Troubleshooting Practice Questions: Internal Hardware Components

1. A technician is upgrading a desktop computer and needs to install a new graphics card that requires additional power beyond what the PCIe slot provides. The power supply has a 6-pin PCIe power connector available. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?
(a) Connect the 6-pin PCIe power connector directly to the graphics card
(b) Use a SATA to PCIe power adapter to provide additional amperage
(c) Install a new power supply with higher wattage rating
(d) Connect two 4-pin Molex connectors using an adapter

2. A user reports that their Windows 10 desktop suddenly shut down during a gaming session and now fails to POST. The technician notices the CPU fan is spinning, but there are no display signals and the motherboard emits three short beeps. What is the MOST likely cause?
(a) Failed power supply unit
(b) Defective or improperly seated RAM module
(c) Corrupted BIOS firmware
(d) Overheated processor

3. Which component is responsible for temporarily storing data that the CPU is actively using or processing?
(a) Hard disk drive
(b) Cache memory
(c) Random Access Memory (RAM)
(d) Solid state drive

4. A customer brings in a custom-built workstation that randomly freezes during video rendering tasks. The technician runs a stress test and observes the CPU temperature reaching 95°C within minutes. The CPU cooler is properly mounted and the fan is operational. What should the technician check NEXT?
(a) Replace the CPU with a lower TDP model
(b) Check if thermal paste is properly applied between CPU and heatsink
(c) Increase the case fan speed in BIOS settings
(d) Disable CPU turbo boost in BIOS

5. A technician is installing a new M.2 NVMe SSD into a motherboard. After installation, the drive does not appear in BIOS. The motherboard manual indicates the M.2 slot supports both SATA and NVMe drives. What is the MOST likely reason the drive is not detected?
(a) The M.2 slot shares bandwidth with a SATA port that is currently in use
(b) The NVMe driver is not installed in the operating system
(c) The M.2 drive requires external power connection
(d) The BIOS needs to be updated to support NVMe drives

6. What is the maximum data transfer rate of a SATA III interface?
(a) 3 Gb/s
(b) 6 Gb/s
(c) 10 Gb/s
(d) 12 Gb/s

7. An office workstation running Windows 10 Pro experiences frequent application crashes and displays a "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT" blue screen error. The system has 16GB of RAM installed in four 4GB modules. The technician wants to test the memory. Which built-in Windows utility should be used FIRST?
(a) Resource Monitor
(b) Performance Monitor
(c) Disk Management
(d) Windows Memory Diagnostic

8. A technician is building a high-performance gaming PC and needs to install a CPU that supports 8 cores and 16 threads. The motherboard socket is LGA 1200. After installing the CPU and applying thermal paste, what should the technician install NEXT?
(a) CPU cooling solution
(b) RAM modules
(c) Power supply connections
(d) Graphics card

9. A graphic design company purchased new workstations equipped with 64GB of DDR4 ECC RAM. After installation, the systems display significantly slower performance than expected during rendering tasks. The technician checks Task Manager and notices only 32GB of RAM is recognized. What is the MOST likely cause?
(a) The operating system is 32-bit Windows 10 Pro
(b) Two RAM modules are installed in incorrect DIMM slots
(c) The BIOS needs to be updated to recognize higher capacity modules
(d) ECC RAM requires server-grade operating system to function properly

10. Which type of expansion slot provides the highest bandwidth for modern graphics cards?
(a) PCI
(b) AGP 8×
(c) PCIe 3.0 ×16
(d) PCIe 2.0 ×8

11. A small business server experiences unexpected shutdowns during peak usage hours. The technician examines the system and finds the power supply is rated at 450W, while the system components (CPU, dual GPUs, multiple HDDs) are calculated to draw approximately 520W under full load. What should the technician do to resolve this issue?
(a) Enable power-saving features in BIOS to reduce consumption
(b) Remove one GPU to reduce overall power requirements
(c) Replace the power supply with a higher wattage unit rated for at least 650W
(d) Install a UPS to provide additional power during peak hours

12. A technician needs to upgrade a motherboard BIOS before installing a new generation CPU. The current system will not POST with the new CPU installed. What should the technician do?
(a) Install the new CPU and boot to Windows to download the BIOS update
(b) Reinstall the old CPU, boot the system, and update the BIOS before installing the new CPU
(c) Clear the CMOS to reset BIOS settings and try the new CPU again
(d) Use a BIOS recovery jumper to flash the new BIOS version

13. A user complains that their desktop computer makes a loud clicking noise and Windows 10 displays frequent "drive not found" errors. The system uses a 1TB mechanical hard drive as the primary storage device. Upon investigation, the technician confirms the drive temperature is normal at 35°C. What is the BEST course of action?
(a) Run CHKDSK utility to repair bad sectors on the drive
(b) Update the hard drive firmware from the manufacturer's website
(c) Back up critical data immediately and replace the hard drive
(d) Defragment the hard drive to optimize file placement

14. What is the primary function of the chipset on a motherboard?
(a) Store BIOS firmware and system configuration settings
(b) Control communication between the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices
(c) Provide backup power to maintain system time and date
(d) Convert AC power to DC power for system components

15. A video production company reports that their editing workstation with 32GB of DDR4-2400 RAM is experiencing slow performance when working with 4K video files. The motherboard supports DDR4-3200. The technician checks BIOS and finds the RAM is running at 2133 MHz instead of the rated 2400 MHz. What should the technician do to optimize performance?
(a) Replace all RAM modules with DDR4-3200 modules
(b) Enable XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) in the BIOS settings
(c) Increase the RAM voltage to 1.5V in BIOS
(d) Install additional RAM to reach 64GB total capacity

16. A technician is troubleshooting a computer that powers on but displays nothing on the monitor. The power LED is lit, fans are spinning, but there are no POST beeps. After reseating the RAM and graphics card with no change, what component should the technician test NEXT?
(a) Monitor cable and connections
(b) CPU and motherboard
(c) Power supply voltage output
(d) Hard drive connections

17. Which RAM technology allows the memory controller to access two memory modules simultaneously to increase throughput?
(a) ECC (Error Correcting Code)
(b) Dual-channel architecture
(c) Registered memory
(d) SO-DIMM configuration

18. A CAD workstation running Windows 10 Enterprise with an Intel Core i7 processor and integrated graphics experiences screen artifacts and application crashes when running AutoCAD. The system has 16GB RAM and a 500GB SSD with 200GB free space. The user reports performance was acceptable until recently. What hardware upgrade would MOST effectively resolve this issue?
(a) Upgrade to 32GB of RAM
(b) Install a dedicated graphics card with GPU designed for CAD applications
(c) Replace the SSD with a faster NVMe drive
(d) Upgrade to an Intel Core i9 processor

19. A technician notices a burning smell coming from a desktop computer. Upon opening the case, several capacitors on the motherboard appear bulging and leaking. The system is 6 years old and has been running continuously in a warm environment. What is the BEST solution?
(a) Replace the failed capacitors with new ones using a soldering iron
(b) Clean the leaked capacitor fluid and continue monitoring the system
(c) Replace the entire motherboard with a compatible model
(d) Increase case ventilation and apply thermal paste to the capacitors

20. A gaming PC with a modular power supply needs an additional SATA power connector for a new hard drive installation. The technician has already used all available SATA power connectors. What should the technician do?
(a) Use a Molex to SATA power adapter from an available Molex connector
(b) Connect an additional modular SATA power cable to the power supply
(c) Install a PCIe power splitter to create additional SATA connections
(d) Replace the power supply with a non-modular unit with more connectors