A+ Quizzes - - Test your knowledge

[Greco101]

Well, since I'm going for my A+ cert, I'll take a little extra time and post my quizzes as I get them for all of you to learn/study and/or keep your mind up to date. Answers will be at the end to show I'm not trying to cheat haha.

Question 1

The term ____ refers to the computer’s physical components, such as the monitor, keyboard, memory chips, and hard drive.

software
hardware
firmware
output

Question 2

The term ____ refers to the set of instructions that directs the hardware to accomplish a task.

software
hardware
input
output

Question 3

A 1 or 0 in the binary number system is called a ____.

byte
bit
nibble
trace

Question 4

A device that is not installed directly on the motherboard is called a(n) ____ device.

input
output
peripheral
parallel

Question 5

A ____ port is used for high-speed multimedia devices such as digital camcorders.

parallel
S/PDIF
FireWire
USB

Question 6

A ____ port can be used by many different input/output devices, such as keyboards, printers, scanners, and digital cameras.

parallel
S/PDIF
FireWire
USB

Question 7

The processor uses temporary storage, called ____, to temporarily hold both data and instructions while it is processing them.

primary storage
secondary storage
serial storage
parallel storage

Question 8

Permanent storage is sometimes called ____.

primary storage
secondary storage
serial storage
parallel storage

Question 9

Primary storage is provided by devices called ____.

CD
USB
RAM
CPU

Question 10

RAM boards are called ____.

chipsets
motherboards
hard drives
memory modules

Question 11

____ are circuits or paths on the motherboard that enable data, instructions, and power to move from component to component on the board.

Protocols
Traces
Cards
Ports

Question 12

The width of a data bus is called the ____.

row number
data path size
clock speed
pipe size

Question 13

____ is one million cycles per second.

Megahertz (MHz)
Hertz (Hz)
Gigahertz (GHz)
Nanohertz (NHz)

Question 14

____ is an upgrade of Windows 2000.

Windows NT
Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows XP

Question 15

Windows XP Professional requires a minimum of ____ MB of RAM.

16
32
64
128

Question 16

Linux is distributed by several different companies, whose versions of Linux are sometimes called ____.

distributions
applications
clusters
modules

Question 17

When an OS is first executed, the initial screen that appears, together with its menus, commands, and icons, is called the _____.

registry
taskbar
device manager
desktop

Question 18

A hard drive or floppy disk is composed of ____, which are concentric circles on the disk surface.

sectors
clusters
tracks
directories

Question 19

When each logical drive is formatted, a single directory table is placed on the drive called the ____.

sector directory
root directory
cluster directory
initialization directory

Question 20

The method of using the hard drive as though it were RAM is called ____.

multitasking
virtual memory
preemptive multitasking
initialization





Answers: (highlight)

1 - hardware
2 - software
3 - bit
4 - peripheral
5 - FireWire
6 - USB
7 - primary storage
8 - secondary storage
9 - RAM
10 - memory modules
11 - Traces
12 - data path size
13 - Megahertz (MHz)
14 - Windows XP
15 - 64
16 - distributions
17 - desktop
18 - tracks
19 - root directory
20 - virtual memory

[xRyokenx]

Wow... That quiz looks quite easy, lol, I'd probably get a near 100 on that sucker.

[Computer-Geek]

The quiz is kinda easy lol. I wanted to take this class in h.s. but they put me in MOS now :( but it still is a good class.

[SgtM]

Can I have my certificate now?

[Greco101]

haha, it's only chapter 1 and 2 quiz. It will get harder.

[Luke122]

Not much harder though. :)

[Killdrath]

I cold turkeyed my A+ cert a couple years ago. I really isnt that hard. The MCSE, on the other hand... and dont even talk about the CCNA (wish I could get that one)

[Omega]

I should go out for my A+ cert.

[D1337]

A+ is probably the easiest out of them all, no offense but an A+ cert wont do much for getting a career, unless you plan on being a sales rep. Microsoft cert's for software can be a bitch, especially because they make you know things that 99.99% of the time youll never use. (took excel, PP, Word, access and passed em all last year)
Working on networking this year then in college probably programming.

