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 practice of forcing a CPU or other computer component to run at a higher clock rate than the manufacturer intended.






2. A user interface that takes advantage of the video system's graphics capabilities for manipulated graphic elements that represent objects and tasks.






3. In reference to the Windows operating systems - one that can utilize more than 4 GB of address space. Depending on the version - 64-bit Windows can address a maximum of from 8 to 192 GB.






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






5. A modified version of FAT12 and FAT16 used in Windows since Windows 95.






6. A communication service provided over a telecommunications network or computer network. A VC logically resembles a circuit while passing over a complex routed or switched network - such as the phone company's frame relay network.






7. A network connection over long distances - traditionally using phone lines or satellite communications.






8. A processor packaging that uses pads on the processor that come in contact with pins in the socket on the motherboard - permitting a higher density than possible with PGA.






9. A virtual tunnel created between two endpoints over an untrusted network. The tunnel is created by encapsulating the packets within special packets for the tunnel. Other security methods are also usually applied to a VPN - such as encrypting the data






10. A command-line utility - installed with the TCP/IP protocol suite - that traces the route taken by packets to a destination.






11. Malware that hides itself from detection by antimalware programs; it is installed on a computer by someone who has privileged access to the computer.






12. The Microsoft Website from which you can download updates to Windows.






13. The minimum disk space that a file can use - allocated in the file system.






14. 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.






15. Used to represent the chrominance signal in S-Video.






16. Aka alternating current.






17. A type of printer that uses a matrix of pins striking paper through an ink ribbon to create dots on the paper - forming alphanumeric characters and graphic images.






18. A service on a laptop that configures a card after socket services has recognized it.






19. Aka taskbar.






20. A network connection device at the core of a wireless network.






21. 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.






22. A technology for transferring serial data at high speeds. Also known as low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS).






23. Software that takes a scanned image and interprets the patterns in the image into alphanumeric characters.






24. A memory error-checking method in which the parity bit is used to ensure that the total number of 1s in the data stream is even.






25. A measurement of the volume of electrons - also called current. It is calculated with the formula amps = watts / volts.






26. One of many low-level instructions built into the control unit of a CPU. Also called a microprogram.






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






28. The use of a biometric for authentication.






29. A power management standard - introduced by Intel in 1992 - that defines four power-usage operating levels.






30. Aka time to live.






31. A program installed and activated on a computer without the user's knowledge or permission. At the least - the intent is mischief - but most often the intent is to cause damage.






32. Things used for authentication - such as something you know - something you have - or something you are. Authentication involves one or more of these factors and can - therefore - be one-factor - two-factor - or three-factor authentication.






33. 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






34. Aka antistatic mat.






35. In the Windows GUI - a horizontal bar normally positioned across the bottom of the desktop containing a Start button - the Quick Launch toolbar - buttons for running programs - and at the far right - the notification area. Sometimes called the Start






36. A type of riser card that connects directly into a motherboard and adds no additional functionality of its own - but extends the expansion bus and allows expansion cards to be added in a different physical orientation.






37. An Advanced Options menu choice that simply causes Windows to restart normally (if it can).






38. A CPU containing four CPU cores.






39. A protocol that allows two devices to connect - authenticate - and negotiate what protocols they will use (almost always TCP/IP).






40. A technology developed in the 1980s for storing data. Variations of this format are in use today.






41. A cooling system that uses liquid to transfer heat away from components.






42. A straight - round connector used to connect fiber-optic cabling to a network device. It has a twist-type coupling.






43. Aka low-voltage differential.






44. An input device that uses a stylus. Available as an external device - it uses touch screen technology and is usually at least the size of a sheet of paper. Also called a digitizer.






45. Memory locations within a CPU that is used as a scratch pad for calculations. Modern CPUs have dedicated registers for specific functions and general-purpose registers for multiple purposes.






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






47. Aka enhanced parallel port (EPP) mode.






48. A communications network made up of personal computing devices - such as computers - telephones - and personal digital assistants.






49. 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.






50. Aka accelerated graphics port.