Hardware

An IT technician is replacing the thermal solution on a desktop computer that has been experiencing automatic shutdowns caused by CPU overheating. After unmounting the original heat sink, the technician notices hardened, degraded thermal compound on the processor's heat spreader. Which of the following describes the correct procedure the technician should follow before mounting the replacement cooling unit?

A technician is assembling a workstation inside a microATX desktop chassis that provides exactly four rear expansion slot cutouts. The system requirements call for installing three separate expansion cards: a dual-slot PCIe x16 graphics card, a single-slot PCIe x4 RAID controller card, and a single-slot PCIe x1 sound card. Which of the following motherboard form factor and expansion slot layout choices MUST the technician select to ensure all three cards fit into the chassis?

A technician installs a new 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe solid-state drive into a secondary M.2 slot on a motherboard. According to the motherboard documentation, the secondary M.2 slot routes exclusively to the SATA controller and does not support PCIe lanes. When the system is powered on, the drive is not detected in the BIOS/UEFI configuration utility. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

A field technician is replacing a failed full-size ATX motherboard with a smaller Micro-ATX motherboard inside the existing desktop tower chassis. During installation, the technician mounts the new board using all pre-installed brass standoffs in the chassis. Upon powering on the system, the fans spin briefly, but the computer immediately turns off and fails to perform a Power-On Self-Test (POST). Which of the following actions should the technician take to resolve this installation issue?

An IT technician is setting up a dual-monitor workstation for a video editor using a laptop equipped with a USB-C port marked with a lightning bolt symbol. The technician connects the laptop to a dual-monitor docking station using a standard USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C cable (10 Gbps). Although both 4K monitors are detected, only one monitor displays at 4K resolution at 60 Hz, while the second monitor is capped at a lower 1080p resolution. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this limitation?

Match each RAM module type and form factor to its corresponding physical pin count, operating voltage, and power/channel architectural characteristic.

A technician is assembling a desktop PC with a standard ATX motherboard. After connecting a 4-pin PWM cooling fan to a 4-pin fan header on the motherboard, the fan runs continuously at 100% maximum speed regardless of system temperature. Pin layout inspection confirms: Pin 1 (Ground), Pin 2 (+12V Power), Pin 3 (Tachometer Signal), and Pin 4 (PWM Control Signal). Which of the following is the most likely cause of this issue?

A system administrator is auditing physical media and peripheral connections in a corporate IT department. Match each cable or connector type on the left with its primary physical characteristic or use case on the right.

A field technician is sorting hardware inventory for an infrastructure upgrade. Match each network or peripheral cable and connector type on the left to its corresponding primary application or characteristic on the right.

A PC technician is sizing a power supply unit (PSU) and placing expansion cards for a high-performance workstation. The system components have the following peak power requirements:

- CPU: $140\text{ W}$
- Discrete Graphics Card (GPU): $280\text{ W}$
- PCIe x4 RAID Controller Card: $25\text{ W}$
- System RAM, Storage Drives, and Cooling Fans: $60\text{ W}$

The motherboard features two physical PCIe x16 expansion slots: Slot 1 is connected directly to 16 CPU lanes, while Slot 2 is wired to 4 chipset lanes. To ensure system stability and longevity, the total peak power draw must not exceed $80\%$ of the PSU's rated continuous wattage capacity.

Which of the following combinations correctly identifies the minimum standard PSU wattage rating required and the optimal expansion slot installation for the RAID controller?

A network technician is installing a high-density 10GBASE-T Ethernet link between two core distribution switches located 75 meters (246 feet) apart in an industrial facility. The cable path must pass directly alongside heavy electrical machinery and high-voltage power conduits. Which cable category and physical construction must be specified to maintain 10 Gbps throughput across this distance while mitigating potential data corruption from electromagnetic interference?

A technician is configuring an external RAID storage enclosure that requires high-speed throughput up to 40 Gbps. The workstation motherboard features a physical USB Type-C port labeled with a lightning bolt symbol. Which cable standard must the technician use to achieve this transfer rate?

Match each motherboard form factor or connector on the left with its correct specification or primary function on the right.

A network technician is configuring an enterprise multifunction device (MFD) to support remote network printing across different subnets. Workstations on subnet 10.1.10.0/24 can submit jobs to the print server, but the MFD fails to process print jobs transmitted from laptops on subnet 10.1.20.0/24. The technician verifies that network routing is functional and ICMP pings succeed between subnets. Log analysis indicates that standard TCP/IP port printing over RAW (port 9100) is being dropped by the inter-subnet firewall due to a security policy mandating end-to-end transport encryption for print traffic. Which configuration change on the print server and multifunction device will enable encrypted document transmission across subnets while satisfying security compliance?

A technician is attempting to connect an external hard drive enclosure to a workstation using an external SATA (eSATA) interface. The technician tries to use a standard internal SATA data cable for this connection, but notices that the plug will not physically fit into the workstation's eSATA port. Which of the following best explains why the internal SATA cable cannot be inserted into the eSATA port?

A technician is performing routine maintenance and replacing consumables on a direct thermal printer used at a point-of-sale station. Which of the following items are required for maintaining and operating this specific type of printer? (Select TWO.)

Match each motherboard slot, connector, or header feature to its corresponding technical specification or operational characteristic.

A technician is installing solid-state drives on a motherboard that features two dedicated M.2 slots. According to the motherboard manual, Slot 1 is an M-keyed connector routed to PCIe 4.0 x4 lanes, whereas Slot 2 is a B-keyed connector connected exclusively to the SATA controller. Which of the following statements correctly describe the drive compatibility and operational characteristics of this motherboard configuration? (Select TWO.)

An IT technician is auditing system hardware specifications to update documentation for workstation builds. Match each CPU packaging design or thermal management solution on the left to its corresponding technical characteristic on the right.

A systems administrator is troubleshooting performance complaints regarding a newly deployed network multifunction device (MFD) used by an architectural design department. Users report that when printing complex vector drawings and high-resolution CAD files, the print jobs stall in the central print spooler for several minutes or crash the spooling service entirely, whereas standard text documents print immediately without issue. Which of the following driver configuration changes on the central print server is the most appropriate solution?