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Studied by 203 peopleCompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1101 Practice Exams
Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ CORE 1 220-1101 Practice Exams
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Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ CORE 1 220-1101 Practice Exams by James "Professor" Messer
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Professor Messer's CompTIA 220-1101 A+ Core 1 Practice Exams by James "Professor" Messer
Professor Messer's Website: https://www.ProfessorMesser.com
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Professor Messer’s CompTIA 220-1101 A+ Core 1 Practice Exams Written by James “Professor” Messer Copyright © 2022 by Messer Studios, LLC https://www.ProfessorMesser.com
All rights reserved: No reproduction or transmission without written permission from the publisher.
First Edition: September 2022, Version 1.70
Trademark Acknowledgments:
All product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
"Professor Messer" is a registered trademark of Messer Studios LLC.
"CompTIA," "A+," "Network+," and "Security+" are registered trademarks of CompTIA, Inc.
Warning and Disclaimer:
This book is designed to provide information about the CompTIA 220-1101 Core 1 A+ certification exam.
There may be typographical and/or content errors.
This book should serve only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of subject information.
The author shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity regarding any loss or damage incurred.
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Contents include:
Introduction to CompTIA A+ Certification
How to Use This Book
Practice Exam A, B, and C sections, containing:
Performance-Based Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple Choice Quick Answers
Performance-Based Answers
Multiple Choice Detailed Answers
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About the Author:
James Messer, an IT veteran with experience in supercomputer operations, system administration, network management, and cybersecurity.
Founder and CEO of Messer Studios, a publisher of IT certification training materials.
Professor Messer's training programs have aided thousands in achieving IT professions, with over 140 million video views and 630,000 subscribers.
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Introduction:
CompTIA A+ is a popular and enjoyable IT certification covering a wide array of hardware and software.
The sample exams are created to aid in learning for the exam and provide additional knowledge to use after the certification process.
The learning process in IT never ends and best of success is wished on your journey.
The CompTIA A+ Certification:
The 220-1101 A+ Core 1 certification covers many topics, from hardware troubleshooting to cloud technologies.
Exam Domains and Percentages:
Domain 1.0 - Mobile Devices - 15%
Domain 2.0 - Networking - 20%
Domain 3.0 - Hardware - 25%
Domain 4.0 - Virtualization and Cloud Computing - 11%
Domain 5.0 - Hardware and Network Troubleshooting - 29%
The practice exams in this book follow this breakdown.
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How to Use This Book:
Three separate 90-question practice exams: Exam A, Exam B, and Exam C.
The exams are designed to emulate the format and complexity of the actual A+ exam.
Take one exam at a time. The difficulty levels are similar between exams, so it doesn't matter which exam you take first.
The 220-1101 A+ exam is 90 minutes in length, so you may want to set a timer when you start your practice exam. Time management is an important part of the exam.
The first section of each practice exam is the list of questions. There's a link next to every question ("Quick Answer" or "The Details") that will jump immediately to the quick answer page or the detailed answer page.
The quick answer page is a consolidated list of the answers without any detail or explanation. If you want to quickly check your answer sheet, this is the page for you.
A detailed answer is available for each exam question. This section repeats the question, the possible answers, and shows the answer with a detailed explanation. This section is formatted to show only one answer per page to avoid giving away the answer to any other questions.
As you step through the exam, write down the answers in a separate window or use your PDF reader's annotation features to mark the answer. You can check the answers after the 90 minutes have elapsed.
You can grade your results against the quick answer page. You might also want to check the detailed answer pages for information on why certain answers were considered correct or incorrect.
After each detailed answer, a video link is available for more information on the topic. You can click the link in your PDF or use your smartphone camera app to view the QR (Quick Response) code on the page.
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Practice test options:
90-minute timed exam
Casual Q&A.
To learn more about each possible answer, step through each question and jump to the detailed explanation.
Scoring Chart:
Less than 63 questions correct / 70% and lower
Use the exam objectives at the end of each detailed answer to determine where you might need some additional help.