[Omega]

I wouldn't get it for going into a career. I want to be an auto mechanic and plan on getting my certs in that field anyways (ASE, etc, still have to find out what they all are)

I might use it to get me into geek quad or something as a side job for a little more cash, though

[SgtM]

I cold turkeyed my A+ cert a couple years ago. I really isnt that hard. The MCSE, on the other hand... and dont even talk about the CCNA (wish I could get that one)

I need to finish my MCSE. I have my MCP, but have 6 tests to take to finish the cert. I also need to get off my ass and reschedule the CCNA and get it out of the way too.

[Luke122]

I did my MCP, MCT, and MCSE in 1999.... right at the end of the NT4 track. Within 3 months, my cert needed to be updated to Win2k, and I was mad as hell.

I've already pitched the MCSE again to my boss, to get me up to date again on certs.. I figure that if I have to sign a 3yr contract here, I might as well get all the training I can in that time. :)

[nil8]

A+ & Net+ plus a few years good work experience will get you a decent grunt job.
A+ is cake. I took that crap back in 7th grade.

CCNA is much harder. I wonder if they still talk about ISDN on there....
oh well, not concerned enough to retake.

[Luke122]

LOL

Security+ was a bit of a challenge, but I did that one last August. CCNA is on my list for later though, maybe next year. I'd also like to get some Linux certification going as well, and definitely more security.

[b4i7]

geek squad here you dont need your a+...haha...

[Luke122]

Hehe.. geek squad here needs to secure their AP in the store.

I wonder when they'll notice the 300gb's of duplicated files on that machine..? ;)

[Killdrath]

I used to run my own "geek squad"-like biz. Several times I got called in after the Squad had already been there. Every time, what they did made the real fix take longer. Different branches might work differently, but here, they'd come in to "defrag the HDD" and end up selling the customer $200 of additional product because their system "required it to keep functioning".

[simon275]

I am doing my CCNA in my university degree.

[Omega]

You join up with geek-squad and I will ban you myself.

My dad works for Geek Squad, lol

he's like the only GS employee in the northern bay area

If I ever did join it'd be for the money, definitely. But then again, the closest Best Buy store is 10mi north of my house. =p

[xRyokenx]

I try to depend on myself whenever I can, and when I can't figure it out, I come to you guys, lol... and I'm learning, which is an excellent thing as I'll (hopefully) never have to go to 'tardSquad ever, I've only ever heard bad things about them anyway, I'd much sooner go to a real PC repair shop.

[grizzlyironbear]

I went and got an A+, NET+, and MCSC XP certs and most of the computer repair stores looked at my certs as if i was a hump-backed gorilla....sadly to enough to say, i went back to construction to pay the bills.

[public_eyesore]

I failed the hardware by 1 question, so I decided I wasn't gonna take the software and waste my time. I bought the test through my school teacher and he signed me up for the old test thinking it would be easier for me. i had no idea what half the sockets were I was asked and it had multiple questions on severly outdated hardware, where in the real world it would be cheaper for a client to get a used p4 off of ebay than to fix.

[.Maleficus.]

I try to depend on myself whenever I can, and when I can't figure it out, I come to you guys, lol... and I'm learning, which is an excellent thing as I'll (hopefully) never have to go to 'tardSquad ever, I've only ever heard bad things about them anyway, I'd much sooner go to a real PC repair shop.
Learning is good.

GeekSquad has never failed my parents the few times they went there. I'm hoping to work there myself. GeekSquad may have done the wrong thing for you once, but so what, McDonalds does that all the time, so does BurgerKing, and Wendys... For the most part, about 98% of the time, GeekSquad really helps. Ask any tech-disabled person and they'll tell you they love GeekSquad, because they take the computer, and fix it. That's it.

[Elenril]

I've been reading this thread, and in my head the entire time I've had this image of a bunch of geeks who run their own reality TV Show fixing people's computers. What on earth is the GeekSquad?? Someone please enlighten me before my mental image of America is completely shattered!

[.Maleficus.]

I've been reading this thread, and in my head the entire time I've had this image of a bunch of geeks who run their own reality TV Show fixing people's computers. What on earth is the GeekSquad?? Someone please enlighten me before my mental image of America is completely shattered!
It's the BestBuy computer repair team. Take your computer to BestBuy, GeekSquad will fix it. They have white shirts, black ties, and black and white VW Beetles.


