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. A drive that can be safely installed and removed while a computer is up and running without damaging the data stored on the drive.






2. 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.






3. Aka front side bus.






4. A standard for hard drives that attach to the Parallel AT Attachment (PATA) interface.






5. Aka paging file.






6. Aka Post Office Protocol.






7. A heat dissipation device - usually a passive metal object with a flat surface attached to a component - such as a chip.






8. A protocol for computer-to-computer (host-to-host) transfer of files over a TCP/IP network - regardless of the operating system in use.






9. Also called mirroring - this RAID array type provides fault tolerance because all the data is written identically to the two drives in the mirrored set.






10. In reference to the Windows operating systems - one that can utilize up to 4 GB of address space.






11. Aka customer premises equipment.






12. A type of printer that uses a film coated with colored wax that melts onto paper. These printers are similar to dye-sublimation printers but differ in two major ways: the film contains wax rather than dye - and these printers do not require special p






13. An early international standard for sending voice and data over digital telephone wires. ISDN uses existing telephone circuits or higher-speed conditioned lines to get speeds of either 64 Kbps or 128 Kbps. ISDN lines also have the ability to carry vo






14. A Windows Advanced Options menu choice used to send debugging information about the Windows startup over a serial cable to another computer running a special program called a debugger.






15. A protocol used by e-mail clients for communicating with e-mail servers. This protocol is replacing the POP protocol. IMAP allows users to connect to e-mail servers and not only retrieve e-mail - which removes the messages from the server - as they c






16. A set of behaviors for the workplace that includes how you interact with people and how you treat property.






17. Laser discs sold at retail stores that contain music (audio CDs) or software (data CDs).






18. Aka internal cache memory.






19. Local area networking using radio waves - with the most common based on the IEEE 802.11 group of standards (802.11a - 802.11b - 802.11g - and 802.11n).






20. In reference to computers - the pathways or methods for what goes into a computer in the form of data and instructions and similarly what comes out of the computer in many forms - including an onscreen display - a printout sent to a printer - or data






21. A version of Windows XP that includes Windows Media Center - which supports advanced multimedia functions.






22. A string of characters that a user enters - along with an identifier - such as a user name - in order to be authenticated.






23. Windows run-line utility for testing the DirectX support. Launch this program when experiencing video problems and/or audio problems when running DirectX applications.






24. In the domain name system - a name that is registered under a top-level domain - such as mcgraw-hill.com or microsoft.com.






25. In the laser printing process - this is the step in which the cover on the printer's toner cartridge is opened and the toner particles are attracted to the relatively less negatively charged areas of the drum.






26. BIOS that can be electronically upgraded.






27. A network in which all of the computers essentially operate as both servers (providing access to shared resources) and clients (accessing those shared resources).






28. A tool for testing if a cable can connect properly end-to-end and to determine if a cable has a short. These tools are available for a variety of cable types.






29. A motherboard form factor introduced in 2003 by Intel as the successor to ATX.






30. A group of networking standards created by the IEEE 802.3 subcommittee.






31. A small device containing a microchip used to generate unique passwords for logging on to a computer or a network.






32. A card that fits into the PC Card interface - including both PC Card and CardBus cards. This type measures 85.6 millimeters long by 54 millimeters wide and measures 10.5 mm thick.






33. A mat that provides a path to ground for a static charge and is designed for the desktop or floor of a workspace. One placed on the workbench reduces the risk of electrostatic discharge for components placed on it - while one placed on the floor prov






34. Aka dynamic RAM.






35. The name used by the Windows operating systems to identify the first parallel port.






36. A term applied to a CPU - motherboard - or other components that conform to the newer 64-bit architecture. Also referred to as 64-bit.






37. A wireless data encryption standard based on the IEEE 802.11i security standard. It issues keys per-user and per-session and includes encryption key integrity checking. It uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).






38. Aka process priority level.






39. Aka thermal compound.






40. A specialized device for testing a power supply unit that comes with connectors compatible with the output connectors on a standard power supply.






41. A single dot on a display screen. A contraction of "Picture Element."






42. A firewall service that inspects (or filters) each packet that enters or leaves the network - applying a set of security rules defined by a network administrator - and not allowing packets that fail inspection to pass between networks.






43. A group of schemes designed to provide either better performance or improved data reliability through redundancy.






44. Pertaining to a DVD drive and disc that can store data in two pitted layers on each data side - with each layer having a different reflectivity index.






45. Aka error-correcting code.






46. An address that a DHCP client will assign to itself after requesting an address and failing to receive one from a DHCP server. The address it will assign is in the 169.254 /16 network - which is the range of addresses from 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.






47. A now-obsolete type of rechargeable battery used in laptops and other portable devices - replaced by lithium-ion batteries.






48. Introduced in 1993 - the most common expansion bus architecture in PCs in the mid 1990s. It transfers data in parallel over a data bus that is either 32- or 64-bits wide.






49. A grouping of wires built into a PC that - based on certain protocols - transfers data - control signals - and power to printed circuit boards (adapter cards) that are plugged into connectors in the expansion bus. Technicians often use the termsexpan






50. In the laser printer - the heated rollers that fuse the toner to the paper.