A+ Essentials 601 Test 1
1. Which of the following choices is part of the definition of a personal computer?
a. A device that is not usable by itself
b. A device whose only function is to access a group computer
c. A device made up of distinct components that all function together
d. A device that can be carried in a pocket for mobile use

2. Which of the following is not a common component found on a motherboard?
a. CPU
b. HDD
c. RAM
d. BIOS

3. Which of the following motherboard form factors is not a standard?
a. ATX
b. microATX
c. BTX
d. LPX

4. Which of the following motherboard form factors uses a riser card?
a. BTX
b. ATX
c. LPX
d. microATX

5. All of the following statements about chipsets are true except:
a. By definition, a chipset is always made up of two or more chips and related circuitry.
b. Chipset functionality is divided into Northbridge and Southbridge.
c. The same manufacturer creates all chips in a chipset.
d. A chipset assists the CPU in its interface and peripheral functions.

6. Which of the following is the pathway over which communication between the processor and memory occurs?
a. Northbridge
b. Southbridge
c. Frontside bus
d. Backside bus

7. All of the following are expansion slots except:
a. ISA
b. PCI
c. AGP
d. IDE

8. What is the primary function of an expansion card inserted in an AGP slot?
a. NIC
b. FireWire
c. Video
d. Audio

9. Which of the following slots is the longest?
a. 1XPCIe
b. AGP
c. CNR
d. PCI

10. Memory slots on a motherboard are for
a. Memory modules
b. Memory chips
c. Insertion of the CPU to gain access to the system memory
d. Cables that connect from the memory to the CPU

11. Which of the following is not a common pin count for DIMMs?
a. 168
b. 184
c. 196
d. 240

12. Which of the following statements regarding cache memory is true?
a. Because cache stores what the CPU uses, there must be at least 10 times more cache than RAM.
b. Because cache is placed closer to the CPU than RAM is, cache can be made slower than RAM.
c. SDRAM is used for cache because of its speed.
d. Cache is used to store what the CPU has needed from RAM most recently and what the cache controller predicts is needed next.

13. Which of the following CPU/socket pairings is incorrect?
a. Pentium 200MHz: Socket 7
b. Pentium II: Socket 1
c. Pentium 4: Socket 478
d. Itanium: PAC4I8

14. Which of the following statements about on board drive interfaces is true?
a. Onboard refers to the fact that the controller electronics are built into the hard drive.
b. Black 40-pin connectors are for PATA, and blue 40-pin connectors are for SATA.
c. SATA connectors have more pins than FDD connectors.
d. The technology behind the interface could be ATA or SCSI.

15. When you remove the cover of your computer s case, you find that your video interface is attached to the motherboard without a cable. What is this method of attachment called?
a. Header connection
b. Perma-mount
c. Direct-solder
d. Fixed attachment

16. All of the following statements about the BIOS are true except:
a. If the BIOS does not know about a piece of hardware, the operating system will likely require a device driver for the hardware.
b. The BIOS is generally implemented as a removable chip or a flashable component.
c. The BIOS is responsible for the primary POST process.
d. Once the BIOS passes control to the operating system, it essentially goes to sleep until the next boot.

17. What is the term for Intel's technology that allows a single processor to appear to be two processors to the operating system?
a. Hyperthreading
b. Symmetric multiprocessing
c. Split microcode
d. Dual processing

18. Which of the following is an accurate representation of microcode?
a. A microcode instruction is an application instruction that is half the length of a normal application instruction.
b. Programmers can write applications with smaller file sizes by using microcode.
c. Microcode is the trade name for all instructions in software written by Microsoft.
d. One instruction in the code of an application may result in multiple microcode instructions.

19. Which of the following best describes parity checking?
a. An error-checking scheme for RAM
b. An error-checking and -correction scheme for RAM
c. Matching colors between the monitor and the printer
d. Matching the configured borders to those of the printed page

20. All of the following are differences between DRAM and SRAM except:
a. SRAM is generally more expensive per quantity than DRAM.
b. SRAM is generally faster and more responsive than DRAM.
c. SRAM requires periodic refreshing, and DRAM does not.
d. SRAM is generally used for cache, whereas DRAM is used for standard RAM.

