Post Exam Thoughts
For the A+ exams, I self-studied using the David Groth A+ Certification Kit (First Edition). These books contain the necessary information to pass the exams, but they have many errors and are very simplistic. They seem like they were written for an " Introduction to Computers " class, not for someone serious about PC Repair. If you are going to use these books make sure you get the "Update" from the Sybex website before you start reading them. This update corrects most of the errors. For the new Windows 95 version of the A+ exams, I would skip these books altogether because they also contain very little info on Windows 95. I know that the Coriolis Group , the makers of fine MCSE study guides have just released a new Exam Cram and Exam Prep for the new A+ exams. Also, the A+ Certification Exam Guide by Michael Myers is supposed to be excellent. While I have not yet read these books, I have heard from others that they are all quite good. Please follow the above links to be taken to Amazon's reviews of these books.
For practice testing, I used the questions posted here below. Some of
these questions were available on the Internet and some of them are straight
off my exams, but all of them are either exactly the same as my exam questions
or VERY similar. I also used
Philip Evans study questions which are free for download from his web
site. His questions are also an excellent study tool. If you're interested
in purchasing some practice exams you might want to have a look at the
new
A+
Certification: Test Yourself Practice Exams. If you're looking for
more great A+, MCSE and CNE links, please visit my Certification
Page.
These exams are not too tough, so don't sweat it. I got my CNA and MCSE
before doing the A+, but I would definitely recommend doing the A+ first,
as it is easier and will provide you with a solid foundation with PC's
before moving on to the more technical stuff. There was a lot of overlap
in both of these exams and the Core exam was definitely the harder of the
two. Probably, 70% of the Core exam is listed below and 90% of the DOS/Windows
exam so know these questions well and you should have no trouble. However,
I wrote the DOS/WIN 3.x version of the A+ exams so make sure you are also
familiar with the basics of Win 95 and Networking for the new exams. From
what others have told me many of the questions I have posted below are
still appearing on the new exams. Also, check out the new braindumps below which are all based on the new A+ exams
. I thank these people for taking their time to help others by discussing their own exam experiences and advice. After
you pass your exams please do the same by mailing me your
own exam tips and experiences, or post them directly on my A+
Message Board. I'll try and post your submissions within two days of
receiving them. Anyways, best of luck on your quest for certification
!!
News 
Neil's A+ Braindump Site was recently written about in the A+ Test Yourself: Personal Testing Center study guide published by Syngress Media. In chapter 5, titled " The A+ Most Wanted List " the author states this site is... " the absolute best site I found for the A+ exam..."
Quick Links
A+ Message Board- see what others are saying about the A+ exams
Neil's Certification Page- links to other A+, MCSE and CNE pages
CramSession.Com- great cram notes for A+ and all of the other various certification exams
Examnotes.net- comprehensive Certification Site with good A+ exam notes and online tests
Learnthat.com- great tutorials on the most tested exam topics
Mark's A+ study page- nice new A+ site
Aplus Omega- good online A+ exams
A+ Study Guides
A+ Certification Exam Guide by Michael Meyers
Exam Cram by James Jones and Craig Landes
Exam Prep by Jean Andrews
A+ Certification Training Guide by Microsoft Press
A+ Certification for Dummies Guide by Ron Gilster
A+ Fast Track: Core + Windows Exam by Scott Berkel and John Alumbaugh
A+ Simulation Exams ( These practice exams must be purchased )
The Braindumps- what ya came for !
John's A+ Braindump (submitted on June 10)
Paul's A+ Braindump (submitted on May 27)
Bob's A+ Braindump (submitted on April 14)
Jason's A+ Braindump (submitted on October 28th)
Steve's A+ Braindump (submitted on October 2nd)
Iain's A+ Braindump(submitted on October 1st)
Hooo's A+ Braindump(submitted on September 5th)- Braindump extraordinaire !!
Hooo's Network+ Braindump(submitted on August 25)
Mai's
A+ Braindump (submitted on August 12)
Anonymous A+ Braindump ( added August 12 )
Richard's
A+ Braindump (submitted on July 30th)
Keith's A+ Braindump (submitted on August 21st)
Martin's A+ Braindump (submitted on September 23rd)
Shane's A+ Braindump (submitted on October 6th)
AF's
A+ Braindump (submitted on October 29th)
New questions added
below on August 3rd. Many thanks to Gary and Nancy R. for these new submissions.
