A+ Plus CompTIA Practice Exam

Explanation: It is extremely dangerous to open the case of a power supply. Besides,
power supplies are inexpensive, so it would probably cost less to replace them than
to try to fix them, and it would be much safer.
Incorrect Answers:
A: It would be more expensive for you.
B: Although it is possible to work on a power supply, it is not recommended. Power
supplies contain several capacitors that can hold lethal charges long after they have been
unplugged.
D: You should replace the power supply.

Explanation: On models where the memory modules are seated under the keyboard,
it is easy to forget or not setting the keyboard connector properly when assembling
the computer after the upgrade.

Explanation: To create a new file, folder, or other object, navigate to the location
where you want to create the object and then right-click in the right pane. In the menu that appears, select New and then choose the object you want to create.

Explanation: Sometimes BIOS has IDE slots, not used at delivery, disabled. Another
possible solution, although not an option here, could be faulty master/slave settings
on the new hard disk drive.

Explanation: Power supplies are rated in Watts. Watt is the SI derived unit of
power, equal to 1 Volt * 1 Ampere

Explanation: Rolling back the installed device driver in Safe Mode should always be
the first thing to try whenever a computer is not booting after a device driver
upgrade.

Explanation: 802.11x is only for networks, IrDA needs free line of sight and ADSL
is not wireless and only for networking purpose. Most peripheral equipment today
comes in a Bluetooth version.

Explanation: Power failure would shut down the computer, not reboot it.
Insufficient memory and possible faulty software should merely produce an alert to
the computer user. Overheating CPU, or in some cases overheated memory, will
cause random reboots whenever the CPU reaches temperatures above the intended
working temperature.

Explanation: If you have two drives on a bus and both are set to master, neither
drive will work because they will be fighting each other for control of the disks. If
you have two drives on a bus and both are set to slave, neither drive will work
because the disks won't know where to get their instructions from.
Incorrect Answers:
B: The twist in the cable will not result in non-functionality.
D: This symptom will not have non-functionality as a consequence.

Explanation: Windows Explorer allows the user to use drag-and-drop techniques
and other graphical tools to manage the file system.
Incorrect Answers:
A: Control Panel has to do with configuring settings.
C: File Manager is a Windows 3.x feature.
D: Device Manager provides a very simple and well-organized method to manage
hardware in the system.

Explanation: The South Bridge is generally used for slower devices such as USB
ports, IDE drives, and ISA slots.
Incorrect Answers:
A: The PCI bus is a sort of bridge between the processor and ISA bus.
B: The North Bridge is generally used for high-speed interface cards, such as video
accelerators, Synchronous RAM (SRAM), and memory.
C: The ISA bus does not house the IDE connectors.

Explanation: Jumper settings are the first thing to check when a new drive isn't
being recognized. Make sure you've opened up access to the new drive by changing
the first drive's jumper switches.
Incorrect Answers:
A: The BIOS settings check is not the first place to check in the event of a new drive not
being recognized.
B: When experiencing this Bill of problem, checking the cabling is normally the second
area to check after checking the jumper settings.
D: This is a new drive that is check so it will not make sense to check the drive first, but
rather check the jumper settings first.

Explanation: Hardware comp ability should have been ensured before buying the
components in the first place, and there is no need to replace cables unless there is a
visual defect on them.

Explanation: The head actuator is the device that physically positions the read/write
heads over the correct track on the surface of the disk. It is called the same for
CD-ROMs, hard drives and floppy disks.

The correct answer suggests that when installing an IDE device with a cable that is not keyed, one should locate the red stripe on the cable and connect it to the device with the red stripe lining up to pin #1. If there is no red stripe, one should locate the blue stripe on the cable and connect it to the device with the blue stripe lining up to pin #1. This ensures that the cable is properly aligned and connected to the device.

Explanation: The AGPx8 has a clock speed of 533 MHz and has a transfer rate of
about 2.1GB/s.
Incorrect Answers:
A: The original specification for AGP (AGPx1) has a clock speed of 66 MHz.
B: AGPx2 has a clock speed of 133 MHz.
C: AGPx4 has a clock speed of 266 MHz.

Explanation: DDR SDRAMor double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random
access memory is a class of memory integrated circuit used in computers. It achieves
greater bandwidth than the preceding single-data-rate SDRAM by transferring
data on the rising and falling edges of the clock signal (double pumped). Effectively,
it nearly doubles the transfer rate without increasing the frequency of the front side
bus.

Explanation: DIMMs are available in 168 and 184 pin versions.
Incorrect Answers:
A: Single Inline Memory Modules (SIMMs) come in 30 and 72 pin versions.
B: Single Inline Memory Modules (SIMMs) and Small Outline DIMMs (SODIMMs)
come in 72 pin versions.
C: Small Outline DIMMs (SODIMMs) come in 72, 144, and 200 pin versions.

Explanation: Wide SCSI buses support 16 devices, rather than the 8 devices
specified in regular SCSI.
Incorrect Answers:
B: Fast SCSI supports a maximum of eight devices.
C: Ultra SCSI is capable of supporting a maximum of eight devices.
E: Ultra 2 SCSI can only support 8 devices.

Explanation: On the AT motherboards the processor, memory, and expansion slots are all in line with each other. Because the processor and memory were in line with
the expansion slots, only one or two full-length cards could be used. Also, the
processor was far from the power supply's cooling fan and would therefore tend to
overheat unless a heat sink or processor fan was directly attached to it. To overcome
the limitations of the "baby" AT design, the ATX motherboard was designed. The
ATX has the processor and memory slots at right angles to the expansion cards.
This puts the processor and memory in line with the fan output of the power supply,
allowing the processor to run cooler. And, because those components are not in line
with the expansion cards, you can install full-length expansion cards in an ATX
motherboard machine.
Incorrect Answers:
A: Because the processor and memory were in line with the expansion slots, only one or
two full-length cards could be used. Also, the processor was far from the power supply's
cooling fan and would therefore tend to overheat unless a heat sink or processor fan was
directly attached to it.
D: The ATX motherboard has a 20-pin power connector that accepts a single power
connector while the AT motherboard has a 12-pin power connector for the P8 and P9
connectors.