and B
24. C
25. B
26. C
27. D
28. B
29. A
30. D
31. A
32. C
33. B
34. A and C
35. B
36. A
37. C
38. B
39. A
40. A
41. A
42. B
43. A
44. C
45. B
46. A
47. A
48. B
49. C
50. A

Answers with Explanations
1. A and B. Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PCI Express (PCIe) are the most common expansion busses on today’s motherboards. Audio Modem
Riser (AMR) was phased out years ago, and Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) has been succeeded by PCIe x16 expansion bus slots, although you will still see some AGP devices in the field.

2. B. Standard PCI has a 32-bit data path, allowing it to send 32 bits of data simultaneously across the bus. USB sends only 1 bit at a time (serially) and does not work with adapter cards. PCIe is much faster than PCI and behaves in a serial fashion. ISA is an older legacy bus architecture that sends data at
16 bits max.

3. A. While on the job site, limit phone calls to emergencies or if your employer calls you about another customer.

4. C. If it is not life threatening, consult the MSDS to determine the proper first aid (if any).

5. C. 1/8” TRS jacks (also known as mini-jacks) are the most common for speaker connections. Parallel ports are normally used for printers or scanners. VGA is a type of video port. The larger 1⁄4-inch TRS connections are for instrument cables or full-size stereo connections.

6. B. When troubleshooting a computer system, always look for the most likely and simplest solutions first. The fact that Susan might not have turned her monitor on when she first came in is a likely scenario. Afterward, you could check whether the computer is on, if the computer and monitor are plugged into the AC outlet, and whether the monitor is plugged into the computer.
Reinstalling the video driver is much further down the list.

7. A. Thermal expansion and contraction happens when humidity changes quickly. This can lead to what some technicians refer to as “chip creep” or
“card creep.” Although there might have been chip creep, the direct cause of the problem was most likely thermal expansion/contraction. POST errors would not be the cause of the error but in some cases could give you diagnostic information leading to the cause. Thermal sublimation deals with a specific type of printing process and is not involved in the problem. While in the computer, you might want to check other adapter cards in the case that they were affected by this phenomenon as well.

8. C. As the POST checks all the components of the computer, it may present its findings on the screen or in the form of beep codes.

9. D. Never spray any cleaner directly on a display. Spray on a lint free cloth first, and then wipe the display gently. Try not to get any liquid in the cracks at the edge of the screen.

10. B. The second step is to establish a theory of probable cause. You are looking for the obvious or most probable cause for the problem.

11. C. SODIMM (small outline dual in-line memory module) is the most commonly used RAM by laptops. Regular DIMMs are normally used in desktop computers, some of those types include SDRAM, DDR, and RIMMs or RDRAM.

12. D. Remember that %systemroot% is a variable. It takes the place of whatever folder contains the operating system. This will usually be Windows (for
Windows Vista/XP) and Winnt (for Windows 2000). For example, if you were to run a default installation of Windows XP, the path to the Registry hives would be C:\Windows\System32\Config.

13. C. The system tray is the area toward the bottom-right of your screen. It contains the time, and any applications (shown as icons) currently running in memory 14. A. To properly install Windows XP (and virtually any operating system), you must start the installation from your media (CD, USB, or network image) and then partition the drive so that there is, at minimum, a primary partition of at least 2GB (2048MB). Then, you format the partition and copy files.

15. A. When Windows XP is first starting, pressing F8 brings up the Windows
Advanced Boot Options menu, which includes several options for Safe mode
(among other options). Ctrl brings up a special menu that contains only the
Safe mode options (not available in Windows Vista). When you enter Safe mode, the video driver is bypassed and only a simple VGA driver is loaded, allowing Bob to troubleshoot his video driver. (F5 also brings up the Windows
Advanced Boot Options menu on some systems.)

16. C. Microsoft releases many patches for its operating system and normally bundles these bug fixes together as service packs.

17. D. The MMC (Microsoft Management Console) is a blank shell until you add snap-ins (such as Computer Management) for functionality.

18. C. Windows Vista requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM for installation.
Microsoft recommends 1GB of RAM.

19. B. Laser printers use toner cartridges. Inkjet printers use ink cartridges. Dot matrix printers and Daisy Wheel printers use a ribbon.

20. C. The RJ-45 jack enables a connection to a twisted-pair (most likely
Ethernet) network.

21. C. The hard disk drive (HDD) stores data permanently on a magnetic disk even when the computer is off. When the computer is turned off, the RAM and processor are both cleared of data. The power supply has no data storage capabilities. 22. B. P1 is the connector used to connect an ATX power supply to an ATX motherboard.
The P1 connector might be 20-pin or 24-pin depending on the version of ATX. P8/P9 is an older standard used primarily with AT boards. Molex is a four-pin standard used to power such devices as hard drives. And Berg
(also called mini) is commonly known as a floppy drive connector..

23. A and B. Keyboards can connect to PS2 or USB ports. Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) slots are used by adapter cards such as video cards.
Parallel connections are legacy connections used by devices such as printers.

24. C. PC3200 is an example of Double Data Rate (DDR) RAM. SDRAM is an older, slower type of RAM (for example PC100 or PC133). RIMM is another name for RDRAM by the Rambus Corporation, which is uncommon. EEPROM is the chip that stores the BIOS on your motherboard.

