Practice Test Hardware Flashcards
7 cards from real COMPTIA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Practice Test Hardware flashcards as text
A user's system freezes randomly and blue-screens. Memory diagnostics pass but the issue persists. What should the technician investigate NEXT?
Answer: Check CPU temperature and thermal paste condition
After ruling out RAM, thermal throttling or CPU overheating due to dried thermal paste or a failing cooler is the next most common cause of random BSODs and freezes.
Which BIOS feature, when enabled, allows the operating system to manage CPU power states and reduce power consumption at idle?
Answer: EIST / SpeedStep / Cool'n'Quiet
Intel EIST (SpeedStep) and AMD Cool'n'Quiet/CPB are CPU power management features that dynamically lower clock speed and voltage at idle to reduce power draw.
A technician needs to connect an older VGA monitor to a new laptop that only has a USB-C port. What is the correct adapter path?
Answer: USB-C to VGA active adapter directly
A USB-C to VGA active adapter handles the digital-to-analog conversion directly, providing the cleanest and simplest connection path.
What is the purpose of a write-blocker device when a technician is performing forensic imaging of a hard drive?
Answer: It prevents any writes to the evidence drive, preserving its integrity
A write-blocker is a forensic tool that passes read commands to a drive while blocking all write commands, ensuring the evidence drive remains unaltered.
A workstation has four RAM slots and 32GB installed as 2x16GB. The user wants 64GB total. What upgrade path maintains dual-channel operation?
Answer: Add two 16GB modules to the two empty slots
Adding two matched 16GB modules to the remaining two slots creates a 4x16GB configuration (64GB total) that maintains dual-channel across all four populated slots.
Which connector on a power supply is specifically designed to provide additional power to high-end CPUs beyond what the 24-pin ATX connector supplies?
Answer: EPS 8-pin (or 4+4-pin) CPU connector
The EPS 8-pin (or 4+4-pin) connector, also called the ATX12V connector, supplies dedicated 12V power to the CPU voltage regulators on the motherboard.
A technician is asked to replace a failed drive in a RAID 5 array while the server remains online. What is this capability called?
Answer: Hot swap
Hot swap allows a drive to be replaced while the system is running and fully powered, without interrupting server operations or unmounting the array.