Edit: Also, I'm starting to work on A+ too. I checked out the CompTIA book from the library, and so far, all of this stuff is pretty easy. It's 1500 pages, and I'm on 50something, but still, it's all stuff I've either learned here or playing with stuff at home.

[nil8]

CompTIA revamped their test last year or the year before and now it is much easier. There is much less useless, arbitrary knowledge required about older hardware, older software information, etc etc. But that was part of the fun of A+. You had to learn all this unneeded crap just to pass the test. Just like almost every cert....

[xRyokenx]

Well, please forgive my ignorance, lol. I'd only ever heard bad things about Geek Squad and nobody ever tells the good about things, only the bad... kinda causes me to forget the "good" in anything when it's always ignored. I'll try to not do that again, lol.

Just like with our discussion about surveys in Psychology, not everyone replies or sends it in, for any number of reasons. Some dumb broad wrote a book about women and love and used surveys for that (it's not the surveys that make it a dumb book...) and only 4% of the people surveyed mailed it back, hence why the book was so skewed. This woman just wanted to make money, hence why she didn't put more care into what she was talking about.

[.Maleficus.]

Well, please forgive my ignorance, lol. I'd only ever heard bad things about Geek Squad and nobody ever tells the good about things, only the bad... kinda causes me to forget the "good" in anything when it's always ignored. I'll try to not do that again, lol.

Just like with our discussion about surveys in Psychology, not everyone replies or sends it in, for any number of reasons. Some dumb broad wrote a book about women and love and used surveys for that (it's not the surveys that make it a dumb book...) and only 4% of the people surveyed mailed it back, hence why the book was so skewed. This woman just wanted to make money, hence why she didn't put more care into what she was talking about.
That's why I hate the news. It's always about what's wrong with the war, not what's right.

@ Minty: Most of the people I've talked to who've ever used GeekSquad have been satisfied. Though I agree they're a bit *cough* overpriced, it doesn't change the fact that they help the Average Joes with their problems. People want their computers to work, always, and the expect that. Always. If there's something wrong with it, people will pay whatever they need to get it working. ...Instead of using Google. More than half of my computer knowledge has come from Google.

Like I said though, no average person wants to open a computer and potentially **** it up because they want an extra Gig of RAM. $40 is a sweet deal when it means not destroying a $1500 computer (though that's unlikely in such an easy upgrade... (When you think about it, if you spent your entire day upgrading RAM at GeekSquad, you'd make like $9,600/hr. for the 15 seconds it takes to put in a stick of RAM. Nice :up:))

[Greco101]

Question 1

A ____ CD can be used to boot a system and repair or reinstall the Windows operating system.

dual inline
grounding
recovery
static



Question 2

A ____ is used to test a serial, parallel, USB, network, or other port.

recovery CD
diagnostic card
soft boot
loop-back plug


Question 3

Although not an essential tool, a POST ____ can be of great help to discover and report computer errors and

conflicts at POST.

loop-back plug
diagnostic card
recovery CD
ground bracelet



Question 4

In Windows XP, you should choose the ____ setting for updates.

Automatic
Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them
Notify me but don’t automatically download or install them
Turn off Automatic Updates


Question 5

A preventive maintenance plan tends to evolve from a history or pattern of ____ within an organization.

malfunctions
computer purchases
security updates
computer maintenance



Question 6

You should perform regular backups of the hard drive at least ____.

daily
weekly
monthly
yearly



Question 7

Button batteries used in digital cameras, Flash Path, and other small equipment ____.

can contain silver oxide, mercury, lithium, or cadmium and are considered hazardous waste
can be disposed in the regular trash
should be physically damaged before being put in regular trash
should be returned to the manufacturer or dealer to be recycled



Question 8

A floppy drive cable has ____ pins and a twist in the cable. IDE cables have ____ pins.
Question 8 answers
40, 34
34, 40
34, 34
40, 40



Question 9

A hard boot is also called a(n) ____ boot.

cold
warm
static
compressed



Question 10

The ____ is a series of tests performed by the startup BIOS to determine if it can communicate correctly with

essential hardware components required for a successful boot.

POST
ESD
MSDS
MBR



Question 11

The most popular form factor is the ____.