21. All of the following statements about DDR2 SDRAM are accurate except:
a. DDR2 suffers from more latency than does DDR.
b. The chips on the DDR2 module are named based on the perceived clock rate.
c. DDR2 generates more heat than DDR because it is twice as fast and uses the same voltage.
d. The throughput of DDR is four times that of SDR SDRAM at the same clock rate.

22. Which of the following statements about primary memory modules is not true?
a. If you use memory rated at a frequency that is lower than that of the FSB, performance will be suboptimal.
b. Double-sided memory modules are required to satisfy two banks at a time.
c. A SIMM and a DIMM are not interchangeable.
d. When upgrading memory, you must satisfy entire banks at a time.

23. Which of the following statements about SoDIMMs and MicroDIMMs is not true?
a. MicroDIMMs are smaller but plug into the same slots.
b. They are used in small-scale applications, such as for laptops.
c. Both come in a 144-pin version.
d. Both come in a 64-bit version.

24. Which of the following statements about CDROM drives and discs is true?
a. A standard CD-ROM disc can hold up to 4.7GB of data.
b. The original CD-ROM drives transferred data at a rate of 150KBps.
c. A 52X CD-ROM drive spins the disc 52 times faster than the original drives.
d. With the proper software, you can bum data to a CD-ROM disc.

25. Which of the following is not a memory card format?
a. MicroCard
b. SD
c. SmartMedia
d. Memory Stick

26. Which of the following items is not commonly found on an external USB-attached hard disk drive?
a. A place to insert disks
b. A Type-B USB interface
c. A DC power input
d. A power switch

27. How are power supplies rated for comparison of load capacity?
a. Ohms
b. Amps
c. Watts
d. Volts

28. All of the following apply to AT system connectors, except:
a. There are two connectors with five pins each.
b. The connectors are known as P8 and P9.
c. When inserting the connectors into the motherboard, you must take care to place grounds adjacent to each other.
d. The connectors are keyed to prevent flipping them 180 degrees.

29. Which of the following is the least amount of video memory listed that is capable of supporting 1024 x 768 resolution using 32-bit color?
a. 1MB
b. 2MB
c. 4MB
d. 16MB

30. Which of the following video technologies offers the highest quality?
a. S-video
b. Composite video
c. Component video
d. EGA

31. Which adapter card is most likely to have an empty ROM socket and a modular connector?
a. Video
b. Sound
c. NIC
d. Super I/O

32. All of the following statements about USB are true except:
a. USB 1.1 supports data rates of up to 12MBps.
b. USB 2.0 supports data rates of up to 60MBps.
c. USB 2.0 requires better shielding for its cables.
d. USB 1.1 and 2.0 connectors are identical.

33. What is historically the most common use for a Centronics connector?
a. Networking
b. Video
c. Sound
d. Printer

34. With USB cabling, all of the following statements help you to know the type of connector a device is likely to require except:
a. Type B connectors face the component.
b. For ease of connectivity, as well as plug-and-play support, USB cables have the same type of connector on each end of the cable.
c. USB hubs appear to be the system to the component and appear to be the component to the system.
d. Type A connectors face the system.

35. What normally happens when the lower temperature threshold set in the BIOS routine for the CPU is reached?
a. The system shuts down to prevent damage to components.
b. The operating system goes into standby mode to avoid damage to components.
c. An alarm sounds, indicating that the CPU and surrounding components are in imminent danger.
d. The system administrator is paged and an e-mail is sent.

36. Which of the following is true regarding modem Ultra DMA drives?
a. Due to interference caused by the additional 40 wires of an 80-wire cable, performance is increased by using a standard 40-wire cable.
b. These drives do not require master/slave designations.
c. They cannot be used when standard IDE devices are installed.
d. The BIOS should not be configured for DMA or PIO when using these drives.