63 to 72 questions correct / 70% to 80%
You're so close! Keep working on the areas you're missing and fill in those gaps.
73 to 81 questions correct / 80% to 90%
This is a strong showing, but some additional studying will help you earn points on the real exam.
Although the actual 220-1101 A+ exam does not calculate the final score as a percentage, getting an 85% on the practice exam can be considered a passing grade.
More than 81 questions correct / over 90%
You're ready for the real thing! Book your exam and pass your 220-1101 A+ exam!
The detailed answer pages break down every correct answer and every incorrect answer.
If you understand all of the technologies on these sample exams, then you'll be ready for the real thing!
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Practice Exam A - Questions
A1. Match the interface name to the picture:
HDMI
RJ45
DB-9
USB-C
Micro-USB
Lightning
Answer Page: 33
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A2. Order these technologies from slowest throughput to fastest:
One stream of 802.11ax
10GBASE-T
USB 3.2 Gen 1
SATA Revision 3.2
Thunderbolt v3
Answer Page: 35
A3. Match the port number to the protocol. Not all port numbers will be used.
HTTPS
LDAP
DNS
IMAP
SNMP
RDP
SSH
tcp/389
tcp/80
udp/53
udp/161
tcp/143
tcp/3389
tcp/22
tcp/23
tcp/25
tcp/443
tcp/445
tcp/110
Answer Page: 36
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A4. Identify the components on this motherboard:
A
B
C
D
E
F
Answer Page: 37
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A5. Configure a RAID array with these characteristics:
Data remains available if a single drive fails
Most efficient use of drive space
Fastest access time
Total storage size is not a priority
Select the RAID type and configure the three drive bays using the available drives. The drives can be used multiple times, and not all drives will be used.
Available Drives:
SATA III - 1 TB HD - 15,000 RPM
SATA III - 2 TB HD - 10,000 RPM
SATA III - 4 TB HD - 7,200 RPM
SATA III - 1 TB HD - 5,600 RPM
Select RAID Type
0
1
5
1+0
Drive A
Drive B
Drive C
Answer Page: 38
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A6. The printer in the accounting department has stopped all printing processes. The print queue shows seven jobs in the queue waiting to be printed. Which of the following would be the BEST next troubleshooting step?
A. Send a test job to the printer and move it to the top of the queue
B. Restart the printer's spooler
C. Install an updated version of the printer driver
D. Delete everything in the queue and resend the print jobs
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 41
A7. A system administrator has connected an external USB drive to a computer to transfer some documents. When booting the computer, the system tries to boot from the external drive and gives an error message. Which of the following would be the BEST way to prevent the USB drive from booting?
A. Modify the BIOS to boot from the internal hard drive
B. Modify the boot order in Windows Disk Management
C. Rebuild the MBR on the external hard drive
D. Disable the external drive in Device Manager
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 42
A8. A user's print jobs to a new multifunction printer produce pages of garbled text, but jobs from other users are printing normally. Which of the following would be the MOST likely reason for this issue?
A. Printer driver specifies secured prints
B. Faulty network cable
C. Print driver is configured for PCL
D. Application is not authorized to print
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 43
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A9. A network connection in a conference room was installed years ago, and there’s no documentation for the cable run. Connecting a device to the cable results in a successful Ethernet connection, so the other end of the cable should terminate somewhere in the wiring closet. Which of these tools would be the best choice to find the other end of the network connection?
A. Cable tester
B. Tone generator
C. Multimeter
D. Crimper
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 44
A10. A network administrator has received a ticket complaining of port flapping on an Ethernet switch. Which of the following would be the MOST likely reason for this issue?
A. Firewall rule is blocking traffic
B. Faulty crimp on an Ethernet connector
C. Excessive jitter measurements
D. Duplex mismatch
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 45
A11. A user has powered on their computer and received the message “Operating system not found.” A check of the system shows that the SATA drive cables are properly connected. Which of the following would be the NEXT best troubleshooting step?
