Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Personal Computer Components....................................................... 2
Answer Key 107
Explanations 120

Chapter 2
Laptops and Portable Devices.......................................................... 20
Answer Key 109
Explanations 138

Chapter 3
Operating Systems............................................................................ 29
Answer Key 110
Explanations 145

Chapter 4
Printers and Scanners....................................................................... 49
Answer Key 112
Explanations 164

Chapter 5
Networks............................................................................................ 62
Answer Key 114
Explanations 176

Chapter 6
Security.............................................................................................. 72
 Answer Key 115
Explanations 187

Chapter 7
Safety and Environmental Issues..................................................... 79
Answer Key 116
Explanations 195

Chapter 8
Communication and Professionalism.............................................. 84
Answer Key 117
Explanations 200
CompTIA A+ IT Technician (220-602) Printables
Copyright 2006 by PrepLogic, Inc.
Product ID: 10701
Production Date: November 09, 2006
Total Questions: 197

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 Personal Computer Components 2

Chapter 1
Personal Computer Components
1. A user is in need of a new computer. Since the user routinely works with large data
files and databases, you need to assure the system includes the highest performance
disk subsystem. What type of system should you recommend?

Select the best answer.

A. A system that utilizes an external USB 2.0 hard drive to store the
large files.
B. A system that utilizes an internal SATA-2 disk drive.
C. A system that utilizes an internal or external Ultra-320 SCSI disk.
D. A system that utilizes an external FireWire / IEEE 1394 drive.
Find the Answer p. 107

2. A user complains that when she connects her scanner to a USB hub, her mouse
stops working. As a diagnostic step, you disconnect the scanner and find that the
mouse starts to function again. Which of these is most likely the cause of the
problem?

Select the best answer.

A. The scanner uses the same USB device class as the mouse, causing
a conflict.
B. Since the mouse is a low speed device and the scanner is a
high-speed device, the hub disabled the mouse to ensure maximum
performance for the scanner.
C. The USB hub needs to have its Windows drivers updated to support
both Human Interface Devices and Still Image Capture devices
simultaneously.
D. The USB hub does not have its own power supply.
Find the Answer p. 107
 Personal Computer Components 3

3. You receive a service ticket to repair a computer that randomly locks up or reboots.
You observe that when the computer exhibits these symptoms, the office lights dim
slightly. Which of the following is most likely to resolve the problem?

Select the best answer.

A. Connect the computer and its peripherals to a UPS.

B. Adjust the computer's power management settings to use less
energy.
C. Verify that the amperage draw on the electrical circuit does not
exceed rated capacity.
D. Replace the computer's power supply unit, as it is faulty.
Find the Answer p. 107

4. A user is complaining that switching between applications on his machine is very

slow. Which of the following upgrades would be most effective in improving his
system's performance?

Select the best answer.

A. Installing additional RAM.

B. Installing a faster hard disk.
C. Defragmenting the hard drive.
D. Increasing the size allotted to the page file.
Find the Answer p. 107
 Personal Computer Components 4

5. Your customer is interested in purchasing an external hard drive to expand her

notebook's storage capacity. She is very concerned about the portability of the
drive, as she tries to travel light. Which of the following drive features should you
pay special attention to when recommending an appropriate drive?

Select the best answer.

A. Capacity.
B. Support for both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectors.
C. Bus-powered.
D. Compatibility with both Windows and Macintosh operating
systems.
Find the Answer p. 107

6. A customer is calling to ask about upgrading the memory in his aging Pentium 4
system. Which of these factors might require a physical inspection of the machine
before pricing can be determined?

Select the best answer.

A. The amount of memory installed in the system.

B. The speed of the Pentium processor.
C. The recommended capacity of the power supply unit.
D. The type of memory installed.
Find the Answer p. 107
 Personal Computer Components 107

