Troubleshooting Practice Questions: Peripheral Devices

1. A user reports that their USB mouse cursor is moving erratically across the screen in Windows 10. The user mentions that the issue started after cleaning their desk, and the optical sensor appears clean. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
(a) The mouse driver needs to be updated
(b) The surface beneath the mouse is reflective or transparent
(c) The USB port is providing insufficient power
(d) The mouse has developed hardware failure

2. Which connector type is commonly used for high-end gaming monitors that require refresh rates above 144Hz at 4K resolution?
(a) DVI-D
(b) HDMI 1.4
(c) VGA
(d) DisplayPort 1.4

3. A small office has purchased five new laser printers, but the IT manager is concerned about where to place them. The office has limited space and poor ventilation. What should be the PRIMARY health consideration when installing multiple laser printers?
(a) Ensuring adequate ventilation due to ozone and particulate emissions
(b) Maintaining distance from windows to prevent sun damage to toner
(c) Keeping printers away from electromagnetic interference sources
(d) Installing surge protectors to prevent electrical damage

4. A user complains that their new wireless keyboard works intermittently, with frequent dropped keystrokes. The keyboard is positioned approximately 2 feet from the USB receiver, which is plugged into the back of the desktop computer. What should a technician try FIRST?
(a) Replace the batteries in the wireless keyboard
(b) Reinstall the keyboard driver software
(c) Move the USB receiver to a front USB port or use an extension cable
(d) Disable Bluetooth on the computer to reduce interference

5. What is the maximum resolution supported by a standard VGA connection?
(a) 1280 × 720
(b) 1920 × 1080
(c) 2048 × 1536
(d) 3840 × 2160

6. A graphic designer reports that colors on their new IPS monitor appear washed out and inaccurate compared to their previous display. The monitor is connected via DisplayPort to a Windows 10 workstation with a dedicated graphics card. What should the technician check FIRST?
(a) Whether the monitor's color profile is properly configured in Windows
(b) If the DisplayPort cable is certified for the monitor's resolution
(c) Whether HDR is enabled in the graphics card settings
(d) If the monitor firmware needs updating

7. An executive's laptop with Windows 11 is connected to a conference room projector via HDMI, but the projector displays "No Signal." The laptop screen shows content normally. The executive mentions this setup worked yesterday in a different conference room. What is the BEST next step?
(a) Replace the HDMI cable with a known working cable
(b) Press the Windows key + P to select the appropriate display mode
(c) Update the laptop's graphics driver
(d) Restart the laptop while connected to the projector

8. A technician is installing a new thermal receipt printer for a retail point-of-sale system. The printer uses a 58mm paper roll and connects via USB. After installation, printed receipts show faded text that becomes completely blank after a few hours. What is causing this issue?
(a) The USB port is not providing adequate power to the printer
(b) The printer driver is configured for the wrong paper width
(c) The thermal paper is installed backwards with the coating facing away from the print head
(d) The print head temperature setting is too low in the printer configuration

9. Which type of printer technology uses a piezoelectric crystal to propel ink droplets onto paper?
(a) Laser printer
(b) Thermal printer
(c) Inkjet printer
(d) Impact printer

10. A user reports that their USB-C docking station was working perfectly yesterday, but today their Windows 10 laptop shows "USB Device Not Recognized" when connected. The docking station's power LED is illuminated, and other devices connected to the dock are not functioning. What should the technician do FIRST?
(a) Update the laptop's USB-C controller firmware
(b) Disconnect the dock's power adapter, wait 30 seconds, then reconnect it
(c) Replace the USB-C cable connecting the laptop to the dock
(d) Uninstall and reinstall the docking station drivers

11. A photography studio has a Canon DSLR camera that needs to transfer large RAW image files directly to a Windows 11 workstation. The camera supports both USB 3.0 and has an SD card slot. What connection method would provide the FASTEST transfer speeds?
(a) Removing the SD card and using a USB 3.0 SD card reader
(b) Connecting the camera directly via USB 3.0 cable in PTP mode
(c) Using WiFi direct transfer to the workstation
(d) Connecting via Bluetooth file transfer

12. What is the maximum cable length specification for USB 2.0 without using a powered hub or repeater?
(a) 3 meters
(b) 5 meters
(c) 10 meters
(d) 15 meters

13. A network administrator is setting up a shared printer on a Windows Server 2019 print server for 50 client computers running Windows 10. After adding the printer and sharing it, users report extremely slow printing and frequent print job failures. The printer is connected via USB 2.0 to the server. What would BEST resolve this issue?
(a) Convert the printer to a network printer using its built-in Ethernet port
(b) Increase the print spooler priority on the server
(c) Install additional RAM on the print server
(d) Configure printer pooling with multiple identical printers

14. A user's mechanical keyboard suddenly types multiple characters when a single key is pressed, a behavior known as key chattering. The keyboard is six months old and has been functioning normally until today. What is the MOST likely cause?
(a) The keyboard controller firmware is corrupted
(b) Mechanical switch contacts are bouncing due to debris or wear
(c) The keyboard driver needs to be reinstalled
(d) The USB connection is intermittent

15. An organization is deploying KVM switches to allow technicians to manage multiple servers from a single console. The servers include a mix of legacy systems with VGA and modern systems with DisplayPort. What type of KVM switch would BEST meet these requirements?
(a) A DisplayPort KVM switch with VGA adapters
(b) A VGA KVM switch with DisplayPort adapters
(c) A dual-interface KVM switch supporting both VGA and DisplayPort inputs
(d) Two separate KVM switches, one for VGA and one for DisplayPort systems

16. A help desk receives multiple tickets about a shared network laser printer printing blank pages. The printer's display shows "Ready" status with no error messages. Toner levels indicate 60% remaining on all cartridges. Test pages printed directly from the printer's control panel are also blank. What component has MOST likely failed?
(a) The fuser assembly
(b) The transfer roller or corona wire
(c) The imaging drum or toner cartridge
(d) The pickup roller

17. A conference room touch screen display running Windows 10 IoT has become unresponsive to touch input. The display shows video content correctly via HDMI, and the USB cable for touch functionality is securely connected. Device Manager shows an unknown USB device with a yellow exclamation mark. What is the BEST solution?
(a) Calibrate the touch screen using Windows touch settings
(b) Install or update the touch screen USB controller driver
(c) Replace the HDMI cable with a higher quality cable
(d) Disable and re-enable the USB controller in Device Manager

18. Which scanning technology uses a charged coupled device to capture images line by line as the scan head moves across the document?
(a) LED scanner
(b) CCD scanner
(c) CIS scanner
(d) Drum scanner

19. A video editor connects an external USB 3.0 hard drive containing a 100GB video project to their workstation. The drive appears in File Explorer, but when attempting to copy a single 65GB video file to the drive, Windows displays an error stating the file is too large. The drive shows 500GB of free space. What is causing this issue?
(a) The USB 3.0 controller has a file size limitation
(b) The external drive is formatted with FAT32 file system
(c) The drive needs to be defragmented before accepting large files
(d) Windows requires administrator privileges to copy files over 50GB

20. A small business purchased a multifunction printer that supports print, scan, copy, and fax functions. Users can print successfully, but scanning to network folders fails with "Access Denied" errors. The printer's IP address is configured correctly, and users can access the network folders manually from their computers. What configuration is MOST likely missing?
(a) The printer's scan-to-folder feature requires SMTP server configuration
(b) Network folder credentials must be stored in the printer's address book settings
(c) The printer needs to be added to the Active Directory domain
(d) Port 445 needs to be opened on the network firewall