A. Boot to Safe Mode
B. Replace the boot drive
C. Restore from a known good backup
D. Check for removable drives
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 46
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A12. A user is having an issue with a smartphone battery bulging and physically pushing the screen away from the phone. The rest of the phone appears to be operating normally. Which of the following should be the BEST next troubleshooting step?
A. Power off the phone and contact support
B. Upgrade to the latest OS version
C. Replace the screen
D. Perform a factory reset
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 47
A13. A client’s laptop appears to boot normally, but nothing ever appears on the LCD. After closer inspection, you notice the output is visible but it's too faint to clearly see anything. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. Video card
B. Inverter
C. Video driver
D. Power adapter
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 48
A14. A graphics designer is experiencing increasing delays when accessing files on her hard drive. The user maintains a daily backup of all data on the drive. Which of these would be the BEST next troubleshooting step for this issue?
A. Reinstall Windows
B. Perform a hard drive diagnostic
C. Restore from the daily backup
D. Boot to Safe Mode
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 49
A15. Which of the following would be MOST likely found on an optical disc?
A. Document archive
B. Operating system boot files
C. RAID parity files
D. BIOS configurations
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 50
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A16. When a user starts their computer, the screen remains blank and the computer beeps twice. Which of these would be the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. The boot device is not connected
B. The memory is faulty
C. The operating system has become corrupted
D. The PC is infected with malware
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 51
A17. A firewall is configured to block email transfers from a remote server. Which of the following ports is the firewall blocking?
A. 443
B. 22
C. 23
D. 25
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 52
A18. A technician is connecting a laptop to an LCD projector in a conference room. The display on the laptop works properly, but the projector image is constantly flickering and pixelating. The technician has modified the resolution and refresh rates, but the projector image continues to flicker. Which of the following would be the BEST next troubleshooting step?
A. Replace the video cable
B. Disable the laptop display
C. Replace the projector bulb
D. Power cycle the projector
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 53
A19. The stylus on a Windows tablet will no longer interact with the user interface. Which of these would be the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. Digitizer
B. Backlight
C. Contrast
D. Inverter
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 54
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A20. A user in the accounting department needs to print a form on the laser printer on both sides of the page. Which of the following options should be configured in the accounting software?
A. Collate
B. Orientation
C. Duplex
D. Resolution
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 55
A21. A user needs to connect their laptop to the wired Ethernet network, but the laptop does not have an integrated Ethernet interface. Which of the following would allow the laptop to connect to an Ethernet network? (Pick TWO)
A. Docking station
B. VGA interface
C. USB to Ethernet adapter
D. DisplayPort to HDMI cable
E. DVI to HDMI adapter
F. Bluetooth
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 56
A22. A server administrator has received an alert showing one drive in a RAID 1 array has failed. Which of the following would be the best way to resolve this alert?
A. Replace the bad drive and resync the array
B. Replace all drives in the array and resync the array
C. Replace the bad drive and restore from backup
D. Convert the array to RAID 0 and replace the drive
E. Replace all drives in the array and restore from backup
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 57
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A23. A system administrator is building a server for a data center in another country. The server will manage a print queue and provide a local storage partition for temporary file transfers. Which of the following power supply specifications will be the MOST important for this server?
A. Voltage input options
B. Number of PCIe connectors
C. Modular cabling
D. Fan noise rating
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 58
A24. Which of the following ports are used for file transfers? (Select TWO)
A. 21
B. 110
C. 25
D. 23
E. 20
F. 53
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 59
A25. Which of these technologies do not require a backlight to provide a viewable display?
A. LCD
B. IPS
C. OLED
D. LED
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 60
A26. A system administrator has tripped over an Ethernet cable and the cable’s RJ45 connector has broken. Which of the following should be used to resolve this issue?
A. Punch-down tool
B. Tone generator and probe
C. Cable tester
D. Crimper
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 61
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A27. A network administrator is troubleshooting a network outage, and she believes the issue is related to a bad switch. The old switch is then replaced with a newer model and the cabling is moved to the new switch. Which of the following should be the NEXT troubleshooting steps? (Choose TWO)
A. Test the theory
B. Verify full system functionality
C. Establish a plan of action
D. Identify the problem
E. Document the findings
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 62
A28. A newly installed MFD provides an option to "scan to SMB." Which of the following would BEST describe this feature?
