All Operating Systems get their total memory initialized from?
Answer: B
Correct answer: BIOS
The BIOS counts and tests the memory during the power-on self test and records the total, which the operating system then reads rather than working it out again.
Please log in or register to report this question.
During boot-up, the memory test:
Answer: B
Correct answer: Checks and verifies that contiguous memory is installed
The power-on self test writes and reads back each memory location, confirming that the memory is present, working and addressable in one unbroken range. It is a test, not a display.
Please log in or register to report this question.
You have a PC with no video. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be causing the problem?
Answer: C
Correct answer: crashed hard drive
No video at all means the machine has failed before it could display anything, which points to memory, the processor or the video card. A dead hard drive would still give a display - with an error message on it.
Please log in or register to report this question.
When your hard drive crashes because of any of the causes listed above, or from being dropped, it is known as head-to-disk interference, or HDI.
Answer: A
Correct answer: True
A head crash is contact between the read-write head and the platter surface, whatever the cause, and it is called head-to-disk interference. The heads normally fly a fraction of a micron above the surface, which is why a knock while running is enough.
Please log in or register to report this question.
What specification covers PC hard cards?
Answer: C
Correct answer: PCMCIA
PCMCIA defines the credit-card sized expansion cards used in laptops, later renamed PC Card. SCSI and ISA are buses of a different kind and MFM an old disk encoding.
Please log in or register to report this question.
What beep codes could indicate a system board or power supply failure?
Answer: D
Correct answer: All of the above
A steady short beep, no beep at all, and one long continuous tone all point to the system board or the power supply - failures early enough that the BIOS cannot report anything more specific.
Please log in or register to report this question.
What does the acronym RTS represent?
Answer: C
Correct answer: Request to send
RTS is one of the RS-232 handshaking lines: the sender raises it to ask permission to transmit, and the receiver answers with CTS, clear to send.
Please log in or register to report this question.
A modem could be attached to which port?
Answer: A
Correct answer: ASYNC port
A modem is an asynchronous serial device, so it attaches to the asynchronous serial port - internally, to a serial port on the card itself. The parallel port is for printers.
Please log in or register to report this question.
What can you use to ensure power is not interrupted, resulting in corrupted data?
Answer: A
Correct answer: UPS
Only a UPS keeps the machine running through an interruption, so that data in memory is written out and the system shut down properly. A surge protector guards against excess voltage but supplies nothing when the mains fails.
Please log in or register to report this question.
A 25-pin female connector on the back of your computer will typically be:
Answer: B
Correct answer: A parallel port
A 25-pin female connector on the back of a PC is the parallel port. The serial ports are male, with 9 or 25 pins, which is how the two are told apart.
Please log in or register to report this question.
