Deck 13: Troubleshooting Hardware Problems

Question 1

If you see an error message that reads "Processor thermal trip error", what is the likely problem?

A) the power supply is inadequate
B) the processor has overheated
C) the processor has failed
D) a memory module might be bad

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is an indication that an inadequate power supply is the source of an intermittent problem?

A) the power supply whines when you first turn on the system
B) you don't see any indicator lights or fans spinning
C) BIOS loses its date and time settings
D) the system tries to boot from the wrong device

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is a possible consequence of the thermal compound being improperly applied to the CPU?

A) you can short circuit the motherboard
B) the CPU can overheat
C) the cooling fan won't run
D) you may get memory errors

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which message are you likely to see if the BIOS cannot find a hard drive at POST?

A) Fixed disk error
B) Blue screen of death
C) Error in ntoskernel
D) Error loading Windows

Question 5

What should you do if the system continually reboots and you can't read the error message produced on a blue screen?

A) press F8 as Windows starts up
B) press Pause so you can see the screen output
C) press Ctrl+Print Screen to print the screen output
D) press Esc as soon as you see the blue screen

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an FRU on a motherboard?

A) processor
B) RAM
C) CMOS battery
D) chipset

Question 7

Which of the following is true about moving a hard drive from a non-working computer to a working computer for the purposes of accessing the data on the drive?

A) you must install the drive in a drive bay
B) you must manually assign a drive letter
C) you must have an Administrator password before you can access the data on the drive
D) the drive must be initialized before you can access it

Question 8

If you see smoke or smell burning, you should immediately open the case to try to identify the component that is causing it.

Question 9

A poor looking video display might be caused by inadequate video RAM.

Question 10

If you suspect your system is overheating, how can you determine the CPU temperature?

A) in Windows, go to System Information
B) the CPU has a temperature display screen
C) press a room thermometer on the top of the CPU
D) go into BIOS setup and find the CPU screen

Question 11

What can you conclude if you heard one short beep during system boot?

A) a video problem
B) a memory error
C) all POST tests passed
D) a keyboard controller problem

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a solution to an overheating problem?

A) verify that cables are not obstructing airflow
B) remove the covers from empty expansion slots
C) be sure the case is not sitting on a carpet
D) remove dust from the power supply, vents, and cooler fans

Question 13

Which of the following is a likely symptom caused when the CMOS battery fails?

A) POST code beeps
B) time and date settings lost
C) continuous reboots
D) blue screen of death

Question 14

Why might you disable quick booting features in BIOS when you are troubleshooting a problem?

A) so you can access the advanced boot menu
B) quick booting prevents Windows from logging errors
C) so you can see a full POST report
D) quick booting bypasses the POST

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a possible symptom of a problem with the electrical system?

A) there are no indicator lights
B) error codes or beeps come and go during booting
C) you see events in event viewer
D) the PC powers down unexpectedly

Question 16

If you need to recover data off a system that won't boot, install the drive in a working system.

Question 17

What can be the result of a missing standoff?

A) a short on the motherboard
B) the computer boots, but can't connect to the network
C) data is deleted from the hard drive
D) you see lines on the video monitor

Question 18

A degausser can erase everything on an optical disk.

Question 19

Under what circumstances might you need to rebuild a RAID volume?

A) after you format the disk for the first time
B) after you replace a failed disk
C) when you restore a backup
D) when you add a new disk to the system

Question 20

To move a hard drive to another computer for the purposes of accessing the data, you always need to first physically install it in a drive bay.

Question 21

List three possibly symptoms of a problem with the electrical system.

Question 22

When the _____________ battery fails, the BIOS loses its time and date settings.

Question 23

What are some of the possible causes of intermittent device failures?

Question 24

What is the meaning of the message "Missing BOOTMGR"?

Question 25

What are three questions you might want to ask a user when he brings a computer problem to you?

Question 26

What are three things you can do to solve an overheating problem?

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a recommendation for physically protecting your equipment?

A) install air filters over the front or side vents of the case
B) if you won't be using the computer for several weeks, leave it turned off
C) make sure cables are tied up and out of the way
D) don't turn on a computer that is much colder than room temperature

Question 28

___________________ causes the CPU to run faster than normal and can cause the CPU to overheat.

Question 29

List two symptoms of a system that might be overheating.

Question 30

What are POST code beeps and how should you respond to them?

Question 31

Startup BIOS communicates ______________ errors as a series of beeps before it tests video.

Question 32

What is the purpose of a zero-fill utility?

A) completely wipes a hard drive clean
B) removes dangerous charges from a CRT
C) ensures that RAM doesn't retain data
D) provides a safe environment to dispose of equipment

Question 33

While troubleshooting a monitor or video problem, what can you conclude if you hear one beep during the boot and you see a blank screen?

A) there is an error with the BIOS video system
B) the video drivers are probably bad
C) BIOS has successfully completed POST
D) the video card is probably bad

Question 34

An error message that reads "CMOS ___________ bad" can indicate that CMOS RAM is corrupted.

Question 35

If you see the error message "Inaccessible boot device", what is the most likely problem?

Question 36

What is the likely problem if you see small white, black, or colored spots on your LCD screen?

A) brightness needs to be adjusted
B) the LCD is not getting sufficient power
C) the resolution it set too high
D) you have dead or stuck pixels

Question 37

If BIOS cannot access a drive in a ___________ array, use the firmware utility to check the status of each disk in the array.

Question 38

What causes a BSOD and how should you begin the troubleshooting process?

Question 39

What are the FRUs on a motherboard?

Question 40

Which of the following protects your computer from brownouts or sags?

A) degaussing
B) GPU
C) surge protector
D) UPS