To
download this file in MS Word format click here
Note: Answers are denoted with an asterisk " * "
You just bought a new video card. What is an important question to answer before installing ?
a) CPU speed
b) Type of bus
*c) Available IRQ's
d) Monitor type
How long should you wait for the CRT to discharge before opening the case?
a) A few seconds
b) A few minutes
c) 30 minutes
d) 60 minutes or more
What's the difference between ESD and EMI ?
a) ESD is recoverable
b) ESD does not cause damage
*c) EMI is recoverable
d) EMI does not cause damage
To clean plastic covers you should use: (choose 2)
*a) All purpose cleaner
b) Denatured Alcohol
*c) Damp cloth
d) Anti-Static spray
When servicing a dot matrix printer, which component gets very hot ?
a) Paper feeder
b) Drive Chassis
*c) Printhead
d) Timing Belt
The fan in the power supply has a bad bearing. How should you service it ?
a) Disconnect fan
b) Replace bearing
c) Replace fan
*d) Replace power supply
What commands could you use to find and repair fragmented data?
a) F-Disk
*b) Scandisk
c) Smartdrive
*d) Chkdsk /F
What tool would you use to properly discharge the CRT ?
a) Insulated pliers
b) DVM
c) Logic probe
*d) High voltage probe
What would you use to clean the printhead on a dot-matrix printer ?
a) All-purpose cleaner
b) Soapy water
*c) Denatured Alcohol
d) Tequila
What action will enable more applications to run simultaneously?
a) Add larger hard drive
b) Increase size of Pagefile
c) Upgrade CPU
*d) Add RAM
Which is both a 16 and 32 bit bus?
a) ISA
*b) EISA
c) PCI
d) PowerPC
The following symbol is used to indicate what ?
(symbol for SCSI)
CORE MODULE
Which DOS driver is used to emulate expanded memory?
a) Himem.sys
*b) EMM386.exe
c) Mem386.sys
d) Ramdrive.sys
Which is LEAST likely to interfere with upgrading to a newer DOS version?
a) ROM BIOS
*b) Video controller
c) Compressed drives
d) Existing backup files
Which is the easiest component to enviromentally recycle?
a) Motherboards
b) CMOS batteries
*c) Toner cartridges
d) Cathode ray tubes
Which step should you perform first before discharging a CRT?
a) Remove the CRT from its housing
b) Disconnect the CRT from the computer
c) Remove the video assembly
*d) Turn power off before removing power source
ESD damage can be caused by:
*a) Placing an IC in a non-conductive plastic bag
b) Placing an IC on a grounded mat
c) Repeated sags in current supplied from outlets
d) Touching metal on the chasis
Which items provide the most protection against ESD during troubleshooting (choose two)
a) Grounding wire
*b) Anti-static mat
c) Anti-static brush
*d) ESD grounding wrist strap
In the Binary numbering system, a (1) represents a jumper being shorted and a (0) represents a jumper being open. On a three-bit jumper block on a SCSI drive, how would an ID of logical 3 be set?
a) 100
b) 010
*c) 011
d) 101
To avoid ESD when working on a PC: (choose two)
*a) Assure that you and the PC are at the same electrical charge level
b) Connect a grounding wire from the PC to a non-conductor
c) Connect your grounding wrist strap to the PC's logic board
*d) Use anti-static spray liberally
ESD potential decreases with the use of:
a) De-ionizing fans
*b) A wrist strap
c) Rubber gloves with matching cap
d) A static meter
A wrist grounding strap contains which of the following:
a) Surge protector
b) Capacitor
c) Voltmeter
*d) Resistor
Which of the following items would require you to comply with EPA disposal guidelines?
a) Keyboard
b) System board
c) Power supply
*d) Battery
What is the best ground for a conductive work bench?
*a) AC outlet
b) Ground to bend
c) To another device
d) Chassis ground
One of the major components of a PC is the Central Procesing Unit (CPU)
which can be best described as:
a) The device that sends the monitor signals telling it what to display
b) The area that regulates all of the system power usage
c) The area where all the of the Basic input/output routines are stored
*d) The area where all of the processing takes place
IBM's Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) specifies which type of the following bit access widths?
a) 8 bit & 16 bit
b) 16 bit & 24 bit
*c) 16 bit & 32 bit
d) 32 bit & 64 bit
Which type of system board is the MOST likely candidate for processor upgrading if you want maximum performance and future compatibility?
a) ML
*b) PCI
c) ISA
d) EISA
A PC with a 486DX2 processor runs internally at 50Mhz. What speed would its external logic be running?
a) 10Mhz
*b) 25Mhz
c) 50Mhz
d) 100 Mhz
A hard disk is divided into tracks which are further subdivided into:
a) clusters
*b) sectors
c) vectors
d) heads
What is the highest binary number that can be referred to on a three position jumper block?
a) 4
b) 6
c) F
*d) 7
TWO primary performance restraints for mass storage devices are:
a) Storage ability
b) Driver aceleration
*c) Disk Access Time
d) Route mobility
*e) Rate of transfer
Which provides the fastest access to large video files?
a) Optical drives
b) IDE hard drives
*c) SCSI hard drives
d) EIDE hard drives
When connecting two internal SCSI hard disks to a computer, where do you connect the second hard drive?
*a) Any open SCSI port on the computer
b) A Serial port on the first host adapter
c) An open parallel port on the computer
d) An open SCSI port on the first hard drive
Which of the following statements is true?
a) Two SCSI devices connected to a computer can have the same ID if they are both hard drives.
*b) Each SCSI device must have its own ID
c) All SCSI devices must have the same ID
d) SCSI ID's are irrelevant
When installing a SCSI CD-ROM drive, you must set the CD-ROM SCSI adapter to:
a) B0007
*b) An unused SCSI address
c) The same address as the SCSI device before the CD-ROM
d) SCSI ID=1
Which provides the fastest data access time?
*a) RAM
b) ROM
c) CD-ROM
d) Hard disk
e) Floppy disk
What does the CPU do? (choose all that apply)
a) Control power voltages
*b) Execute program instructions
c) Dictate video resolution
*d) Perform math functions
*e) Control input/output operations
Which controller would support an external CD-ROM drive?
a) ESDI
b) ARLL
c) MFM
*d) SCSI
What specification covers PC hard cards?
a) SCSI
b) ISA
*c) PCMCIA
d) MFM
A Type 1 PCMCIA card is:
a) The same physical size as other PCMCIA cards but configured differently
*b) The thinnest PCMCIA card, measuring 3.5mm in thickness
c) The thickest PCMCIA card, measuring 10.5mm in thickness
d) An old standard that is not compatible with the newest laptops
In ROM BIOS, the acronym BIOS stands for:
a) Basic Intuitive Output Set
b) Basic Input Organizational System
*c) Basic Input Output System
d) Basic Industry Operating System
Which would you have to upgrade to install an EIDE drive?
a) RAM BIOS
b) A 286 CPU
c) Serial board
d) ISA motherboard
*e) Controller board
When is the risk for electrostatic discharge the greatest?
a) Day time
b) High humidity
*c) Low humidity
d) Night time
ESD would cause the most damage to which component?
a) Power supply
*b) Expansion board
c) Monitor
d) Keyboard
The standard VGA display has ____ pixels in its native graphics mode?
a) 640x320
*b) 640x480
c) 680x440
d) 1024x786
Which of the following devices send and receive information from other devices? (choose all that apply)
a) Mouse port
*b) Serial port
c) Video port
*d) Parallel port
Which peripheral port provides the FASTEST throughput to laser printers?
a) RS-232
b) SCSI
*c) Parallel
d) Serial
A customer has one printer on LPT1 and wants to add another printer. To which port should it be connected?
a) Game port
*b) COM1
*c) LPT2
*d) COM2
A 25-pin female connector on the back of your computer will typically be:
a) Serial port 1
*b) A parallel port
c) Docking
d) COM2 port
Which hardware component controls serial port communications?
a) ROM BIOS
b) CPU
c) DMA823
*d) UART 16550
When connecting a ribbon cable to a connector, how do you know which direction to plug it in?
a) The red line in the cable goes to the highest pin number
*b) The colored line in the cable goes to pin #1
c) It does not matter
d) The blue or red line in the cable goes away from the power connector
COM1 is typically represented by which of the following?
a) 15 pin port
*b) 9 pin male port
c) 9 pin female port
d) 25 pin male port
14.4 modem should transmit _____ bits per second
*a) 14,400-15,000
b) 140-150
c) 1400-1500
d) 140,000-150,000
A modem could be attached to which port?
a) Parallel port
b) ASYNC port
c) Keyboard connector
d) Video port
Which of the following is a type of preventative maintainance used on a hard drive?
*a) Disk check diagnostics
b) Head alignment diagnostics
c) Initializing
d) Uninstalling programs
What product is used to clean smudged keys on a keyboard?
a) TMC solvent
b) Silicone spray
c) Denatured alcohol
d) All-purpose cleaner
Which should you use for cleaning Mylar-protected LCD screens?
a) Ammonia window cleaner
*b) Non-abrasive cleanser
c) Anti-static wipes
d) Alcohol-impregnated wipes
It is most important to keep hard drives and diskettes away from? (choose two)
a) Telephones
b) Battery-operated devices
*c) Magnetic devices
*d) Temperature extremes
_________ help prevent power surges.
*a) Surge suppressor
b) Spike protector
c) UPS system
d) High-grade multi-meter
What device prevents power interruptions, resulting in corrupted data?
