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Hardware

5 free questions with worked answers, and 200 more in the full bank.

Free questions

More Hardware questions (page 3 of 4)

Answers and explanations are in the full bank.

• A user says their laptop has “512 GB of memory”, reading from the SSD label. What is the difference between RAM and storage? · 1 mark
• A department replaces a 4-core PC with a 16-core one, but a legacy report program runs no faster. Task Manager shows one core busy and the rest nearly idle. Why? · 3 marks
• A new 3.0 GHz processor finishes the same tasks faster than a seven-year-old 3.8 GHz processor with the same number of cores. How is this possible? · 3 marks
• The communications unit needs PCs for editing training videos, while the registry office needs PCs for email and word processing. Which approach to processors makes sense? · 2 marks
• When building a desktop, how should case fans usually be arranged for good cooling? · 2 marks
• Two hard disks have the same capacity, but one spins at 5,400 RPM and the other at 7,200 RPM. Which statement is correct? · 1 mark
• Whichever brand is chosen, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs read at no more than about 550 MB/s. Why? · 2 marks
• Which type of drive is usually the fastest for a new PC's system disk? · 1 mark
• An M.2 SSD fits a laptop's M.2 slot perfectly, but the drive is never detected. The label says “M.2 SATA”, and the laptop manual says the slot is “M.2 PCIe NVMe only”. What is the problem? · 3 marks
• Which drive size is normally used in laptops and for SATA SSDs, as opposed to the larger desktop hard disks? · 1 mark
• An SSD specification lists an endurance of “600 TBW”. What does this mean? · 3 marks
• A video workstation uses two disks in RAID 0 for speed. What happens if one of the two disks fails? · 2 marks
• Which RAID level writes identical copies of the data to two disks, so the system keeps running if one disk fails? · 1 mark
• What are the minimum number of disks and the fault tolerance of RAID 5? · 2 marks
• A database server needs both high write performance and redundancy, and the budget allows four identical disks. Which RAID level fits, and what capacity results? · 3 marks
• A manager says the finance file server does not need backups because its disks are in RAID 1. Why is this wrong? · 2 marks
• A storage server has four 2 TB disks configured as RAID 5. About how much usable capacity does the array provide? · 3 marks
• A disk in a server's RAID 5 array has failed. The server has front-loading drive caddies marked “hot-swap”. What does this allow? · 2 marks
• A new drive sold as 1 TB appears in Windows as about 931 GB. A user thinks they were cheated. What is the explanation? · 3 marks
• A small district office wants one storage device that all 15 staff can reach for shared files over the office network. What is this called? · 2 marks
• Which motherboard form factor is the smallest of these, suited to very compact PCs? · 1 mark
• Two motherboards take the same processor, but one has more USB ports, SATA ports and M.2 slots. Which component mainly determines these features? · 2 marks
• Into which motherboard slot is a dedicated graphics card normally installed? · 1 mark
• A PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is installed in a motherboard whose M.2 slot supports only PCIe 3.0. What happens? · 2 marks
• A newly assembled PC spins its fans briefly but never starts. The large 24-pin cable is connected. Which other power connection is commonly forgotten? · 2 marks
• A desktop's built-in network port has failed, but the rest of the PC works. What is an inexpensive fix? · 1 mark
• After an M.2 SSD is added to a desktop, one of its two SATA hard disks disappears from Windows, although its cables are fine. What should the technician check? · 3 marks
• Field officers carry laptops on motorbikes over rough roads. Why is an SSD a better choice than a hard disk for these laptops? · 2 marks
• A workstation has a 500 GB NVMe SSD and a 4 TB hard disk. How should they be used? · 2 marks
• A laptop's SSD has become noticeably slower at saving files since it reached 98% full. Why, and what helps? · 3 marks
• A workstation's components draw about 420 W at peak. Which power supply is the sensible choice? · 2 marks
• A power supply carries an “80 PLUS Gold” label. What does this certification indicate? · 2 marks
• What is the advantage of a modular power supply? · 1 mark
• A server's components use 500 W, supplied by a power supply that is 90% efficient at that load. About how much does it draw from the wall, and where does the difference go? · 3 marks
• Which power supply connector powers a 3.5-inch SATA hard disk? · 1 mark
• When comparing power supplies for a PC with a powerful graphics card, why should a technician look at the +12 V rating (amps) and not only the total wattage? · 3 marks
• A graphics card is described as having 12 GB of VRAM. What is VRAM used for? · 2 marks
• A PC without a graphics card has 8 GB of RAM installed, but System properties show “8 GB (7.8 GB usable)”. What is the most likely reason? · 3 marks
• Copying files to a fast external SSD is very slow on one port but quick on another. The slow port is USB 2.0. What is USB 2.0's maximum signalling rate? · 1 mark
• A laptop that shipped with a 65 W USB-C charger shows “slow charger” and barely charges when plugged into a 20 W phone charger. Why? · 2 marks
• A laptop has a USB-C port marked with a lightning-bolt symbol. What does this usually indicate? · 2 marks
• A desktop has only one DisplayPort output, but the user needs three monitors, each of which has DisplayPort in and out. Which feature allows this without extra graphics cards? · 3 marks
• A laptop connected to a meeting-room projector by VGA shows the slides, but the video's sound does not play through the room speakers attached to the projector. Why? · 2 marks
• A full HD monitor looks slightly fuzzy, with faint shadows beside text, when connected by an old VGA cable, but sharp when connected by HDMI. Why? · 2 marks
• A monitor is advertised as “4K UHD”. What is its resolution? · 1 mark
• A monitor's specification says 144 Hz. What does this figure describe? · 1 mark
• An OLED display used as a public information board has shown the same logo and clock in one corner for months, and a faint outline now stays visible whatever is shown. What is this? · 3 marks
• In a meeting, colleagues sitting to the side of a laptop see its colours washed out and inverted, while the user sees them normally. Which panel type would avoid this? · 2 marks
• Most office monitors at 1920 × 1080 have which aspect ratio? · 1 mark
• How is the size of a 24-inch monitor measured? · 1 mark
• On a monitor used for CCTV monitoring, fast-moving vehicles leave a faint smear trailing behind them. Which specification most directly relates to this? · 3 marks
• A user moves from a 22-inch to a 32-inch monitor, both at 1920 × 1080, and complains that text looks grainy and less sharp. Why? · 3 marks
• A 4K monitor runs only at 30 Hz, making the mouse feel sluggish. The PC and monitor support 4K at 60 Hz, but the connection uses an older HDMI 1.4 port. What is the fix? · 2 marks
• A new laptop has only HDMI, and the old meeting-room projector has only VGA. A simple, cheap cable with an HDMI plug on one end and a VGA plug on the other gives no picture. Why? · 2 marks
• A desktop has some USB-A ports with a black plastic insert and others with a blue one. What does the blue colour usually indicate? · 2 marks
• A registry office prints about 3,000 pages of black text documents each month. Which printer type usually gives the lowest cost per page? · 1 mark
• A tax office still uses three-part carbonless forms, where one printout must mark all three copies at once. Which printer type can do this? · 2 marks
• Receipts printed on a direct thermal printer are kept as proof of payment, but after a year in a sunny office they are almost blank. What should the office do? · 2 marks
• A printer specification states “1200 × 1200 dpi”. What does dpi measure? · 1 mark
• To save paper, a ministry wants printers that print on both sides of each sheet automatically. Which feature is needed? · 1 mark