A. Print jobs can be sent from mobile devices
B. All scans are checked for malware
C. Files are stored on a Microsoft share
D. Documents are scanned from the cloud
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 63
A29. What type of device connects multiple computers to the network, but becomes less efficient as network traffic increases?
A. Switch
B. Hub
C. Repeater
D. Router
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 64
A30. In which of the following would a Lightning cable MOST likely be used?
A. Connect a server to a display monitor
B. Increase the available memory of a device
C. Remotely control a mobile device
D. Charge a mobile device
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 65
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A31. A network administrator would like to enable DHCP on a laptop, but they would like the same IP address to be assigned to the laptop each time it starts. Which of the following would provide this functionality?
A. Create an IP reservation on the DHCP server
B. Administratively configure the laptop’s MAC address
C. Use APIPA addressing
D. Assign the laptop to a static IP VLAN
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 66
A32. A user is complaining about slow network performance from their workstation. A network technician checks the data closet and finds the wires are not properly seated in the 110 block. Which of the following should the technician use to correct this issue?
A. Crimper
B. Multimeter
C. Punch-down tool
D. Cable tester
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 67
A33. A user has just connected to a new wireless network, but they cannot view any Internet web sites. Their network configuration shows the IP address as 169.254.228.109, the subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, and they have not been assigned a default gateway. Which of these is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. The subnet mask is not correct
B. The Internet provider is experiencing a temporary outage
C. The DHCP server is down
D. The wireless adapter is not working properly
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 68
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A34. A help desk technician needs to use different Windows versions to study for an industry certification exam. The technician currently uses a Windows desktop computer with 4 GB of RAM and a 750 GB free on the hard drive. Which of the following would be the BEST way to perform this task? (Choose TWO)
A. Install a second monitor
B. Install an additional hard drive
C. Create a Windows Recovery Environment boot drive
D. Upgrade the system RAM
E. Install Windows guest VMs
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 69
A35. While configuring a new workstation in the lab, one of the engineers recommends using 255.255.255.0. What part of the configuration is this associated with?
A. Default gateway
B. Subnet mask
C. DNS server
D. IP address
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 70
A36. Which of the following BEST describes a Bluetooth network?
A. PAN
B. WAN
C. LAN
D. MAN
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 71
A37. Sam, a user in the accounting department, is migrating from Android to iOS. She would like all of her emails, contact lists, and calendar events to be moved to her new phone. Which of the following would be the BEST way to accomplish this task?
A. Use a Windows-based migration tool
B. Save the Android phone data as a CSV file
C. Connect the new phone to the corporate Microsoft 365 service
D. Use a USB-to-Lightning cable
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 72
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A38. A user's smartphone shows a black screen and does not respond to any screen taps or button presses. A check of the SIM card shows a red label but no physical damage. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for these issues?
A. Overheating
B. Digitizer failure
C. Liquid damage
D. Invalid SIM card
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 73
A39. A server administrator has been asked to configure the storage requirements for a new database server. The database owner requires the fastest performance and redundancy if a single drive fails. The storage array should support at least 8 TB of available space. Which of the following options would be the BEST choice?
A. RAID 10 with 5,400 RPM, 8 TB drives
B. RAID 5 with 10,000 RPM, 5 TB drives
C. RAID 1 with 7,200 RPM, 8 TB drives
D. RAID 0 with 15,000 RPM, 5 TB drives
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 74
A40. A user would like to access email from their Windows 10 laptop using a smartphone’s Internet connection. Which of these technologies needs to be enabled on the laptop?
A. LTE
B. 802.11
C. NFC
D. IR
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 75
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A41. A system administrator needs to upgrade a laptop from a hard drive to an SSD. Which of the following would provide the most efficient method of upgrading this system?