*a) UPS
b) Surge protector
c) Multiple SIMMs strips
d) Data guard system
e) Turn off the AC power
How can you totally protect a PC from damage during an electrical storm?
*a) Disconnect the AC power cable
b) Disconnect all external cables and power cords
c) Use a surge protector
d) Turn off the AC power
What would you ask to determine if the display is working?
a) Is there a video cursor or action on the screen?
b) Did the computer beep or chime?
c) Is there high voltage static on the screen
d) Is the brightness or contrast turned up or down?
*e) All of the above
Which would you do first when troubleshooting a faulty monitor?
*a) Check its connections to the computer and power source
b) Use a meter to check the CRT and internal circuitry for continuity
c) Power down the monitor, then turn it on again to see if that corrects the problem
d) Power down the computer, then turn it on again to see if that corrects the problem
Upper Memory blocks are located where ?
a) Conventional Memory
b) Extended Memory
c) Expanded memory
*d) Reserved Memory
Which monitor would provide the highest level of performance?
a) VGA
b) XGA
c) CGA
d) SVGA
What configuration should a Volt-Ohm meter be set to when testing a fuse?
a) DC volts
b) AC volts
c) Amperage
*d) Ohms
When you are going to measure an unknown voltage you should always start with the meter on the _______ voltage setting to prevent damage to the mmeter.
*a) Highest
b) Lowest
c) 100ma
d) 0 ohms
The digital multimeter is set for DC, Ohm and 20k. You will read ____ while measuring a good 2 amp fuse.
*a) 0.00
b) 0.02
c) 0.20
d) 2.00
What resistence in ohms should be displayed when testing a speaker in a computer?
a) 0 Ohms
*b) 16 Ohms
c) -200 Ohms
d) Unlimited Ohms
You suspect a virus has entered your computer. What will not be affected by the virus?
*a) CMOS
b) Boot sector
c) Floppy disks
d) Program files
When not in use, it is very important to keep 5 1/4 diskettes in ______.
*a) Their protective sleeves
b) In a plastic bag
c) On a shelf in an upright position
d) In the floppy drive
The monitor power LED is 'on' but the monitor screen is completely dark. The least likely cause of the problem is:
a) Defect in the computers video circuitry
b) Disconnected video cable
c) Defective monitor
*d) System RAM problem
To install a second IDE drive into a computer, you must:
*a) Set the master-slave jumper to slave on the second drive
b) Use the IDE configuration software to set the new drive as slave
c) Verify that you define the new drive as D: in the CMOS setup
d) Verity that you attach the drive to the connector at the end of the ribbon cable
An IRQ allows interface cards to:
*a) Interrupt the CPU to request service
b) Pass data to the CPU to be processed
c) Pass data from one card to another
c) Pass data to the computers memory
How may standard levels of interrupts are provided on the 8-bit ISA bus (XT-class computer)?
a) 4
*b) 8
c) 12
d) 16
Serial ports are assigned interrupts to avoid conflict between the ports. Which port(s) should be assigned to IRQ4?
*a) COM1
b) COM2
*c) COM3
d) COM4
In laser technology, what happens during the transfer stage?
a) Residual toner is transferred to the waste receptacle
b) The laser transfers the image from the drum to the paper.
*c) The image is transferred from the drum to the paper
d) A negative charge is transferred to the surface of the drum
IRQ6 is typically reserved for:
*a) The floppy
b) The keyboard controller
c) LPT2
d) The modem
On the 16-bit ISA bus, IRQ2 is elevated to which higher level interrupt?
*a) 9
b) 11
c) 13
d) 15
A system has two IDE hard drives that are each divided into primary and extended partitions, which drive letter is assigned to the primary partition of the second drive?
a) C
*b) D
c) E
d) F
After doing a low-level format, what would be the next step in configuring the hard drive in a system?
a) Format DOS partition
b) Install operating system
c) Configure DMA channel and back-up interrupt
*d) Partition had disk
What is a common complication when adding a 1.6G IDE hard drive to an older system such as a 16Mhz 80386 system?
a) The drive is too big for the available drive bays
b) The old style IDE connector won't plug in properly
c) The power supply may be sufficient
*d) System BIOS needs to be upgraded
After displaying the directory of a floppy disk, a different floppy is inserted into the drive. The contents of the original floppy continues to display regardless of the director requests on the other floppies placed in the drive. You remove the drive in question and install it into your test system, and it does not exhibit the problem. You should next replace the:
a) System's floppy drive device driver
b) Original IDE controller
*c) Floppy drive ribbon cable
d) System's power supply
What component would most likely cause a "parity error" ?
a) Hard disk
b) Controller
*c) Bad RAM
d) Software
Which is NOT typically a Field Replaceable Unit?
a) System ROM
b) Power supply
*c) System chassis
d) Video controller
What does the acronym RTS represent?
a) Required to save
b) Ready to start
*c) Request to send
d) Right to separate
What command is used to reset a MODEM when using the "AT Command Set"?
a) ATR
*b) ATZ
c) DTR
d) DCE
In the DOS memory model, the HIGH Memory Area (HMA) is the _______ memory.
a) Last 64k of conventional
b) Last 64k of extended
c) First 64k above conventional
*d) First 64k of extended
To optimize conventional memory, which command do you use to load DOS into the high memory area (HMA)?
*a) DOS=HIGH
b) DOS=UMB
c) LOADHIGH
d) DEVICEHIGH
How would you allow device drivers and TSR's to be loaded into Upper Memory Blocks ?
a) Dos=High
b) devicehigh=
c) loadhigh=
*d) Dos=UMB
Match the device driver HIMEM.SYS to its operation.
a) Supports (ANSI) terminal emulation
*b) Manages the use of extended memory
c) Uses expanded memory on a 80386 processor
d) Supports code page switching
During boot-up, the memory test:
a) Is a superfluous step that should be ignored
*b) Checks and verifies that contiguous memory is installed
c) Is an operational error
d) Displays what memory is installed, but nothing else
During the boot process, a system first counts memory from where?
a) Expansion memory board
b) Video adapter
*c) System board
d) Cache
The following process determines the amount of memory present, the date/time, and which communications ports and display adapters are installed in a microcomputer?
a) Start-up utility test
*b) Power on Self Test
c) Power up boot process
d) Power on start up process
A customer attached an external drive to his notebook computer but the computer is not recognizing it. What should be considered?
*a) The cables are attached firmly
*b) The external drive has been pre-loaded with the appropriate software
*c) The external drive was attached before the computer was on
*d) The external drive is turned on
Suppose that you have a "solid" failure, and the maintenance package identifies several possible field replaceable units (FRUs) that will resolve the problem. What should you do after turning the power off?
*a) Replace the indicated parts, one at a time in the recommended sequence, until the problem is resolved; return unused FRUs to stock
b) Replace all of the indicated FRUs at once and return the machine to the customer if the problem is resolved
c) Follow the same procedure as in "A" EXCEPT always replace the system board first if it is on the list of possible FRUs
d) If multiple FRUs are indicated, then software is the most likely source of the problem.
On a leased line installation a known good external modem shows no carrier detect light. Where is the problem most likely to be?
a) In the modem
*b) In the phone line
c) In the computer
d) In the DTC equipment
Which best describes a fragmented hard drive:
a) The platters are bad
b) Data files are corrupted
c) Clusters of data are damaged
*d) Files are not stored in consecutive clusters
To find out how much memory is available, you could type _____
a) EMM
*b) MEM
c) CHKDSK
d) MEMMAKER
When considering replacement of a PC's power supply, one should be concerned with its ________ (choose two)
*a) Voltage and ampere rating
*b) Size and shape, on/off switch placement, and wattage
c) Connector wiring color scheme and voltages
d) Phase inductance and switching capability
Which components could cause a blank screen?
*a) Power supply
*b) Video card
*c) CPU
*d) RAM
A keyboard locks up intermittently even when replaced with a new keyboard. What is the LEAST likely cause of the problem?
*a) A second bad keyboard
b) The keyboard controller chip
c) The keyboard connector
d) The motherboard
The following symbol is used to indicate what?
{symbol for ground}
*a) The ground
b) Voltage
c) 12 volt AC line
d) Diode
The DC voltage on most circuit boards is:
a) -12 volts
b) 0 volts
*c) +5 volts
d) +12 volts
What can you use to ensure power is not interrupted, resulting in corrupted data?
*a) UPS
b) Proper grounding
c) Surge protector
d) Sag protector
When you are testing a fuse, you should set the Volt-OHM meter to what scale?
a) AC
b) DC
c) AMPS
*d) OHMS
What questions could be asked to determine if a problem is software or hardware related? (choose all that apply)
*a) Does the computer BEEP during the boot phase?
*b) Did peripheral devices initialize, i.e. printers?
*c) Will hardware components pass diagnostics?
d) Determine how many serial ports are installed in the system.
Which REQUIRES an anti-static bag for transport?
a) Monitor
b) Floppy disks
c) Power supply
*d) I/O controller
e) Speaker sub-system
To view any currently running Terminate Stay Resisdent (TSR's) programs you could type:
a) Memory
*b) MEM
c) SYS /M
d) Memmaker
Which of the following would be a logical first step in troubleshooting a PC?
a) Check the computer CMOS
*b) Define the circumstances of the problem
c) Call the vendor
d) Define what applications are being used
When you boot a PC and don't hear any beep, this could suggest which of the following?
a) The monitor is turned off
b) Keyboard not plugged in
c) Normal PC boot
*d) Bad or disconnected speaker
During the normal PC boot process, which of the following is active first?
a) RAM BIOS
b) CMOS
*c) ROM BIOS
d) Hard disk information
What is the first thing you could do to check for damage to a printer after receiving it?
a) Run MSD diagnostics
b) Attach it to a PC and print something
c) Check the cables
*d) Unbox it and examine it for physical damage
A capacitor is measured in which of the following units?
a) Volts
b) Ohms
*c) Farads
d) Resistance
When measuring AC (Alternating Current) with a multimeter, it is important to maintain the proper polarity.
a) True
*b) False
After trying to unload a TSR, you get an error message saying that other TSRs were loaded after the one you tried to remove. Which of the following commands could you use to see the current load order?
a) MEM /P
b) MEMMAKER
*c) MEM /C
d) SYS:
To test for AC ripple on a PC power supply, you would set the volt/ohm meter for:
a) DC voltage scale
b) AC voltage
c) OHM scale
d) Farad scale
ESD is most likely to cause failures on which of the following components (choose two)
a) CD-ROM drive
b) Power supply
*c) I/O controller
*d) RAM module
e) Hard drive
Which of the following FRUs would be considered both an input/output device?
a) Video board
*b) SCSI host adapter
c) System board CPU
In order for a modem to accept data, which of the following signals must be present? (choose all that apply)
a) Data detect
*b) Carrier detect
c) Transmit message
*d) Reveice data
When configuring a new network interface card for installation, which of the following would be a valid I/O address?
a) 378
b) 2F8
c) 3F8
d) 360
A standard multimeter is ideal for measuring a monitors high voltage output.
a) True
*b) False
The acronym HDI stands for:
a) Half duplex interface
b) Hard disk interface
*c) Head to disk interference
d) Help desk interference
" Parity " errors usually indicate bad memory
*a) True
b) False
Resistance is measured in ?
a) Volts
b) Amps
c) Watts
*d) Ohms
The ESD wrist strap is designed to protect PC Components or Service Technicians ?
a) PC Components
b) Service Technicians
*c) Both
Which part of the laser printer should NOT be exposed to sunlight?
a) Transfer corona assembly
*b) PC drum
c) Primary corona wire
d) Toner cartridge
Which component will not cause a paper jam
a) Fuser roller
*b) Scanner unit
c) PC Drum
Which component must be vacuumed or replaced during preventative maintenance on a laser printer?
a) Scanning mirror
b) Toner cartridge
*c) Ozone filter
To prevent toner from sticking to a laser printer's heat rollers, apply which of the following:
a) Alcohol
*b) Oil
c) Ammonia
d) Beer or Jack Daniels
With a dot matrix printer, light then dark print is most commonly caused by:
a) Erratic paper advancement
*b) Erratic ribbon advancement
c) Misalligned print head
d) Overheating print head
What action will correct patchy, faint, uneven or intermittent print on a dot matrix printer?
*a) Replacing the ribbon
b) Replacing the timing belt
c) Adjusting the paper feed tension
d) Adjusting the tractor feed tension
During preventative maintenance on a dot matrix printer, do NOT lubricate:
a) Platen assembly
b) Print head pulley
*c) Print head pins
d) Paper advance gear bushings
Suppose that the power lamp in on, but the printer will not print. What can you do to correct the problem?
*a) Make sure the printer is on line
b) Replace the AC line fuse
c) Turn the printer on and off
d) Replace the ribbon
What two products are to clean plastic covers? (choose two)
*a) Mild, soapy water
b) Silicone spray
*c) Clean, lint free cloth
d) Anti-static spray
Which DOS command will configure a serial printing port?
a) Parallel > serial
*b) Mode lpt1=COM1
c) Direct lpt1=com1
d) Mode printer()-serial()
Your client gets garbage characters when trying to print a document. Which of the questions listed below could you ask? (choose all that apply)
*a) Occurrence (how often)?