Answers: Chapter 1
1. C Review Question p. 2 Detailed Explanation p. 120

2. D Review Question p. 2 Detailed Explanation p. 120

3. A Review Question p. 3 Detailed Explanation p. 121

4. A Review Question p. 3 Detailed Explanation p. 121

5. C Review Question p. 4 Detailed Explanation p. 122

6. D Review Question p. 4 Detailed Explanation p. 122

7. C, D Review Question p. 5 Detailed Explanation p. 123

8. A, D Review Question p. 5 Detailed Explanation p. 123

9. C Review Question p. 6 Detailed Explanation p. 123

10. B Review Question p. 6 Detailed Explanation p. 124

11. B Review Question p. 7 Detailed Explanation p. 124

12. B Review Question p. 7 Detailed Explanation p. 125

13. C Review Question p. 8 Detailed Explanation p. 125

14. B, D Review Question p. 8 Detailed Explanation p. 126

15. B Review Question p. 9 Detailed Explanation p. 126

16. D Review Question p. 9 Detailed Explanation p. 127

17. D Review Question p. 10 Detailed Explanation p. 127

18. C Review Question p. 11 Detailed Explanation p. 128

19. D Review Question p. 12 Detailed Explanation p. 128

20. B, C Review Question p. 12 Detailed Explanation p. 129

21. A Review Question p. 12 Detailed Explanation p. 129

22. C Review Question p. 13 Detailed Explanation p. 130

23. B Review Question p. 13 Detailed Explanation p. 130

 Personal Computer Components 120

Explanations: Chapter 1
1. Review Question p. 2
Answers: C
Explanation A. Incorrect. A drive connected via USB 2.0 is capable of up to a 480
Mbps (60 MB/s) data transfer rate.
Explanation B. Incorrect. A SATA 300 drive, commonly (but mistakenly) called a
SATA-2 drive, is capable of a 2.4 Gbps (300 MB/s) transfer rate.
Explanation C. Correct. A drive connected via Ultra-320 SCSI is capable of 2.56 Gbps
(320 MB/s) transfer rate.
Explanation D. Incorrect. A drive connected via FireWire (IEEE 1394) is capable of up
to 400 Mbps (50 MB/s) transfer rate. While Firewall drives are commonly used to store
large multimedia files, IEEE 1394 is not the highest performance solution.
More Information:
For more information on hard drive interfaces, take a look at

PrepLogic Question: 10701-100

2. Review Question p. 2
Answers: D
Explanation A. Incorrect. A scanner and a mouse would have completely different
device IDs
Explanation B. Incorrect. A USB hub can support multiple speed connections
simultaneously, and would not need to disable a device in such a manner.
Explanation C. Incorrect. USB hub drivers are general class drivers and do not vary
based on the devices connected to the hub.
Explanation D. Correct. Non-powered USB hubs are limited in the amount of power
they can supply to devices. It is common for devices that depend on power from the hub
to stop working if there is insufficient power available to power all of the connected
devices. Many external USB hubs include a separate power supply to alleviate this
problem.
More Information:
For more information on the Universal Serial Bus
 Personal Computer Components 121

PrepLogic Question: 10701-101

3. Review Question p. 3
Answers: A
Explanation A. Correct. A battery backup ensures consistent power output to attached
devices, even during brownouts, a condition where source electrical power is reduced
below acceptable thresholds.
Explanation B. Incorrect. Reducing the machine's power consumption is unlikely to
resolve the problem.
Explanation C. Incorrect. Although it is possible to overload an electrical circuit, the
likely result would be tripping the circuit breaker (which disconnects power to the
circuit), not a brownout condition.
Explanation D. Incorrect. The symptoms describe a brownout condition, where the
source electrical power is reduced below acceptable thresholds and is not related to a
problem with a computer's internal power supply unit.
More Information:
For more information on UPS units

PrepLogic Question: 10701-102

4. Review Question p. 3
Answers: A
Explanation A. Correct. Sluggishness when switching applications is most often caused
by heavy page file use. Adding more physical memory to the machine will decrease the
amount of page file usage.
Explanation B. Incorrect. While a faster disk would improve swap file performance, it
would still not be as effective as preventing excessive swap file use in the first place.
Explanation C. Incorrect. Swap files are kept in a contiguous part of the disk to
improve performance. While defragmenting a hard disk might improve application
startup times, it has little to no effect upon applications already open on the machine.
Explanation D. Incorrect. Increasing the size of the swap file would have no effect
upon its overall performance.
More Information:
Microsoft at Home: Add more memory to your computer
 Personal Computer Components 122

PrepLogic Question: 10701-130

5. Review Question p. 4
Answers: C
Explanation A. Incorrect. While certainly a factor, the user's priority is portability, not
capacity.
Explanation B. Incorrect. While this may be an important fact to take note of,
portability is the highest priority.
Explanation C. Correct. Drives that are bus-powered tend to be designed specifically
for notebook use. They do not require an extra power adapter to lug around and are
often built in a smaller form factor for easier portability.
Explanation D. Incorrect. Other than OS support for a particular bus type such as
Firewire, USB, or SCSI, There are no compatibility issues between operating systems
and hard drives..
More Information:
Tips for buying an external harddrive

PrepLogic Question: 10701-131

6. Review Question p. 4
Answers: D
Explanation A. Incorrect. Most memory upgrades can be done regardless of the amount
of memory installed in the system, either by using additional memory slots or replacing
installed modules in existing slots.
Explanation B. Incorrect. The speed of the processor is irrelevant to selecting RAM
modules.
Explanation C. Incorrect. This information would also be irrelevant when determining
the requirements of a memory upgrade.
Explanation D. Correct. During the Pentium 4's life cycle, two different types of
memory technology have been employed. Early on, a more expensive form of memory
known as Rambus RAM was used. Support was later added for the less expensive
PC133 memory technology.
More Information:
For more information, go to: