Exam Requirements Exam 220-301: A+ Core Hardware Study Test Questions 1.

Which of the following connector types has four connection points, or four wires? A. PS/2 B. USB C. DB-9 D. BNC Answer: B - The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has four connection points for a total of four wires. A PS/2 connector has 6 connectors or 6 wires. A serial connector has 9 pins or 9 wires. A BNC connector only has one wire which is solid copper. References: | A definition of USB | More info on USB | Windows & USB Architecture | 2. Which of the following is true about a DIMM? (Choose all that apply) A. A DIMM has a 32 bit path to the memory chips. B. DIMMs have to be installed in pairs C. DIMMs do not have to be installed in pairs D. A DIMM has a 64-bit path to the memory chips. Answer(s): C, D - Short for dual in-line memory module, a small circuit board that holds memory chips. A single in-line memory module (SIMM) has a 32-bit path to the memory chips whereas a DIMM has 64bit path. Because the Pentium processor requires a 64-bit path to memory, you need to install SIMMs two at a time. With DIMMs, you can install memory one DIMM at a time. References: | Dual Inline Memory Module | SIMM | SDRAM | DDR SDRAM | Hardware Guide | Memory Guide | 3. You install a second network adapter in your Windows 2000 Professional computer. The next day, your system won't startup. You try the Safe Mode advanced boot option. The computer starts but cannot see the C: drive. Which hardware component should you troubleshoot as the most likely reason the computer cannot startup except in Safe Mode? A. Hard disk B. The second network adapter

C. The Workstation service D. The registry Answer: A - Look at the hard disk because in Safe Mode mass storage drivers are automatically loaded. Since you cannot see the C: drive, it may have failed independent of the additional network adapter you installed the day before. The second network adapter is probably configured correctly, no doubt, because you had it working the day you installed it. The network adapters are not part of the Safe Mode boot option, so they would not be affecting the hard drive in Safe Mode. The system services are automatically running in Safe Mode, so Workstation service should not affect the hard drive problem. If you use Safe Mode to start your system, you can remove any devices that you think are causing the problem. You don't have to edit the registry to solve system restoration. 4. What is RAID 1? (Choose all that apply) A. Disk Striping with Parity B. Disk Mirroring C. Disk Striping D. Disk Duplexing Answer(s): B, D - 5 different RAID levels [ classifications of functionality ] have been defined. Each RAID level has it's advantages and dis-advantages. Disk Mirroring writes all data to two hard drives in sync, if one fails then you can swap. Disk Duplexing is the same as mirroring but there are two controllers so you can lose one controller and still run. Disk Striping is RAID 0. Disk striping divides data into 64K blocks and distributes evenly among all disks in an array. Provides no redundancy or fault tolerance. Disk Striping with Parity is RAID 5. Disk Striping with Parity supports three to 32 hard drives. You must allocate same amount of space on each hard drive. Divides data into 64K blocks and writes parity info evenly among all disks in an array. If one disk fails, enough parity info is written across other disks to recreate it. Parity stripe block is used to reconstruct data. If more than one disk fails, all data is lost. References: | PCGuide - Ref - RAID Levels | RAID Tutorial | Twincom - Overview of RAID Levels | The Software-RAID HOWTO: Why RAID ? | Hardware RAID | 5. You have just put a new PCI card into a system. It is conflicting with an older EISA card that is in the system. Both adapters appear to be trying to use IRQ11. What can you do to solve this problem?

A. Use winmsd.exe to reserve IRQ10 for devices that are not Plug and Play. B. Use winmsd.exe to reserve IRQ11 for devices that are not Plug and Play. C. Reboot the computer and edit the BIOS settings for the computer. Reserve IRQ11 for devices that are not Plug and Play. D. Reboot the computer and edit the BIOS settings for the computer. Reserve IRQ5 for devices that are not Plug and Play. Answer: C References: | PCI & IRQ Information | Resolving Hardware Conflicts | Winmsd.exe Info | 6. The Picture below shows a generic motherboard layout. Identify A, B, C, D, E, F

Answer: Click here to view answer References: | Motherboards | PC Hardware Explained | Toms Hardware Guide |

Do You Need To Build Your Own Computer? - > Go Here for the cheapest | best deals anywhere, anytime on the internet ! Get Parts, BareBones, Digital Accessories and much more. 7. Overdriving or doubling the clock speed of a processor only increases the speed of the CPU. A. TRUE B. FALSE Answer: A - Over-clocking or doubling is a method of forcing the processor to operate at a speed higher than the manufacturer rates it for. Over-clocking is not recommended, given the nature of the manufacturing process. Some CPUs will not function with needed reliability at higher speeds. The CPUs might exhibit unstable characteristics at higher speeds. Higher clock speeds also generate more heat in the processor and might cause it to fail prematurely. References: | Overclocking Guide | Extreme Overclocking | SysOpt.com Hardware Database | 8. Which of the following is true about CMOS & BIOS (Select all correct answers) A. CMOS stands for Complementary Metal Oxygen Sulphide B. The BIOS and CMOS are totally unrelated C. The BIOS is the Basic Input Output System. D. The BIOS can be configured with information about system components in the Setup screen that can be accessed during bootup. Answer(s): C, D - On startup, the BIOS tests the system and prepares the computer for operation by searching for system components and configuring memory to access the system hardware. It then loads the operating system and passes control to it. Usually the F1, F2,DEL keys are used to access the BIOS Setup. Because the BIOS is stored on a CMOS chip the Setup is also referred to the CMOS Setup 9. You just installed a new SCSI disk drive into an existing computer system. You set the SCSI ID of the new drive to 7. You cannot get the new SCSI drive to boot. What's the most likely cause? [Choose the best answer] A. The SCSI ID 7 is not valid. B. The drive is improperly terminated. C. The SCSI ID of the HBA is set to 7 by default. D. The drive is defective and must be replaced.

