Nten111 / Elen115 / CompTIA Practice

The correct answer is Thermal Paste / Thermal Compound. Thermal paste is a substance that is applied to the surface of a CPU before attaching the heatsink. It helps to fill in microscopic gaps between the CPU and heatsink, improving the transfer of heat from the CPU to the heatsink. This ensures that the CPU remains cool and prevents overheating. Without thermal paste, there would be poor heat conduction and the CPU could potentially overheat, leading to performance issues or even hardware damage.

During start-up, every computer performs a Power-On Self-Test (POST). This is a diagnostic process that checks the hardware components of the computer to ensure they are functioning properly. The POST verifies the integrity of the CPU, memory, storage devices, and other essential hardware. It also checks for any errors or issues that may prevent the computer from booting up successfully. Therefore, it is correct to say that every computer performs a POST during start-up.

IEEE1394 is commonly known as Firewire. Firewire is a high-speed serial bus interface that is used for connecting devices such as computers, digital cameras, and external hard drives. It was developed by Apple and is widely used in the audio and video industry for its fast data transfer rates and ability to daisy-chain multiple devices. USB and SATA, on the other hand, are different types of interfaces used for connecting devices, but they are not synonymous with IEEE1394.

UPS stands for Uninterruptable Power Supply. In computer power systems, an UPS is a device that provides emergency power to a computer or other electronic equipment when the primary power source fails. It acts as a backup power source, preventing data loss and allowing for a safe shutdown of the system. The term "uninterruptable" emphasizes the continuous power supply that the UPS provides, ensuring uninterrupted operation during power outages or fluctuations.

The AGP slot on legacy systems was specifically designed to be used for Graphics (Video) Cards. This slot provided a dedicated connection between the graphics card and the motherboard, allowing for faster and more efficient communication. Modems and RAID Controller Cards, on the other hand, typically used different types of slots such as PCI or PCI Express. Therefore, the correct answer is Graphics (Video) Cards.

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It is a firmware that is stored on a computer's motherboard. BIOS is responsible for initializing and controlling the hardware components of the computer during the booting process. It provides a set of low-level software instructions that allow the operating system to communicate with the hardware. BIOS also provides configuration options that can be accessed during startup, allowing users to modify certain settings.

Southbridge = Slowbridge

The 4-Pin modular telephone jack used to connect a telephone line to a modem is formally known as RJ-11. RJ-11 is a registered jack standard that is commonly used for connecting telephone equipment. It has four pins or positions, which are used for transmitting voice signals. RJ-45, on the other hand, is a different registered jack standard that is used for Ethernet connections and has eight pins or positions. Therefore, RJ-11 is the correct answer for this question.

When choosing a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), it is important to select a unit with a VA (Volt-Ampere) rating that is equal to or greater than the load connected to it. The VA rating indicates the maximum amount of power that the UPS can supply to the connected devices. If the load exceeds the VA rating of the UPS, it may lead to overload and cause the UPS to fail. Therefore, selecting a UPS with a VA rating equal to or greater than the load ensures that it can provide sufficient power backup and protect the connected devices during power outages or fluctuations.

The BIOS configuration can indeed be reset to factory defaults by either removing the back-up battery or shorting the "CLEAR" jumper on the motherboard. This is a common practice when troubleshooting or when the BIOS settings need to be reverted to their original state. Removing the back-up battery disconnects the power source to the BIOS chip, causing it to lose all saved settings. Shorting the "CLEAR" jumper temporarily connects the two pins, effectively erasing the BIOS settings. Both methods are valid ways to reset the BIOS configuration.

The power supply on an ATX motherboard is connected via a 24-Pin Molex-Style Connector labeled P1. This connector is specifically designed to provide power to the motherboard and is a standard feature on ATX motherboards. The 24-pin connector ensures a secure and reliable connection between the power supply and the motherboard, allowing for the proper distribution of power to all components.

Though considered by most to be legacy, the parallel port is still very widely used in industrial settings.

A single IDE channel can support up to two devices. This is because IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) is a standard interface used to connect storage devices such as hard drives and CD/DVD drives to a computer's motherboard. Each IDE channel has two connectors, typically labeled as "Master" and "Slave," allowing for two devices to be connected. The Master device is given priority and is typically connected to the end of the cable, while the Slave device is connected to the middle connector. Therefore, the correct answer is 2.

USB 2.0 has a theoretical maximum throughput of 480 Mbps. This means that the maximum data transfer rate for USB 2.0 is 480 megabits per second. This is significantly faster than the previous USB 1.1 standard, which had a maximum throughput of 12 Mbps. USB 2.0 is capable of transferring data at a much higher speed, making it suitable for various devices such as external hard drives, flash drives, and cameras.

The sample rate of 44.1kHz means that 44,100 samples of the analog waveform are captured every second. This is because the sample rate represents the number of times the waveform is measured or sampled per second. Therefore, the correct answer is 44100.

The Northbridge is responsible for connecting the CPU to the RAM in a typical computer. It acts as a bridge between the two components, facilitating the transfer of data. This connection is essential for the CPU to access and manipulate data stored in the RAM. The Northbridge also plays a crucial role in controlling the flow of data between the CPU and other components, such as the graphics card.

TFT stands for Thin-Film Transistor. Thin-Film Transistors are a type of electronic display technology commonly used in devices such as televisions, computer monitors, and smartphones. They are responsible for controlling the individual pixels on the screen, allowing for high-resolution and fast-refreshing displays. TFT technology offers several advantages over other display technologies, including wide viewing angles, high contrast ratios, and low power consumption.

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is a type of volatile memory, which means that it requires power to maintain its contents. In the event of a power loss, the data stored in DRAM will be lost. Therefore, the statement that DRAM will maintain its contents in the event of a power loss is false.

DMA stands for Direct Memory Access. It is a feature of computer systems that allows peripheral devices, such as disk drives or network cards, to directly access the system's memory without involving the CPU. This enables faster data transfer between the peripheral device and the memory, as it bypasses the need for the CPU to handle the data transfer. Therefore, the statement that DMA allows a peripheral device to access RAM without involving the CPU is true.

RAID5 requires a minimum of 3 disks because it uses block-level striping with distributed parity across all the drives in the array. This means that data and parity information are distributed across all the disks, providing both redundancy and performance benefits. With only 2 disks, there would not be enough disks to distribute the parity information effectively. Therefore, a minimum of 3 disks is required for RAID5 to function properly.

The data path width and word size of a CPU can be different because they serve different purposes. The data path width refers to the number of bits that can be processed simultaneously, while the word size refers to the number of bits that can be stored in a single memory location. It is possible for a CPU to have a wider data path to enhance performance, while still using a smaller word size for memory efficiency. Therefore, the statement is true.

Graphics cards typically connect to the CPU through the Northbridge. The Northbridge is responsible for handling high-speed communication between the CPU, memory, and the graphics card. It acts as a bridge between the CPU and the rest of the system, including the graphics card. The Northbridge provides the necessary bandwidth and communication channels for the graphics card to send and receive data from the CPU efficiently. It plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth and fast communication between the CPU and the graphics card, which is essential for rendering graphics and running demanding applications.

Hyper-Threading Technology allows a microprocessor to appear to the operating system (OS) as multiple, independent CPUs. This means that the OS can allocate tasks to different virtual processors, allowing for better utilization of the processor's resources and improved multitasking capabilities. Hyper-Threading enables the processor to handle multiple threads simultaneously, making it appear as if there are multiple CPUs available to the OS.

SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. This is a type of computer bus interface that is used to connect storage devices, such as hard drives and solid-state drives, to a computer's motherboard. The SATA interface allows for high-speed data transfer and is commonly used in modern computer systems.

VGA stands for Video Graphics Array, which is an analog video display standard. It uses analog signals to transmit video data from a computer to a monitor or display device. Unlike digital interfaces such as HDMI or DisplayPort, VGA does not transmit digital signals but instead uses analog signals to represent the video information. Therefore, the statement "VGA is an analog interface" is true.

RAID0, also known as striping, requires a minimum of 2 disks. In RAID0, data is divided into blocks and distributed evenly across multiple disks. This improves performance as data can be read and written simultaneously from/to multiple disks. However, RAID0 does not provide any fault tolerance or redundancy, meaning that if one disk fails, all data is lost. Therefore, having at least 2 disks is necessary to implement RAID0.

IRQ0 is reserved for the System Clock. The System Clock is responsible for generating timing signals that synchronize the operations of various components in a computer system. IRQ0 is the interrupt request line associated with the System Clock, which means that it is used to signal the CPU when there is a request for attention from the System Clock. This allows the CPU to handle time-sensitive operations and ensure that the system functions properly.

On most systems, the POST (Power-On Self-Test) does not halt the boot process if it does not detect a connected monitor. This means that even if there is no monitor connected, the boot process will continue.

The statement is false because virtually all new hard drives on the market today connect to the motherboard through a SATA interface, not an IDE interface. IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) was a common interface for hard drives in the past, but it has been largely replaced by SATA (Serial ATA) which offers faster data transfer speeds.

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is not stored on the first sector of the primary hard drive. It is actually stored on a separate chip on the motherboard. The first sector of the primary hard drive is typically reserved for the Master Boot Record (MBR), which contains the partition table and boot loader. The BIOS is responsible for initializing hardware components and loading the operating system from the storage device, but it is not stored on the hard drive itself.

ATAPI allows the connection of these devices to IDE or PATA buses.

RAID6 requires a minimum of 4 disks because it uses dual parity, meaning it can tolerate the failure of up to two disks without losing data. The parity information is distributed across all the disks, providing redundancy and allowing for data reconstruction in case of disk failures. With 4 disks, RAID6 can have two disks dedicated to storing parity information, ensuring data integrity and fault tolerance.

The BIOS starts at the memory address F0000.

The correct answer is IEEE 1284 (Parallel). This is because the hint suggests that the port being referred to is not SCSI. Among the given options, IEEE 1284 is a parallel port standard used for connecting printers and other devices to a computer. SCSI is a different type of port used for connecting storage devices. Therefore, the correct answer is IEEE 1284 (Parallel).

SATA 1.0: 1.5 Gbits/second
SATA 2.0: 3.0 Gbits/second
SATA 3.0: 6.0 Gbits/second

The word size of a Pentium 4 CPU is 32-Bit. The word size refers to the number of bits that the CPU can process at a time. In the case of a Pentium 4 CPU, it can process 32 bits of data in a single operation. This allows for faster and more efficient processing of instructions and data.

A PCI-Express X1 card can be installed in a PCI-Express X16 slot because the X16 slot is designed to be backward compatible with smaller cards. Although the X1 card will physically fit in the X16 slot, it will only utilize a single lane of the available 16 lanes, resulting in reduced performance compared to if it were installed in a dedicated X1 slot. However, it will still work and be able to function properly.

PCI-Express cards cannot be installed in standard PCI slots. They are not physically compatible and have different slot configurations. PCI-Express cards require a PCI-Express slot to function properly.

Low-Level formatting is preformed at the factory - not by the end user.

The given answer states that Berg connectors are used for providing power to floppy drives. This means that Berg connectors are specifically designed to deliver the necessary electrical power required for the operation of floppy drives.

DVI (Digital Visual Interface) cables only carry video signals, not audio signals.

If a video adapter is not installed, the system would not be able to display any visual output. The POST (Power-On Self-Test) is a diagnostic process that a computer undergoes during the booting process to check if all the hardware components are functioning properly. If the video adapter is missing, the system would fail the POST and would not be able to boot because it cannot display any visuals on the screen. Therefore, the given statement is true.

When selecting a UPS for a mission-critical server, the most suitable option would be an On-Line UPS. This type of UPS provides the highest level of protection and reliability for critical equipment. It constantly filters and conditions the incoming power, ensuring a stable and clean power supply to the server. In case of a power outage, the On-Line UPS seamlessly switches to battery power without any interruption, guaranteeing uninterrupted operation of the server. This is crucial for mission-critical servers that cannot afford any downtime or data loss. Standby UPS and Line-Interactive UPS are not as reliable and may cause brief interruptions during power transitions.

A wide SCSI bus can support up to 16 devices, including the controller card. This means that a total of 16 devices can be connected to the wide SCSI bus, allowing for efficient data transfer and communication between the devices.

The size of the drive can be determined by multiplying the number of cylinders, heads, sectors, and sector size. In this case, the number of cylinders is 65535, the number of heads is 32, the number of sectors is 500, and the sector size is 512 bytes. Multiplying these values together gives us the total number of bytes on the drive. Converting this value to gigabytes gives us the answer of 500 GB.

(256 bit / 8 = 32 bytes) * 10 GHz * 4 Instructions/Clock Cycle = 1280,000,000,000 B/s

(1.28*10^12) / 1024 = 1.25*10^9 Kb/s

(1.25*10^9) / 1024 = 1.2207*10^6 Mb/s

(1.2207*10^6) / 1024 = 1.192*10^3 Gb/s

(1.192*10^3) / 1024 = 1.164 TB/s

SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that does not require constant rewriting to retain its contents. Unlike dynamic RAM (DRAM), which needs to be refreshed periodically, SRAM can hold data as long as power is supplied to it. Therefore, the statement that SRAM must constantly be re-written is incorrect.

VisiCalc was the first commercially-successful spreadsheet utility. It was released in 1979 for the Apple II computer and revolutionized the business world by allowing users to create automated calculations and perform complex data analysis. VisiCalc's success paved the way for future spreadsheet software, including Microsoft Excel.

COM1 is commonly reserved for the serial port on a computer. IRQ 4 is the interrupt request line that is typically assigned to the serial port. This allows the serial port to communicate with other devices and handle data transmission. Therefore, IRQ 4 is the correct answer as it is commonly reserved for COM1.

The most common parallel port type found today is ECP (Extended Capabilities Parallel Port). This is because ECP offers faster data transfer rates and improved features compared to the older SPP (Standard Parallel Port) and EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) types. ECP allows for bi-directional communication, meaning data can be sent and received simultaneously. It also supports DMA (Direct Memory Access) for direct data transfer between devices without involving the CPU. These enhanced capabilities make ECP the preferred choice for modern parallel port connections.