37. All of the following are considerations with SCSI except:
a. One device must be set as master. All others must be set as slaves.
b. Each device on the bus must have a unique configurable address.
c. Two devices must be terminated.
d. In certain cases, active termination is preferred or required over passive termination.

38. Which of the following statements about SCSI is not true?
a. The lower the address, the higher the device's priority on the bus.
b. If you have a bus with 8 addresses, you can chain a maximum of 4 such buses to obtain 32 addresses.
c. It is common practice that the primary hard disk be set to address 0.
d. A SCSI hard drives onboard BIOS is required for booting to the disk.

39. In attempting to take the front faceplate off of a computer, you meet with considerable resistance. What should you do?
a. Using a flat-blade screwdriver, gently pry the faceplate from the chassis.
b. Turn off the computer's power, and the faceplate latch will release automatically.
c. Faceplates cannot be removed from the chassis.
d. Remove the case cover, and look for one or more screws in the chassis that are holding the faceplate in place.

40. When using compressed air, all of the following are considerations except:
a. Compressed air is usually impure and can leave heavy deposits on electronic
components.
b. Inverting the can may blow refrigerant onto the components.
c. Canned compressed air can be expensive.
d. When used in the wrong environment, compressed air can cause dust to enter ventilation systems and contaminate other computers.

41. What is one of the primary differences between measuring current and voltage with a multimeter?
a. The positive and negative probes must be reversed with respect to one another.
b. You cannot measure both with the same type of multimeter.
c. To measure voltage, you must place the multimeter in series with the circuit. Current is measured in parallel.
d. To measure current, you must place the multimeter in series with the circuit. Voltage is measured in parallel.

42. When troubleshooting, which of the following statements best describes how to handle testing multiple solutions?
a. Because there may be multiple issues causing the problem, try all combinations of potential solutions simultaneously until the problem is resolved.
b. If an attempt at a remedy does not resolve the problem, revert to the previous state before trying anything else.
c. Because the customer is most familiar with the symptoms of the problem, present options and their expected outcomes so that the customer can suggest where to start.
d. Implement all possible solutions to the particular problem and then back them out, one by one, until the problem reoccurs. Add the solution back, and remove all other attempted fixes.

43. All of the following are examples of common causes of motherboard damage except:
a. Physical trauma
b. Short circuiting
c. ESD
d. Overheating

44. Which of the following options results in the most cost-effective solution for a standard keyboard with sticking keys?
a. Purchase the most inexpensive keyboard cleaning solvent, and meticulously clean the component.
b. Submerge the entire keyboard in clean water for 30 minutes, scrub the crevices, submerge it again, and then let it air dry.
c. Remove the keys and soak them in water, and use an alcohol-dipped swab to clean all other areas.
d. Purchase a new keyboard.

45. What is the term that refers to the repeated heating and cooling of internal components, causing them to become unseated over time and lead to intermittent failures?
a. Convection reaction
b. Card wander
c. Chip creep
d. Heat cycling

46. Which of the following is one of the biggest differences between laptop and desktop computers?
a. Similar internal components function differently.
b. Laptops have increased heat production.
c. External components connect differently.
d. Laptops are considerably less expensive to produce.

47. What is a micro-FCBGA?
a. A miniaturized video standard
b. A motherboard form factor
c. A processor form factor and attachment standard
d. A laptop computer model

48. Which of the following statements is true?
a. All laptops have an internal floppy drive.
b. Some laptops have a universal drive bay that accepts a floppy drive or a CD/DVD drive.
c. All laptops have an internal CD or DVD drive.
d. All laptops have a connector for external floppy attachment.

49. With respect to the keyboard on a laptop, which of the following statements is most likely true?
a. The key layout and size of the keys and keyboard are similar to those of a standard keyboard.
b. A special key needs to be held down while another key is pressed to access certain functions that have their own key on a standard keyboard.
c. Because the keys on a laptop keyboard are smaller, all the standard keys are present, in addition to special keys.
d. The functionality of a laptop keyboard is highly inferior to that of a standard keyboard.

