220-1201
Free CompTIA A+ (Core 1) Practice Test
12 exam-style questions with full explanations — no sign-up. Score yourself, then close your gaps with the full course.
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A technician is upgrading an older laptop that has no built-in wireless networking hardware but does have an available internal M.2 expansion slot. Which component should the technician install to add wireless connectivity to the laptop?
Modern laptops add wireless connectivity through small M.2 (or older mini-PCIe) Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo cards that plug directly into an internal expansion slot and connect to the laptop's antenna leads.
A network administrator needs to remotely access the full graphical desktop of a Windows Server from a branch office over the WAN. Which port must be allowed through the firewall for this connection?
Port 3389 is used by RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), which provides full GUI remote access to Windows systems.
A database server requires a RAID configuration that provides both fault tolerance and high read/write performance, and the budget allows for a minimum of four drives. Which RAID level BEST meets these requirements?
RAID 10 (1+0) stripes data across mirrored pairs, giving the read/write performance of striping plus the fault tolerance of mirroring — it's the standard choice when both speed and redundancy matter and enough drives are available.
A company wants to test a suspicious executable file without risking infection to the production network. The IT technician creates an isolated virtual machine with no network connectivity to run the file. Which purpose of client-side virtualization does this describe?
Sandboxing uses an isolated VM environment to safely execute untrusted or potentially malicious code without affecting the host system or network.
A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that powers on but displays no video and emits a repeating series of beep codes. The technician reseated the RAM, which has resolved this exact beep code pattern on other machines before, but the problem persists after retesting. According to the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology, what should the technician do NEXT?
When a theory is tested and proven incorrect, the methodology requires the technician to establish a new theory of probable cause (e.g., failed CPU, motherboard, or PSU) rather than jumping straight to a costly repair or giving up.
A field technician is away from any Wi-Fi network and needs their laptop to access the internet using a smartphone's cellular data plan. Which feature should be enabled on the smartphone to accomplish this?
Mobile hotspot (tethering) allows a smartphone to share its cellular data connection with other devices over Wi-Fi, USB, or Bluetooth, giving the laptop internet access.
A user reports their Windows laptop cannot access any network resources. Running ipconfig shows the IP address 169.254.34.12. The DHCP server on the network is confirmed to be offline. What does this address indicate?
APIPA assigns addresses in the 169.254.0.0/16 range when a DHCP client cannot reach a DHCP server, allowing only local link communication.
A technician needs to connect an external SSD to a laptop and requires transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. Which connector type should be used?
Thunderbolt 3 (and Thunderbolt 4) supports data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps over a USB-C style connector, making it the only option that meets the stated requirement.
A startup development team wants to write and deploy application code quickly without having to manage servers, operating systems, or patching. Which cloud service model BEST meets this requirement?
PaaS (Platform as a Service) provides a managed runtime and development platform, so developers only manage their application code while the provider handles the OS, patching, and underlying infrastructure.
A file server using RAID 5 reports that one drive in the array has failed, but users can still read and write data normally. What should the technician do to restore full redundancy to the array?
RAID 5's distributed parity allows the array to survive a single drive failure and continue operating; swapping the failed drive lets the controller rebuild the missing data from parity without downtime or a restore.
A company issues corporate smartphones and wants IT to be able to remotely wipe only the corporate email, apps, and data on lost or stolen devices without deleting the employee's personal photos and apps. Which solution BEST meets this requirement?
MDM solutions with containerization (a corporate work profile/container) separate corporate data from personal data, allowing administrators to perform a selective wipe of only the corporate container.
A company needs to run a network connection outdoors between two buildings located 300 meters apart in an area with frequent lightning storms. Which cable type BEST meets this requirement?
Fiber optic cable is immune to electromagnetic interference and lightning-induced surges, and supports distances far beyond the 100-meter limit of copper Ethernet, making it ideal for outdoor building-to-building runs in storm-prone areas.
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How much does the 220-1201 exam cost?
The exam fee is approximately $259 and varies by region — confirm current pricing with the certification vendor before you book.
What topics are on the exam?
It covers 5 domains: Mobile Devices (13%), Networking (23%), Hardware (25%), Virtualization and Cloud Computing (11%), Hardware and Network Troubleshooting (28%). The full course has a dedicated chapter, lab and practice-test coverage for each.
Is this practice test really free?
Yes — all questions on this page are free with explanations and no sign-up. The paid Udemy course adds two full-length timed exams, video lessons and hands-on labs.
Will this prepare me for the real exam?
The questions mirror the real exam's style and are mapped to the official domains. This is exam-focused preparation — combine the free test with the full course's timed simulations to gauge your readiness.