Test your basic knowledge |

Comptia A + Certification

Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The Internet service that manages access to Internet domain names and the naming system it uses for computers and resources connected to the Internet or in a private network.






2. A metal strip used to cover an empty slot in order to preserve the correct air flow and keep dust out.






3. A small group of computers communicating wirelessly with one another without the use of a centralized wireless access point (WAP).






4. A device that converts DC current to AC. An inverter is required in a laptop to provide the AC current required by the display.






5. The IBM branded name for a pointing stick or track point.






6. A data encryption technology used for securing data transmitted over the Internet.






7. Aka power-on self-test.






8. Aka Serial Attached SCSI.






9. A command-line tool installed with the TCP/IP protocol suite that is used for testing communications between two hosts.






10. The black box that appears around an image - such as a widescreen video when it is displayed on a screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio.






11. Aka hacker.






12. Also called striping with distributed parity or striping with interleave parity - this RAID method involves a set of disks in which every time data is written to disk - a portion is written to each disk in turn - creating a "stripe" of data across th






13. Aka top-level domain.






14. A finite set of resources controlled by the operating system and critical to the use of all computer components.






15. A misnomer - referring to the BIOS settings that are stored in a CMOS chip.






16. Memory chips that use a special Rambus channel that has a data transfer rate of 800 MHz. A double channel width results in a 1.6 GHz data transfer. RDRAM sticks use special RIMM slots.






17. A network protocol suite originally developed for the Internet; it has been mostly adopted on private networks.






18. Memory that can only be read and that contains program code. ROM is also called firmware.






19. Aka synchronous dynamic RAM.






20. A joke program that produces strange behavior - such as screen distortions - erratic cursor behavior - or strange icons to appear on the screen.






21. A type of printer that transfers ink to paper by causing a print head to strike a printer ribbon containing ink against the paper.






22. A type of rechargeable battery used in laptops and other portable devices.






23. A technical standards organization.






24. The medium for a laser printer - which is normally packaged within a toner cartridge.






25. Aka Sony/Philips Digital Interface.






26. A DVI mode that supports downward compatibility with analog displays.






27. A network device that is used to extend the range of a network by taking the signals received on a port from one network and regenerating (repeating) those signals to another port to transmit them on a second network.






28. A disc drive that uses laser technology to read and/or write to special discs.






29. A wireless standard for using radio waves to communicate between devices. Class 3 Bluetooth devices (the most common) communicate at distances up to one meter.






30. A protocol used to resolve an IP address to a MAC address.






31. A Windows utility that allows you to create tasks that run automatically at the times you select.






32. A utility for migrating data from many computers - or if you need to perform what Microsoft calls a "wipe-and-load migration" from and to the same computer. Available in Windows XP - Vista - and Windows 7.






33. Aka peripheral component interconnect.






34. A virus that downloads to a user's computer through a pop-up window that appears in a Web browser. It requires an action on the part of a user - such as clicking a button that implies acceptance of something like free information.






35. A key on a laptop that is pressed along with the FN key to change display modes so the output will be only to the laptop's display - only to an external display - or simultaneously to both displays. The DISPLAY MODE key is normally a function key - s






36. A table on each file and folder in the NTFS file system that contains one or more access control entries.






37. A slide switch on the exterior of a PC power supply used to switch between two input voltages.






38. The fine copper lines that are the electronic circuits through which power - data - and control signals travel on a circuit board.






39. An Advanced Options menu choice that appears under certain circumstances. When available - selecting this option will return to the OS Choices menu (OS Loader menu).






40. In Disk Management - the status given to a dynamic disk that has not had its configuration information (stored on the disk) imported into Windows. This status occurs when a dynamic disk is moved to a different Windows computer or when a dynamic disk






41. The use by the operating system of a portion of hard disk as memory.






42. Aka Universal Serial Bus.






43. A device found in laptops that monitors and regulates power usage. The features vary by manufacturer - but typically - they provide short-circuit protection - give "low battery" warnings - and can be configured to shut down the computer automatically






44. The logical structure on disk that allows the operating system to save and retrieve files. Examples of file systems are FAT and NTFS. Both of these file system have different versions - such as FAT12 - FAT16 - FAT32 - and NTFS 4.0 and NTFS 5.0.






45. A type of motherboard and its variants most commonly used in recent PC systems.






46. Unsolicited messages sent over an instant messaging service - such as Windows Messenger.






47. A physical area where a Wi-Fi network connects to the Internet.






48. In a computer - pathways that power - data - and control signals travel from one component to another within the system.






49. The protocol used by DHCP servers and clients. A DHCP server allocates IP addresses within the scope of addresses configured on the server by an administrator. DHCP clients request IP addresses and other IP configuration settings from DHCP Servers.






50. A riser card that is similar to audio modem riser (AMR) except that it is plug and play-compatible and supports LANs in addition to audio - modem - and sound.