Troubleshooting Practice Questions: System Configuration

1. A technician is setting up a new workstation for the accounting department. The computer needs to automatically obtain network configuration settings from the company's network infrastructure. Which of the following settings should the technician configure in the network adapter properties?
(a) Static IP address with DNS server addresses
(b) Obtain an IP address automatically
(c) Alternate configuration with APIPA settings
(d) Manual IP configuration with subnet mask 255.255.255.0

2. An employee reports that their Windows 10 computer displays the message "No Boot Device Available" when powered on. The user mentions they recently moved the computer to clean behind the desk. What is the MOST likely cause of this error?
(a) The operating system has become corrupted
(b) The boot order in BIOS/UEFI was reset to factory defaults
(c) A SATA cable has become loose or disconnected
(d) The Windows Master Boot Record needs repair

3. A user's laptop is running slower than usual. When checking Task Manager, the technician notices that the disk usage is constantly at 100% even when idle. Which Windows utility should the technician use FIRST to identify which specific process is causing high disk activity?
(a) Resource Monitor
(b) Performance Monitor
(c) Disk Management
(d) Event Viewer

4. A company is deploying 50 new computers with Windows 10 Pro and needs to join them all to the corporate Active Directory domain. After installing the operating system, what should the technician do to join each computer to the domain?
(a) Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school > Connect
(b) Open Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management
(c) Navigate to System Properties > Computer Name tab > Change > Domain
(d) Use Settings > System > About > Rename this PC

5. A technician receives a call from a user who states their computer boots directly to the BIOS setup screen every time they power it on. The technician remotely guides the user and discovers that the CMOS battery voltage is reading 1.8 volts. What action should the technician take?
(a) Update the BIOS firmware to the latest version
(b) Reset the BIOS settings to factory defaults
(c) Replace the CMOS battery
(d) Reconfigure the boot order and save settings

6. What is the purpose of enabling Secure Boot in the UEFI firmware settings?
(a) To prevent execution of unsigned bootloaders and operating systems
(b) To encrypt all data on the system drive automatically
(c) To require a password before the operating system loads
(d) To enable TPM chip functionality for BitLocker encryption

7. A technician is configuring a new Windows 10 computer for a graphics designer who runs memory-intensive applications. The computer has 32GB of RAM installed. The designer reports occasional "Out of Memory" errors when working with large files. What is the BEST configuration change the technician should make?
(a) Disable virtual memory to prevent disk thrashing
(b) Configure Windows to automatically manage virtual memory
(c) Set a custom virtual memory size of 48GB on the system drive
(d) Move the page file to a separate physical hard drive

8. An IT administrator needs to configure multiple Windows 10 workstations to prevent users from accessing the Registry Editor and Task Manager. The workstations are not joined to a domain. Which tool should the administrator use to implement these restrictions?
(a) Device Manager
(b) Local Group Policy Editor
(c) Registry Editor with custom .reg files
(d) Computer Management console

9. A user reports their desktop computer is displaying the time as 3 hours behind the actual time, and the date shows January 1, 2010, even after manually correcting it. The computer is running Windows 10 and was working fine until yesterday. What component is MOST likely failing?
(a) Real-Time Clock oscillator
(b) CMOS battery
(c) Windows Time Service
(d) Motherboard chipset

10. A technician is troubleshooting a computer that takes over 10 minutes to boot into Windows 10. After reviewing MSConfig, the technician notices 23 programs are enabled in the Startup tab. What is the BEST course of action to improve boot performance?
(a) Use MSConfig to disable non-essential startup programs
(b) Disable startup programs through Task Manager's Startup tab
(c) Perform a clean boot using System Configuration
(d) Uninstall all programs that appear in the startup list