50. Which PC Card type is most commonly used for modems and LAN adapters?
a. Type I.
b. Type II.
c. Type III.
d. These devices cannot be implemented on PC Cards.

51. Which of the following is not a form of communication connectivity commonly found on laptops?
a. Cellular
b. Microwave
c. Infrared
d. Bluetooth

52. What is the name of the specification that hands control over power management to the operating system?
a. SoftPower
b. APC
c. WinPower
d. ACPI

53. Which of the following is likely to be the most commonly removed or inserted internal laptop component, often involving removing one or more screws?
a. Hard drive
b. Memory
c. Sound card
d. CD/DVD drive

54. All of the following statements about video troubleshooting on laptops are legitimate except:
a. Check the brightness level on the internal display, just as you would on an external monitor.
b. Make sure to check all three modes: LCD only, external only, and both, before assuming the internal display is bad.
c. If the laptop has a backlight feature, try to turn it on, especially in dim environments.
d. If neither the internal display nor an external monitor works, replacing the internal display should fix both problems.

55. Which of the following is the fundamentally most important type of software on a computer?
a. Word processor
b. E-mail and messaging
c. Payroll and financial
d. Operating system

56. What is the meaning of the term shell with respect to operating systems?
a. A front for an application to distract hackers and make it harder to gain access.
b. A program that runs on top of the operating system to provide a custom or friendlier interface that the operating system does not provide.
c. A fragile application that collapses frequently, leaving a mess for the operating system to clean up.
d. A portal from one application, through the operating system, to another application.

57. All of the following are operating systems in a rivalry with Windows except:
a. Mac OS X
b. Unix
c. Datacenter
d. Linux

58. Which of the following represent the recommended RAM and available hard disk space, respectively, to run Red Hat Linux 8.0 Professional?
a. 192MB; 4.5GB
b. 256MB; 4GB
c. 128MB; 3.5GB
d. 384MB;5.25GB

59. What does an arrow to the right of an item in the Start menu represent?
a. Clicking the item launches a separate application.
b. Double-clicking the item attempts to link to a related web page.
c. The item has a submenu that is displayed by hovering over the item.
d. Help for the item is launched.

60. Looking through the items in the All Programs list in XP, you notice that a couple of them appear to be highlighted. What does this mean?
a. They are newly installed.
b. Windows will archive these items in less than 24 hours.
c. The items are not fully Windows-compatible. You should use caution when executing these items.
d. The software publishers paid advertising dollars to Microsoft to have their products highlighted in Windows.

61. You delete an icon with an arrow in the bottom-left corner from your Desktop. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. The icon was a shortcut to the actual program, which is untouched and remains executable.
b. The icon was a shortcut to the actual program, which is deleted as well.
c. The icon was the actual executable, which is now completely removed from the hard drive.
d. Deleting the icon partially removed the related application from the hard drive, making it difficult to properly remove the remainder.

62. All of the following statements about the Recycle Bin are true except:
a. The icon of an empty Recycle Bin differs from that of a Recycle Bin with something in it.
b. Any file or folder deleted from any location is sent to the Recycle Bin.
c. The Recycle Bin holds deleted files from the hard disk so they can be restored if necessary.
d. Items in the Recycle Bin can be restored until the Recycle Bin is emptied.

63. Which one of the following methods does not close an open window?
a. Double-click the Control box in the upper-left corner of the window.
b. Click the X button in the upper-right corner of the window.
c. Double-click the title bar.
d. Press Alt-F4 while the window is active.

64. Double-clicking which of the following icons in Control Panel has the same effect as right-clicking My Computer and then clicking Properties?
a. System
b. Network Connections
c. Display
d. Taskbar and Start Menu

65. Which of the following methods leads to being able to change the name by which a computer is known on the network?
a. Click the Change button in the Computer Name page of System Properties.
b. Right-click My Computer, and click Rename.
c. Click My Computer, wait a couple of seconds, click My Computer again, enter the new name, and press Enter.
d. In Device Manager. right-click the computer name at the top of the tree, and click Rename.