A. Create an image of the hard drive and restore to the SSD
B. Install a new Windows license and application files on the SSD
C. Backup all user documents and copy them to another computer
D. Compress the home directory and upload it to cloud storage
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 76
A42. A new employee has been assigned a corporate smartphone, but the camera and the installation of third-party apps has been disabled. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for these issues?
A. The smartphone is out of storage space
B. The smartphone OS needs to be upgraded
C. An MDM has disabled the features
D. The smartphone hardware is faulty
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 77
A43. A system administrator is using a maintenance kit on a network-connected laser printer. Which of the following should be the LAST step when performing this maintenance?
A. Examine the feed rollers
B. Wait until the fuser unit cools down and replace it
C. Reset the page counter
D. Replace the power cord
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 78
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A44. An application developer needs to test an application across all of the operating systems used by the company. Each operating system will be tested individually in a lab environment. The company would like to minimize any additional hardware purchases for this project. Which of the following would be the BEST way to test this application?
A. Purchase a system that is configured just above the hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create separate VMs for each operating system.
B. Purchase individual test computers that match the hardware requirements for each OS. Install different operating systems on each test computer.
C. Designate existing user workstations to be used as testing systems. Run all application tests during non-working hours.
D. Purchase a system that matches the minimum hardware requirements for the highest-end operating system. Create a system image for each operating system and reimage the computer between tests.
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 79
A45. Which wireless standard can operate in the 5 GHz band and provides approximately 10 Gbit/sec of throughput?
A. 802.11ac
B. 802.11g
C. 802.11ax
D. 802.11n
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 81
A46. A user in the manufacturing department reports that every page printed from the central networked laser printer has a single black line extending from the top of the page to the bottom. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. The fuser is damaged
B. The printer language is not properly configured
C. The photosensitive drum is damaged
D. The toner is low
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 82
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A47. Which mobile device connection is commonly used for making payments at a store checkout?
A. NFC
B. Infrared
C. Cellular
D. Bluetooth
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 83
A48. A company hosts a cloud-based application which includes redundant servers located in different data centers around the world. Which of the following cloud computing characteristics would BEST describe this application design?
A. Rapid elasticity
B. High availability
C. Non-metered
D. Desktop as a Service
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 84
A49. When printing a document on a laser printer, a user finds that all of the text on the page smears when touched. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
A. Fuser is damaged
B. Toner cartridge is low
C. Photosensitive drum has been scratched
D. Incorrect printer driver is installed
E. Printer cleaning process is not working
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 85
A50. A manager’s computer is able to connect to Internet sites while in conference rooms or in the building courtyard. When the laptop is brought back to the manager’s desk and placed into the docking station, the Internet access is unavailable but all other features are working. Which of the following should be the FIRST troubleshooting task for this issue?
A. Replace the docking station power supply
B. Upgrade the laptop BIOS
C. Replace the docking station
D. Check the docking station network cable
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 86
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A51. A company is developing an internal application for smartphones and tablets. Which of the following would improve the security of the application's logon process?
A. Data caps
B. Two-factor authentication
C. Bluetooth pairing
D. NFC
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 89
A52. Which of the following would be MOST associated with an IoT device?
A. Multithreading
B. ARM
C. Virtualization support
D. ECC RAM
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 88
A53. What is the minimum category of unshielded copper cable for a 10 gigabit per second Ethernet link with a fifteen meter distance?
A. Category 5
B. Category 6
C. Category 5e
D. Category 6A
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 87
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A54. An engineer has manually configured IP addresses for a small office that uses a cable modem for Internet connectivity. However, none of the devices configured with a manual IP address are able to browse Internet websites. All devices are connected to the cable modem with twisted-pair Ethernet cables. This is the configuration of one device:
IP address: 192.168.1.7
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 192.168.1.7
The engineer can successfully ping the local IP address and the default gateway address. Which of the following should be the NEXT troubleshooting step?
A. Check for duplicate IP addresses
B. Replace the Ethernet cable
C. Check the DNS configuration
D. Replace the cable modem
Quick Answer: 31, The Details: 90
A55. A