Answer: C - SCSI HBAs are often set to 7 by default. It's highly likely the drive and HBA are using the same SCSI ID. Over 80 percent of SCSI-related issues extend from SCSI ID conflicts and improper termination. The SCSI ID 7 is valid. Although the drive being improperly terminated is a valid cause, it isn't the most likely. It's also quite possible the drive is defective; however, today's drives offer mean times between failure (MTBF) of 200,000 hours and can withstand several Gforces during non-operation. Once again, this is not the most likely cause.NOTE: HBA - Short for Host Bus Adapter. An HBA is an I/O adapter that sits between the host computer's bus and the Fibre Channel loop and manages the transfer of information between the two channels. In order to minimize the impact on host processor performance, the host bus adapter performs many low-level interface functions automatically or with minimal processor involvement. 10. The system's front panel lights are active, the disk drive access light comes on, and no beep coded messages are produced. What is the most likely problem? A. Video monitor B. Memory chip C. System speaker lead is unplugged D. Video adapter Answer: C - If the system seems to be working correctly, this might mean that the speaker wire has come loose. Video adapters and memory chips will usually indicate error codes during the POST. Most PC POSTs will provide a series of beeps to indicate the status of the system as well as a picture or message on the screen. The table below shows the beep codes for system status provided by AMI, a leading manufacturer of BIOS chips, provides beep codes for system status, as shown below. Different BIOS makers might use different beep codes to indicate the results of the POST. Most BIOS manufacturers will provide this beep code either with the systems manual or on their respective Web sites. Most systems though, provide a single beep to indicate that the system has passed POST. CODE 1 beep 2 beeps 3 beeps 4 beeps 5 beeps DEFINITION DRAM refresh failure Memory Parity circuit failure Base 64K RAM failure System timer failure Processor failure

6 beeps 7 beeps 8 beeps 9 beeps 10 beeps 11 beeps 1 long beep, 2 short 1 long beep, 3 short 1 long beep, 8 short Continuous beeping

Keyboard controller gate A20 error Virtual mode exception error Display memory R/W test failure ROM-BIOS checksum failure CMOS checksum error. Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory. - Failure in the video system. - A failure has been detected in memory above 64K. - Display test failure - A problem with the memory or video.

11. Which of the following is stored in CMOS?" (Select all that apply) A. The drive type such as master or slave B. The number of cylinders and sectors C. The drive position on the cable D. The number of heads E. The capacity of the drive F. The speed of the drive Answer(s): A,B,D,E References: | Bios Survival Guide | 12. When you power on a computer what is the first diagnostic routine which runs? A. POST B. Diagnostics C. Motherboard Test D. Power good signal from the microprocessor timer chip. Answer: A - Every time a computer is switched on it performs a short diagnostic routine known as the POST, or Power On Self Test. The POST is a small program contained in the BIOS. It checks that basic hardware is present and performs a rudimentary memory test. The POST announces the results of its routine both audibly (a series of beeps on the PC speaker) and visually (displaying a brief summary or codes on the screen). The audible method is essential since a fault may exist with the graphics card or monitor. If all is well, the computer typically emits

a single beep and carries on booting. The number and duration of the beeps is intended as a coded message and understanding them will allow you to diagnose any problems the computer may have. References: | The Boot Process | Computer Post / Beep codes | Your PC's Bios Explained | Inside the Boot Process, Part 1 | Inside the Boot Process, Part 2 | The Boot Process - Windows XP | Installing and Starting Windows 98 | PC Power Supply Failure Diagnostics - ATX Computer Power Supply Troubleshooting and Repair | PC Hell: BIOS Error Beep Codes | 13. How would you find out if an external modem has been detected and installed correctly in Windows 98/98SE A. Check the modems properties B. Check the Windows 98/98SE device conflict table C. Check the DMA D. Check the port IRQ Answer: A - If your modem is detected by Windows 98/98 Second Edition, verify that the installed driver is the correct driver for your modem. To do this, click Start, point to Settings , click Control Panel , and then double-click Modems . Verify that the modem that is listed on the General tab is the correct modem. 14. NICs are used to connect workstations to servers or workstations to workstations. A. True B. False Answer: A 15. USB stands for A. Universal Serial Bus B. Universal System BiosReference: C. Universal Standard Bus D. Universal System Bus Answer: A