Free CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A technician is ordering a replacement M.2 wireless card for a laptop. The card bay and retaining screw are positioned for a module 22 mm wide and 30 mm long. Which M.2 form factor matches that physical space?

   1. A. M.2 2230
   2. B. M.2 2242
   3. C. M.2 2260
   4. D. M.2 2280

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The module maker's specifications state, "M.2 2230: 22mm x 30mm x 2.4mm". The first two digits give the width and the remaining two the length in millimeters, so a 22 by 30 mm laptop wireless-card bay takes a 2230 module.

   Reference: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 Module Product Brief — Module Technical Specifications / General / Dimensions

2. 2A support technician is checking the default port used for a secure shell connection to a network device. Which port should the technician check?

   1. A. TCP port 21
   2. B. TCP port 22
   3. C. TCP port 23
   4. D. TCP port 25

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The official objectives list "22 – Secure Shell (SSH)" under ports and protocols. Thus the technician should check port 22 for the stated SSH connection.

   Reference: CompTIA A+ Core 1 objectives v4.0 — p. 5, objective 2.1, Ports and protocols

3. 3A technician selects a panel whose pixels produce their own light without a separate backlight. Which display technology meets that requirement?

   1. A. TN LCD
   2. B. IPS LCD
   3. C. VA LCD
   4. D. OLED

   Answer: D

   Explanation: LG Display describes OLED as "A self-emissive display where each pixel emits and controls its own light, eliminating the need for a backlight". The other listed technologies are LCD panel variants, which use a backlight.

   Reference: LG Display, Transparent OLED — LCD and OLED comparison

4. 4A technician prepares a host to run several isolated guest operating systems under a hypervisor. Which processor capability is specifically required for this virtualization setup?

   1. A. Hardware assisted virtualization
   2. B. Error correcting memory support
   3. C. Simultaneous multithreading
   4. D. Integrated graphics processing

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Microsoft states, "Hyper-V requires a processor that includes hardware assisted virtualization". This capability supports the proposed hypervisor configuration; the other CPU features serve different purposes.

   Reference: Microsoft Learn, Hyper-V Architecture — Architecture overview

5. 5A desktop shows no lights, fan activity, or other signs of life when its power button is pressed. Which startup failure category best describes the symptom?

   1. A. No power
   2. B. No POST
   3. C. No boot
   4. D. No video

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Dell defines the category: "No Power: With the Power button is pressed, no Diagnostics LEDs illuminate and the Power button LED does not light up." The complete absence of power indicators fits no power.

   Reference: Dell, Resolve No Power, No POST, No Boot or No Video Issues — No Power definition

6. 6During a laptop wireless-card replacement, a technician needs a mating antenna plug for the standard RF micro-coax receptacle on an M.2 wireless adapter. What outer receptacle diameter should the plug match?

   1. A. 1.0 mm
   2. B. 1.2 mm
   3. C. 1.5 mm
   4. D. 2.0 mm

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The adapter maker identifies the standard M.2 RF micro-coax receptacle "with an outer diameter of 1.5 mm as defined in the PCI-E* M.2 Specification." This is the mating receptacle diameter, distinct from the 2 mm by 2 mm physical outline of the whole connector.

   Reference: Type of Wi-Fi Antenna Connectors Required for Intel Wireless Cards — Resolution / Receptacle Outer Diameter

7. 7A technician examines a DHCP client's request sent toward the DHCP server. Which UDP destination port is used on the server side?

   1. A. UDP port 53
   2. B. UDP port 67
   3. C. UDP port 68
   4. D. UDP port 69

   Answer: B

   Explanation: RFC 2131 states, "DHCP messages from a client to a server are sent to the 'DHCP server' port (67)". Port 68 is for server-to-client traffic, so the client request goes to UDP 67.

   Reference: RFC 2131: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol — §4.1, p. 22

8. 8A laptop has one video output, and two monitors need independent images through a supported daisy chain. Which interface feature should the technician verify?

   1. A. DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport
   2. B. HDMI Consumer Electronics Control
   3. C. DVI Dual Link signaling
   4. D. VGA analog RGB signaling

   Answer: A

   Explanation: VESA calls it "multi-stream technology – the ability to stream independent video displays from a single desktop or notebook video output." Supported DisplayPort MST provides the independent streams needed for this daisy chain.

   Reference: VESA, Driving Multiple Displays from a Single DisplayPort Output — Opening paragraphs, multi-stream technology

9. 9A technician needs a guest workload with its own full operating system and kernel. Which environment provides that architecture?

   1. A. A process isolated container
   2. B. A virtual machine
   3. C. A browser application sandbox
   4. D. A user session on the host

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Microsoft explains that "VMs run a complete operating system–including its own kernel". That is the architecture requested for this workload.

   Reference: Microsoft Learn, Containers vs. Virtual Machines — Virtual machine architecture

10. 10A drive remains readable, but its general SMART health summary changes from Pass to Fail. Which event is the threshold-based criterion described by the drive maker for that summary change?

    1. A. A monitored attribute crosses its threshold.
    2. B. A drive self-test reports an isolated read error.
    3. C. An attribute raw value changes within its limit.
    4. D. The operating system retries a disk I/O request.

    Answer: A

    Explanation: Seagate explains, "If any one attribute exceeds a threshold then a general SMART Status test will change from Pass to Fail." This status transition follows an attribute threshold crossing; an isolated self-test error, in-range raw-value change, or OS retry does not itself establish that general threshold condition.

    Reference: Seagate, Internal Hard Drive Troubleshooter — SMART error / A third-party SMART software issued an alert