ATX
BTX
LPX
NLX



Question 12

MicroATX reduces the total cost of a system by ____.

reducing the number of I/O slots on the motherboard
reducing the power supplied to the board
allowing for a smaller case size
All of the above



Question 13

The first ATX power supplies and motherboards use a single power connector called the ____ connector.

P1
P2
P5
P7



Question 14

Using the ____ feature, an OS, such as Windows 2000/XP or Windows 98, can turn off the power to a system after the

shutdown procedure is done.

double switch
firewall switch
soft power
warm power



Question 15

A ____ occurs when uncontrolled electricity flows from the hot line to the neutral line or from the hot line to

ground.

spike
short
fuse
circuit



Question 16

A ____ is an electronic device that can hold an electrical charge for a period of time and can smooth the uneven

flow of electricity through a circuit.

fuse
short
transistor
capacitor



Question 17

A ____ is a semiconductor device that allows electricity to flow in only one direction.

resistor
diode
fuse
capacitor


Question 18

A ____ is an electronic device that limits the amount of current that can flow through it.

resistor
diode
fuse
capacitor



Question 19

Temporary voltage reductions are called ____.

spikes
sags
swells
blackouts


Question 20

____ are materials, such as glass or ceramic, that resist the flow of electricity.

Transmitters
Conductors
Insulators
Semiconductors




anyone know number 14????

[.Maleficus.]

I believe it's soft power.

[XcOM]

I believe it's soft power.


Correct, here have a cookie

1 ) Recovery
2 ) Loop-Back Plug
3 ) Diagnostic card
4 ) Automatic (this is personal opinion, but personaly i diable this, its recommended to have automatic)
5 ) computer maintenance
6 ) Weekly (Business server), Monthly (Workstation and home PC) Daily (Mission critical)
7 ) should be returned to the manufacturer or dealer to be recycled
8 ) 34,40
9 ) Cold
10) POST
11) ATX
12) All of the above
13) P1 (I think)
14) Soft Power
15) Short
16) capacitor
17) Diode
18) Resistor
19) Sags/Spikes
20) Insulators

go on then, whats my score, BTW, i didn't use google. :banana:

[Greco101]

This is what I have and I'm getting 9.5 outta 10. Even though a retarded ass question, I know 5) is malfunctions because I checked in the book. I have no idea wtf could be wrong!?

1) recovery
2) loop-back plug
3) diagnostic card
4) Automatic
5) malfunctions
6) weekly
7) should be returned to the manufacturer or dealer to be recycled
8) 34, 40
9) cold
10) POST
11) ATX
12) All of the above
13) P1
14) soft power
15) short
16) capacitor
17) diode
18) resistor
19) sags
20) Insulators

[.Maleficus.]

Correct, here have a cookie
YAY! I LOVE COOKIES!

Yeah, I'm so ready for the test. Just gotta finish the last few chapters *cough 10 cough* and schedule it. So far I haven't learned anything new (with the exception of old hardware things that no longer are in use (yes I'm looking at you SIMM...)).

[Greco101]

Getting a little more difficult :)
somewhere I'm missed 3. Can anyone spot them? (+rep to the first person who gets them)


Question 1

A ____ keyboard needs a driver to work.

wireless
DIN
PS/2
**USB

Question 2

A ____ can be used to identify a person’s fingerprints, handprints, face, voice, eye, and handwritten signatures.

barcode reader
**biometric device
touch pad
trackball

Question 3

Many monitors use ____ technology, in which the filaments at the back of the cathode tube shoot a beam of electrons to the

screen at the front of the tube.

LCD
**CRT
TFT
PS/2

Question 4

A(n) ____ monitor produces an image using a liquid crystal material made of large, easily polarized molecules.

**LCD
CRT
DTE
PS/2

Question 5

The ____ rate is the number of times in one second an electronic beam can fill the screen with lines from top to bottom.

draw
beam
**refresh
activation

Question 6

For CRT monitors, ____ is a measure of how many spots on a CRT screen are addressable by software.

refresh rate
**resolution
triad
dot pitch


Question 7

FireWire and i.Link are common names for the peripheral bus officially named IEEE ____.