*b) Do you have a sample?
*c) What applications are being used?
*d) Where is the printer located?
Your customer tells you the print quality of their dot matrix printer is light then dark. Which of the following could cause the problem. Choose the BEST answer.
a) Paper slippage
*b) Improper ribbon advancement
c) Paper thickness
d) Head position
After you service a laser printer, you notice dirty print. Which of the following would correct the problem. Choose the BEST answer.
a) Clean the developer tank
b) Reset the printer
*c) Run several blank pages
d) Clean the laser diode
A dialog box with a bomb appears on a Macintosh screen. What type of problem has occurred?
a) A RAM problem
*b) A software problem
c) A ROM problem
d) An ADB problem
For a Macintosh to print successfully, the System Folder must contain:
a) File sharing software
b) A printer enabler
c) The apple Garamond font set
*d) A printer driver.
DOS/WINDOWS
How would you load device drivers into Upper Memory from the Autoexec.bat ?
a) HighDevice=
b) DeviceHigh=
*c) LoadHigh=
d) LoadDevice=
A customer complains his system is telling him his 263 MB hard disk drive is out of space. His standard directory search says the TOTAL size of files listed adds up to less that 263 MB. What is the cause?
a) The system is not calculating the total size of the files because the battery is bad
b) Bad controller
*c) Files can have hidden attributes that don't allow them to list in a standard search
d) Defective RAM
A temporary Swap file has what file extension ?
a) PAR
b) SWAP
c) TXT
*d) SWP
Which of the following is loaded for CD-ROM support?
a) VLM.EXE
b) CDDEX.EXE
c) DOSKEY.EXE
*d) MSCDEX.EXE
The buffers statement is found in what file?
*a) Config.sys
b) Autoexec.ncf
c) Autoexec.bat
d) Neb.cfg
How would you make sure that Acme.txt was always opened by Notepad ?
a) associate Acme with with Notepad
b) click File/Open in Notepad
c) make an extension mapping in the Registry
*d) associate .TXT files with Notepad
Which command will prevent subsequent changes to the file CBT.EXE?
a) RENAME + r CBT.EXE
*b) ATTRIB + r CBT.EXE
c) COPY +r CBT.EXE
d) MODE +r CBT.EXE
Windows 3.1 supports what type(s) of Multitasking ?
a) Preemptive
*b) Cooperative
c) Preemptive and Cooperative
d) Windows 3.1 does not support Multitasking
Where do you load the CD Rom drivers ?
a) Autoexec.bat
b) Control Panel/ Drivers
c) into Upper memory
*d) Config.sys
When executed from a bootable hard drive, which command will make a formatted floppy disk bootable?
a) COPY C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM A:\
b) ATTRIB C:\*.SYS A:\
c) XCOPY C:\DOS\*.* A:\
*d) SYS C: A:
Which of the following represents a correct sequence for the boot process ona DOS machine?
a) AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS
*b) CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT
c) AUTOEXEC.BAT, COMMAND.COM
d) CONFIG.BAT, AUTOEXEC.BAT
In DOS, which of the following keys will bypass the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files?
a) F8
*b) F5
c) F4
d) F1
The Acme program isn’t working because of a corrupt Acme.dll. How would you properly fix the corrupt Acme.dll ?
a) from the current Windows session recopy the DLL from the setup disk
b) from a DOS Window in the current session, reinstall the DLL
c) reboot and start new Windows session and rerun Acme setup
d) reboot to DOS and rerun Acme setup program
After upgrading your computer to a new DOS version, an older application displays the error message "Incorrect DOS version". What should you do to run this application?
a) Use the DOS+ command
*b) Use the SETVER command
c) Restore the old DOS version
d) Contact the application's vendor support line
The term TSR is an abbreviation for:
a) Terminal Stay Ready
b) Testing System Read
c) Terminal Still Ready
*d) Terminate Stay Resident
In DOS version 6.x SMARTDRV.EXE can cache _____________. (choose all that apply)
*a) Floppies
b) Video devices
*c) CD-ROMS
*d) Hard drives
Which of the following statements is true?
a) Two SCSI devices connected to a comptuer can have the same ID is they are both hard drives.
*b) Each SCSI device must have its own ID
c) All SCSI devices must have the same ID
d) SCSI ID's are irrelevant
Which provides the fastest data access time?