66. Under which tab in System Properties do you change virtual memory settings, adjust how resources are allocated to the processor, configure user profiles, and adjust startup and recovery settings?
a. System Restore
b. General
c. Hardware
d. Advanced

67. When a user attempts to invite you to provide remote assistance, the following message pops up: "Your current system settings prevent you from sending an invitation." What should you have the user do to enable this capability?
a. Use the original XP distribution disc to install this feature.
b. Download this feature for free from Microsoft's website.
c. This is a third-party utility that must he purchased from the publisher.
d. Check the box in the Remote Assistance section under the Remote page in System Properties.

68. Which pair of terms is used most often when discussing the Registry?
a. Tree; branch
b. Hive; key
c. Record; field
d. Parent; child

69. Which of the following best describes virtual memory?
a. Using an Internet service as a network share to augment local disk storage
b. Using RAM to create a RAM drive
c. The operating system's technique of stacking two bits in locations that normally store only one
d. The use of the hard drive to supplement RAM

70. Which of the following describes the NTLDR system file?
a. Starts the loading of the operating system
b. A text file that points to the partitions where one or more operating systems are installed
c. The core of the operating system that must remain loaded at all times, never being paged to disk
d. Parses the system for current configuration information as the operating system starts, and creates the dynamic portion of the Registry

71. Which of the following describes the NTDETECT. COM system file?
a. Starts the loading of the operating system
b. A text file that points to the partitions where one or more operating systems are installed
c. The core of the operating system that must remain loaded at all times, never being paged to disk
d. Parses the system for current configuration information as the operating system starts and creates the dynamic portion of the Registry

72. What can be found on a memory module?
a. Other memory modules
b. Cable headers
c. Memory chips
d. Firmware

73. Which one of the following is not a difference between primary and extended partitions?
a. You can assign multiple drive letters to an extended partition but only one to a primary partition.
b. Only primary partitions can be made active and used for booting.
c. Generally speaking, a single physical drive can have more primary partitions than extended partitions.
d. You can assign a single drive letter to a primary partition, but an extended partition requires multiple drive letters.

74. Which of the following is the primary method for a Microsoft operating system to track the purpose of a file?
a. A specific extension is added to the file's name.
b. The icon assigned to the file denotes its purpose.
c. All files of a specific purpose are grouped together in the same folder.
d. Windows writes a header to the beginning of each file, tracking its purpose and other variable information.

75. Which of the following is recommended by Microsoft to be higher for the installation of Windows 2000 Professional than for the installation of Windows XP Professional?
a. Memory
b. Free hard disk space
c. Processor model
d. Video standard

76. What is an unattended installation?
a. An installation where a Windows expert talks a novice through the installation process remotely
b. An installation that is pushed to the computer from an SMS server
c. An installation that uses an answer file so that no human intervention is required
d. A direct image copy using only Sysprep

77. After you install Windows XP, what must be done within 30 days in order to continue using it?
a. You must fill out the warranty registration card and send it in to Microsoft with the original UPC symbol.
b. You must install SP2 and all patches up to a minimum level to avoid contamination from the Internet, or your system will disable itself for protection.
c. XP must be activated online or by phone with Microsoft.
d. You must reboot the system at least once.

78. From which of the following operating systems must you run WINNT. EXE and not WINNT32.EXE to perform a clean Windows XP installation?
a. Windows 3.1
b. Windows 98
c. Windows 95
d. Windows Me

79. All of the following are reasons to use Task Manager except:
a. Stopping an unresponsive application
b. Finding out how much your hard drives are fragmented
c. Finding out which processes are using the CPU the most
d. Finding out how much memory and virtual memory is being used

80. Which function key, when pressed at the appropriate time during boot-up, presents you with advanced startup options?
a. Fl
b. F5
c. F8
d. F12

81. What is the term that refers to the frequent disk access, which is accompanied by degraded system performance and that is caused by a full or corrupt swap file?
a. Foundering
b. Thunking
c. Thrashing
d. Battering

82. All of the following are functions of a printer driver except:
a. Uses a page-description language to convert print jobs into a format for the printer
b. Ensures that the printer is ready to print
c. Changes the way on-screen documents appear once the output device is selected
d. Sends information to the printer

83. How does the writing step in the EP print process place the image on the photosensitive drum?
a. Light reflects off of the original image in varying intensities onto the drum.
b. A corona wire scribes the image onto the drum.
c. Electrodes inside the drum create the image through the wall of the drum.
d. The uniform -600VDC charge is reduced to -400VDC wherever the image lies.