1284
**1394
1565
1583

Question 8

Chips sometimes loosen because of thermal changes; this condition is called ____.

bursting
**chip creep
cracking
chip mold

Question 9

The number of bits used to store a sample of sound is called the ____.

sample depth
card size
**sample size
sampling rate

Question 10

The ____ of a sound card is the number of samples taken of an analog sound signal over a period of time.

sample depth
card size
sample size
**sampling rate

Question 11

A popular audio compression method is ____, a method that can reduce the size of a sound file as much as 1:24 without much

loss of quality.

TIFF
**MP3
JPEG
TWAIN

Question 12

____ is a multimedia data compression standard that tracks movement from one frame to the next and stores only what changes,

rather than compressing individual frames.

TIFF
**MPEG
JPEG
TWAIN

Question 13

Playing MP3 files directly from the Internet without first downloading them is called ____.

burning audio
sampling
**streaming audio
ripping

Question 14

DVD drives use the ____ file system.

CDFS
NTFS
FAT12
**UDF

Question 15

DVD and CD technologies are known as ____ storage technologies.

serial
numerical
**optical
parallel

Question 16

The surface of a CD stores data as pits and ____.

sectors
lands
mounts
**tracks

Question 17

A ____ disc can be used to write and overwrite.

CD-W
CD-R
**CD-RW
regular CD

Question 18

A DVD can hold ____ GB of data.

4.5
6.8
7.2
**8.5

Question 19

Collectively, the methods used to improve performance and automatically recover from a failure are called ____.

**RAID
MMX
SIMD
MP3

Question 20

A ____ volume appears as a simple volume but can use space from two or more physical disks.

**striped
RAID-5
spanned
simple

[Greco101]

*bump*

Since editing a post doesn't bump it.

[XcOM]

sorry. me and bro did this, we both got near enough all barr 1 correct.

[Greco101]

I'm missing one too... I dunno wtf I'm missing.

I realized (1) was wireless and (20) was spanned.

I can't pick out the 3rd though. :o\

[XcOM]

ok, shell i answer them for you, now i answered this, and passed them to my dad who checked.

Question 1

A ____ keyboard needs a driver to work.

wireless
DIN
PS/2
USB

Question 2

A ____ can be used to identify a person’s fingerprints, handprints, face, voice, eye, and handwritten signatures.

barcode reader
biometric device
touch pad
trackball

Question 3

Many monitors use ____ technology, in which the filaments at the back of the cathode tube shoot a beam of electrons to the

screen at the front of the tube.

LCD
CRT
TFT
PS/2

Question 4

A(n) ____ monitor produces an image using a liquid crystal material made of large, easily polarized molecules.

LCD
CRT
DTE
PS/2

Question 5

The ____ rate is the number of times in one second an electronic beam can fill the screen with lines from top to bottom.

draw
beam
refresh
activation

Question 6

For CRT monitors, ____ is a measure of how many spots on a CRT screen are addressable by software.

refresh rate
resolution
triad
dot pitch


Question 7

FireWire and i.Link are common names for the peripheral bus officially named IEEE ____.

1284
1394
1565
1583

Question 8

Chips sometimes loosen because of thermal changes; this condition is called ____.

bursting
chip creep
cracking
chip mold

Question 9

The number of bits used to store a sample of sound is called the ____.

sample depth
card size
sample size
Sample Rate (Sorry, you got this and the one below the wrong way round, i think so, my dad says i am correct anyway, its a hard question)

Question 10

The ____ of a sound card is the number of samples taken of an analog sound signal over a period of time.

sample depth
card size
sample size
sampling rate

Question 11

A popular audio compression method is ____, a method that can reduce the size of a sound file as much as 1:24 without much

loss of quality.

TIFF
MP3
JPEG
TWAIN

Question 12

____ is a multimedia data compression standard that tracks movement from one frame to the next and stores only what changes,

rather than compressing individual frames.

TIFF
MPEG
JPEG
TWAIN

Question 13

Playing MP3 files directly from the Internet without first downloading them is called ____.

burning audio
sampling
Streaming audio
ripping

Question 14

DVD drives use the ____ file system.

CDFS
NTFS
FAT12
UDF

Question 15

DVD and CD technologies are known as ____ storage technologies.

serial
numerical
optical
parallel

Question 16

The surface of a CD stores data as pits and ____.

sectors
lands
mounts
tracks

Question 17

A ____ disc can be used to write and overwrite.