25. B. PCI Express (PCIe) slots accept x1, x4, and x16 cards (pronounced “by sixteen”). PCI is an older expansion bus that can accept video cards but they have no particular designation like PCIe. AGP works with video cards but the cards are normally numbered as 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x (pronounced eight x). PCIX is used mostly in servers, for example with network adapters.

26. C. On Core 2 Duo, Quad, and Extreme systems, the memory controller is located within the chipset and is known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH).
On AMD systems and newer Intel systems, the memory controller is located
“on-die” meaning on the CPU.

27. D. The operating system should be contained within the master drive. By setting the jumper to master on the old drive and setting the jumper to slave on the new drive, Russ will accomplish that. Selecting any other setting listed above might result in problems booting to the operating system. Another option is to use the cable select jumper setting that will attempt to automatically configure the new drive as a slave. Note that this can only be done if the drive is equipped with that jumper setting.

28. B. During the writing of this book DVI (Digital Visual Interface) is the most common type of video connector on new video cards. VGA was the most common for many years previous to DVI. HDMI is more common on televisions, and Component Video is the least common.

29. A. USB would be the fastest connection for the external drive. Parallel external hard drives transmit data at a 10th of the speed. IDE is an internal technology
(whereas EIDE would be external). To date, there are no PS2 hard drives.

30. D. NTFS offers partition sizes of up to 2TB (with a theoretical maximum of
256TB). FAT32 is limited in the partition sizes it can accept; this amount is
32GB during installation, and 137GB otherwise. FAT and FAT16 are essentially the same thing and are limited to 2GB and 4GB partitions.

31. A. Back up data before making any changes to the computer. This way, if your changes affect the functionality of the system, you can always restore the data later. You should do this before making any changes to the software or
OS and before opening the computer.

32. C. Documentation is the final step in the troubleshooting process. This helps you to better understand and articulate exactly what the problem (and solution) was. If you see this problem in the future, you can consult your documentation for the solution. Plus, others on your team can do the same. In addition, it is common company policy to document all findings as part of a trouble ticket.

33. B. The POST (Power-On Self-Test) is part of the Basic Input Output System
(BIOS). It runs a self-check of the computer system during boot and stores many of the parameters of the components within the CMOS. EEPROM is a type of ROM chip on which the BIOS might reside. BIOS is known as firmware. 34. A and C. It is common to have an unseated RAM stick or video card. These are the most common culprits of beep codes during the POST. If the CPU is not installed properly, you might not even get any beep codes at all. And the
CD-ROM’s functionality has little bearing on the POST.

35. B. The Torx wrench is a special tool used to remove screws from the outside of a case; often, proprietary companies such as Compaq use these screws. It can also be used to remove screws (albeit smaller ones) from a laptop. The standard is the size T-10 Torx wrench.

36. A. Overclocking is the act of increasing your CPU’s operating speed beyond its normal rated speed.

37. C. Without the thermal compound applied, the processor might overheat after a few hours. If the CPU is not locked down, or is not properly seated, the PC will simply fail to boot. If the CPU is not compatible with the motherboard, either it will not fit the socket or the PC will not boot.

38. B. Always use an antistatic strap to avoid ESD (electrostatic discharge). Power tools and battery-operated tools such as cordless drills should be avoided.
Although multimeters and screwdrivers are tools you might use, they might not always be necessary, whereas the antistatic strap should always be worn.

39. A. The supervisor (or system) password is used so that only the technician can get into the BIOS (CMOS). The user password is used to password protect whatever operating system is running on the computer, but it does it from the firmware level. An “administrator” password is something used in
Windows, and a local password is something used in software.

40. A. Serial devices (and the port in general) are found less and less often on laptops.
(They are extinct on new laptops.) As these are the slowest (and bulkiest) devices, they have given way to external USB mice and the touchpad.
Even PS/2 mice are becoming increasingly rare

41. A. There is not enough room for a Type III PC Card and a Type I PC Card.
However, a single Type III PC Card will work in a laptop with two Type II PC
Card slots.

42. B. Most laptops either use PATA or SATA hard drive interfaces, which are collectively known as ATA devices.

43. A. The Fn (Function) key is used for a variety of things, including toggling between the built-in LCD screen and an external monitor/TV. The Fn key is usually blue and offers a sort of “second” usage for keys on the laptop

44. C. ntldr is the first file to be loaded from the hard drive when the computer is started, it is known as the boot loader. See the section titled “Files, File
Systems, and Disks” in Chapter 8, “Configuring Windows,” for more information.

45. B. Disk Management is a tool found in Computer Management and allows for the creation, deletion, and formatting of partitions and logical drives. To view this application, right-click My Computer and select Manage. Then click the
Disk Management icon.

46. A. Primary partitions are the first partitions created on a disk. An OS should always be installed to a primary partition, but before installing the OS, the primary partition should be set to active.

47. A. Windows XP needs only 64MB to be installed. Microsoft recommends more, but 64 is the bare minimum needed to run the system.

48. B. Upgrades can cause issues, worst of which is a loss of data. To protect against this, be sure to back up the important files before proceeding with the
OS upgrade

49. C. System resources such as IRQ settings and input/output address ranges are located in the Device Manager

50. A. By default, Windows XP (when first installed) analyzes the amount of RAM in the computer and sets the hard drive’s initial virtual memory size to 1.5 times that amount. Maximum size is set to 3 times RAM. So, for example, if a user has 1GB of RAM (1024MB), the initial virtual memory file (PAGEFILE.SYS) is 1.5GB (1536MB), and the maximum file size is 3GB (3072MB).