84.All of the following are printer communication methods except:
a. IEEE 1284
b. IEEE8O2.11
c. IEEE 1394
d. IEEE 802.1D

85. All of the following components are part of the scanning head of a scanner except:
a. CCD or CIS
b. Light source
c. Stepper motor
d. Mirrors

86. When working with printers and scanners, what term refers to synchronizing the device's perception with its results'?
a. Regulation
b. Adjustment
c. Tuning
d. Calibration

87. While troubleshooting a paper-feed jam problem with a page printer, you confirm that the drive gear is operating smoothly, but jams still occur regularly. Which of the following is another possible problem that can cause paper-feed jams?
a. Worn feed rollers
b. Worn exit rollers
c. Damaged drum
d. Dry paper

88. All of the following are possible solutions when a scanner fails to scan except:
a. Reposition the object being scanned.
b. Check the scanning-head lock.
c. Check the power.
d. Do nothing, and try again.

89. In which type of network do devices request and offer services simultaneously, with no devices defined for specialized access from others?
a. Non-dedicated network
b. Peer-to-peer network
c. Client-server network
d. Local area network

90. Which IEEE working group specifies the media access method for Ethernet, and what is the media access method called?
a. 802.3; CSMA/CD
b. 802.5; token-passing ring
c. 802.1; CSMA/CA
d. 802.11; wireless networks

91. Which of the following protocols is not routable?
a. IP
b. IPX  
c. AppleTalk (DDP)
d. NetBEUI

92. How many bits make up a complete IPX address?
a. 32
b. 48
c. 64
d. 80

93. Which class of IP addresses can be identified by a first-octet value ranging from 192 to 223?
a. Class A
b. Class B
c. Class C
d. Class D

94. Cat-x is a common reference used for what type of transmission medium?
a. Coaxial
b. Twisted pair
c. Fiber
d. Wireless

95. Among the following, which is the slowest Internet connection?
a. POTS
b. ISDN
c. DSL
d. DOCSIS (cable)

96. How does full-duplex transmission differ from half-duplex?
a. Full-duplex requires more cabling than half-duplex.
b. With full-duplex, transmission can occur in only one direction for full use of the bandwidth by one device.
c. With full-duplex, transmission can occur in both directions, but in only one direction at a time.
d. With full-duplex, transmission can occur in both directions simultaneously.

97. How does a worm differ from a virus?
a. A worm is self-contained and can reproduce itself. A virus relies on a host application and spreads through human interaction.
b. A virus is harmless, and a worm is destructive.
c. A worm burrows deeper into an application than a virus does.
d. Only viruses affect personal computer workstations. Worms affect larger systems, including some personal computer based servers.

98. Which of the following terms is not directly related to wireless security?
a. WTLS
b. WLAN
c. WEP
d. WPA

99. All of the following are sound environmental considerations for a computer except:
a. Cover open slots in the back of the chassis with blank brackets.
b. Do not expose the computer to harmful fumes or substances, especially anything airborne that can leave a residue.
c. In less acceptable environments, place the computer in an airtight enclosure to avoid contaminants.
d. Use your own tolerance to temperature extremes o gauge if the computer should be exposed to a given temperature or climate.

100. If a customer accuses you of being the source of the problem, which of the following is the best course of action?
a. Protect your company at all costs. The company is your bread and butter and must not come into question.
b. Without actually accusing the customer of any wrongdoing before it is proven, attempt to equalize the situation by getting the customer to take some of the blame as well.
c. Keep your cool and do not take things personally. The customer is reacting to a stressful situation.
d. Escalate the incident to someone that can handle the abuse.