*a) RAM
b) ROM
c) CD-ROM
d) Hard disk
e) Floppy disk
When SHADOWING is enabled in a computers BIOS:
a) Values are stored twice in the memory for redundancy checking
b) The conventional memory is re-mapped to the top of the extended memory
c) Data stored in RAM chips on adapter cards are shadowed into extended memory
*d) Instructions stored in various ROM chips are copied into extended memory
A Type 1 PCMCIA card is:
a) The same physical size as other PCMCIA cards but configured differently
*b) The thinnest PCMCIA card, measuring 3.5mm in thickness
c) The thickest PCMCIA card, measuring 10.5mm in thickness
d) An old standard that is not compatible with the newest laptops
What may you need to upgrade after installing a brand new IDE drive on your old PC ?
a) new drive controll
b) more Ram
*c) Rom BIOS
d) new operating system
Which DOS 6 driver will manage expanded memory?
a) HIMEM.SYS
b) EXP.SYS
*c) EMM386.EXE
d) EMM386.COM
What cable connector would be on your parallel printer cable ?
a)DB 9
*b) DB 25
c)RS232
d)RJ-45
A customer has one printer on LPT1 and wants to add another printer. To which port should it be connected?
a) Game port
*b) COM1
*c) LPT2
*d) COM2
What would you ask to determine if the display is working?
a) Is there a video cursor or action on the screen?
b) Did the computer beep or chime?
c) Is there high voltage static on the screen
d) Is the video display brightness and contrast turned up?
*e) All of the above
Serial ports are assigned interrupts to avoid conflict between the ports. Which port(s) should be assigned to IRQ4?
*a) COM1
b) COM2
*c) COM3
d) COM4
Within Windows, an Icon . . .
*a) Can exist in any or all program groups any number of times
b) Cannot exist more than once in a program group
c) Can exist only once regardless of which program group it is in
d) Can exist more than once if it doesn't call up the same program
Which DOS command would allow you to redirect a printer ?
a) Type
b) Capture
*c) Mode
d)Print
In DOS, what key would you press to step through the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat ?
a) F1
b) F3
c) F5
*d) F8
After clicking on your word processing icon, Windows reports the following error message: "invalid working directory". What should you do first?
a) Click on the icons properties
b) Run fdisk
*c) Check the path statement in the autoexec.bat file
d)Check the group properties
Which of the following files can be modified using the Windows SYSEDIT program? (Choose all that apply)
*a) WIN.INI
b) CONTROL.INI
*c) CONFIG.SYS
*d) AUTOEXEC.BAT
Which command is executed before the others when a computer is first turned on?
a) Device=c:\emm386.exe
*b) Device=c:\dos\himem.sys
c) Prompt=$p$g
d) Path c:\dos
Suppose you had an incurable computer virus and decided to wipe out all the data and partitions on your hard drive and reformat. What is the order in which you must delete the partitions ?
a) Extended, Logical, Primary
b) Primary, Extended, Logical
*c) Logical, Extended, Primary
d) Logical, Primary, Extended
To conserve battery power on your laptop computer, what MS-DOS v6.x command should you use?
a) Powermon.exe
*b) Power.exe
c) Idel.com
d)Pw.sys
Which file executes commands in DOS?
a) MS-DOS.SYS
b) CONFIG.SYS
*c) COMMAND.COM
d) SYSTEM.INI
Which DOS command will format a floppy disk and transfer the system files
a) SYS C: A:
b) SYS A:
*c) FORMAT A: /S
d) FORMAT A: /T
What command can you add to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that your computer temporarily stops in the execution of the file before continuing?
*a) Pause
b) Halt
c) Wait x.xx seconds
d) Wait until Files="x"
Which Windows file contains hardware information ?
a) WIN.INI
b) SYS.INI
c) CONTROL.INI
*d) SYSTEM.INI
When using Smartdrive, you should decrease the Buffers statement in Config.Sys ?
*a) True
b) False
What switch would you use to view Smardrive statistics?
a) /x
b) /e
*c) /s
d) /o:n
Where would you configure the Swap file in Windows 3.1 ?
*a) 386 Enhanced Control Panel \ Virtual Memory
b) 386 Enhanced Control Panel \ Swap File
c) vmem.exe
d) Windows Setup \ Virtual memory
A permanent swap file has what file extension ?
a) SWP
b) SWAP
*c) PAR
d) TXT
What is the order in which Command.Com searches for programs to execute ?
a) EXE, COM, BAT
b) EXE, BAT, COM
*c) COM, EXE, BAT
d) BAT, COM. EXE
After searching the current directory where does Command.Com search next ?
a) C:\DOS\UTILITIES
b) Config.sys
c) Autoexec.bat
*d) the Path Statement
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