CD-W
CD-R
CD-RW
regular CD

Question 18

A DVD can hold ____ GB of data.

4.5 (SOrry you were wrong, a dvd can only hold 4.5GB, it is 4.7 but only write 4.5)
6.8
7.2
8.5 (This is for DL-DVD only)

Question 19

Collectively, the methods used to improve performance and automatically recover from a failure are called ____.

RAID
MMX
SIMD
MP3

Question 20

A ____ volume appears as a simple volume but can use space from two or more physical disks.

striped
RAID-5
spanned
simple

[Greco101]

9 ) number of bits refers to the size
10 ) Number/period of time would be a rate
18 ) Damn, you're right... that's the one I got wrong... I knew of dvd's being capable of 8.5 and since there was no 4.7, I thought it was a trick question.
20 ) Striped is very close to spanned. The difference being striped (AKA raid 0) writes evenly and is faster than spanned but spanned is the correct answer.

[XcOM]

ah yes i bow down and say sorry, i did indeed get the sound samples the wrong way, you werer write the first time, my dad ovoisuly just skimmed it, and yes with raid (Last question) both answers are techinaly correct, they both peform the same fundamental task, just go about it differently

and with question 18,

think of this, what size is a floppy disk? 1.44MB i here you say, WRONG
a floppy disk is 2.0MB unformatted, but about 1.44after formatting, i used to force format some of my floppy disks to 1.85MB and confuse the hell of of people at school with them.

[Greco101]

Question 1

A ____ consists of personal devices at close range such as a cell phone, PDA, and notebook computer in communication.

MAN
WAN
LAN
PAN

Question 2

A ____ covers a small local area such as a home, office, or other building or small group of buildings.

MAN
WAN
LAN
PAN

Question 3

A device on a network is called a(n) ____.

gateway
node
adapter
cell

Question 4

Every network adapter has a 48-bit (6-byte) number hard-coded on the card by its manufacturer that is used to identify the adapter on the network; this number is called the ____ address.

node
IP
MAC
packet

Question 5

Data is transmitted on a network in pieces called ____.

pages
nodes
files
packets

Question 6

____ is the most popular network architecture used today.

CDMA
Ethernet
RJ-45
Wi-Fi

Question 7

Twisted-pair cable uses a connector called a(n) ____ connector.

RJ-45
ST
SC
BNC

Question 8

Thin coaxial cable uses a(n) ____ connector.

RJ-45
ST
SC
BNC

Question 9

____ cables transmit signals as pulses of light over glass strands inside protected tubing.

Coaxial
Twisted-pair
Electromagnetic
Fiber-optic

Question 10

____ Ethernet operates at 100 Mbps and uses STP or UTP cabling rated CAT-5 or higher.

10BaseT
10Base2
10Base5
100BaseT

Question 11

A ____ topology connects each node in a line and has no central connection point.

star
bus
hub
boat

Question 12

Wireless devices can connect to a LAN by way of a wireless ____.

augmentation point
switching point
access point
regeneration point

Question 13 text Question 13 0.5 points Save

A(n) ____ address identifies a computer, printer, or other device on a TCP/IP network.
Question 13 answers
IP
TCP
switch
ISP

Question 14 text Question 14 0.5 points Save

____ uses a single public IP address to access the Internet on behalf of all hosts on the network using other IP addresses.
Question 14 answers
APIPA
NAT
DHCP
DNS

Question 15

An e-mail server receiving mail is normally assigned port ____.

20
25
80
143

Question 16

The ____ utility displays the NIC’s MAC address.

ARP
Ipconfig
Ping
Getmac

Question 17

A(n) ____ is an address for a Web page or other resource on the Internet.

HTTP
URL
ARP
FTP

Question 18

The final segment of a domain name is called the ____ domain and tells you something about the organization or individual who owns the name.

bottom-level
extension-level
top-level
suffix-level

Question 19

To know if a connection to a Web site is secured, look for ____ in the browser address box and a lock icon at the bottom of the browser window.

ssl
tls
cert
https

Question 20

The most popular way to transfer files over the Internet is to use the ____, which can transfer files between two computers using the same or different operating systems.

SMTP
FTP
NNTP
VoIP