11. A small business owner needs to share a folder on their Windows 10 Pro computer with three other employees on the local network. The folder should be accessible with read and write permissions. After sharing the folder, users report they can see the folder but cannot create or modify files. What additional step must the technician perform?
(a) Disable User Account Control on all computers
(b) Configure NTFS permissions to allow Modify or Full Control for the users
(c) Enable Network Discovery in Network and Sharing Center
(d) Turn off password protected sharing in advanced sharing settings

12. During POST, a computer emits three long beeps followed by two short beeps, and the display remains blank. The technician consults the motherboard manual which indicates this beep code refers to a memory error. What should the technician do FIRST?
(a) Replace all RAM modules with known good modules
(b) Flash the BIOS to the latest firmware version
(c) Reseat the RAM modules and verify proper installation
(d) Test the RAM using Windows Memory Diagnostic tool

13. An organization's security policy requires all Windows 10 laptops to have full disk encryption. A technician attempts to enable BitLocker on a new laptop but receives an error stating "This device can't use a Trusted Platform Module." What should the technician configure in the system BIOS/UEFI to resolve this issue?
(a) Enable Secure Boot and disable Legacy Boot mode
(b) Enable the TPM chip in the security settings
(c) Change from UEFI mode to Legacy BIOS mode
(d) Disable Fast Startup and enable AHCI mode

14. A system administrator is deploying new workstations and needs to configure them to boot from a network server to install the operating system via PXE. What BIOS/UEFI setting must be enabled and configured as the first boot device?
(a) USB Boot Priority
(b) Network Boot or PXE Boot
(c) UEFI Boot Manager
(d) Secure Boot with network authentication

15. A user complains that their Windows 10 computer is extremely slow and frequently freezes. The technician opens Task Manager and observes that the Memory column shows 7.8GB/8GB (97%) usage with only a web browser and email client running. What should the technician investigate FIRST?
(a) Check for malware and unnecessary background processes consuming memory
(b) Increase the virtual memory page file size
(c) Upgrade the physical RAM to 16GB
(d) Perform a system file check using SFC utility

16. A technician needs to access advanced startup options to perform system recovery on a Windows 10 computer that boots normally but has persistent application errors. Which method will access the Windows Recovery Environment without using installation media?
(a) Press F8 repeatedly during boot
(b) Hold Shift while clicking Restart from the Start menu
(c) Run bootrec /rebuildbcd from Command Prompt
(d) Access msconfig and select Safe boot

17. A corporate laptop user reports that every time they restart their computer, custom application settings and desktop shortcuts disappear. The technician discovers the user profile is loading as a temporary profile. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?
(a) The user account has been corrupted in Active Directory
(b) The user profile registry hive has become corrupted or locked
(c) The hard drive is failing and cannot write data properly
(d) Windows Update has reset the user profile permissions

18. A gaming enthusiast wants to improve system performance by overclocking the CPU on their custom-built desktop computer. After increasing the CPU multiplier in BIOS, the system becomes unstable and crashes during stress testing. What additional BIOS configuration should the technician adjust to stabilize the overclocked system?
(a) Increase the CPU core voltage incrementally
(b) Decrease the RAM frequency to default speeds
(c) Enable Intel SpeedStep or AMD Cool'n'Quiet
(d) Switch from AHCI to IDE mode for SATA drives

19. An office manager reports that five computers in the accounting department cannot access network resources after a power outage last night. All computers power on normally and reach the Windows login screen. Other departments report no network issues. What should the technician check FIRST?
(a) The network adapter driver version on each affected computer
(b) The network switch serving the accounting department
(c) Whether DHCP is enabled on each computer's network adapter
(d) The Windows Firewall settings on all affected computers

20. A technician is configuring a new workstation that will run virtual machines for software testing. The computer has an Intel processor with VT-x technology, but when attempting to create a 64-bit virtual machine in VirtualBox, the option is grayed out. What configuration change is needed?
(a) Install additional RAM to meet virtualization requirements
(b) Enable virtualization technology (VT-x/AMD-V) in BIOS/UEFI
(c) Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise edition
(d) Disable Hyper-V in Windows Features