Computer Hardware and Software Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: video card

The machine is running - lights and noises - but nothing reaches the screen, so the fault is in the display path, and the video card is the part to take. A dead hard drive or supply would produce different symptoms.

Answer: C

Correct answer: The CPU

The central processing unit executes instructions and performs calculations, which is why it is loosely called the brain of the machine. It has three parts. The arithmetic logic unit performs arithmetic and logical operations. The control unit fetches and decodes instructions and directs the rest of the machine. The registers hold the operands and results being worked on. It operates in a repeating fetch–decode–execute cycle, driven by a clock whose frequency is measured in gigahertz. Clock speed alone is a poor measure of performance, since the number of cores, the instructions executed per cycle and the cache size all matter as much. The other components have distinct roles: the hard disk stores data permanently, RAM holds what is currently in use, and the motherboard is the board connecting everything. A processor with several cores can execute several instruction streams genuinely at once.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Printhead

The printhead pins must run dry: oil collects paper dust and jams them, and they rely on airflow for cooling. The rails and bearings are the parts that do need lubrication.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Config.sys

BUFFERS is a device and memory setting read by DOS as it loads, so it belongs in CONFIG.SYS. AUTOEXEC.BAT runs afterwards, once the system is already configured.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Ohms

A fuse is tested for continuity, which is a resistance measurement, so the meter is set to ohms - and to be safe the fuse is removed from the circuit first.

Answer: B

Correct answer: + 5 volts

The first Pentium-class processors, the 60 and 66 MHz parts, ran their cores at 5 V. Later Pentiums moved to 3.3 V and lower to keep the power dissipation manageable as the clock rose, which is why the answer depends on which generation is meant.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Replacing the ribbon

Patchy, faint or uneven print on a dot matrix printer means the ribbon is worn or is no longer advancing evenly over its whole width. Replacing it is the first and usually the only step.

Answer: D

Correct answer: 2.5 - 5

Pin 1 of the AT supply carries Power Good, and the board is held in reset until that line rises into the TTL high range. If it never does, the machine never starts.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Cold and dry

Dry air is an insulator, so charge accumulates on a body instead of leaking away, and cold air holds less moisture than warm. Cold and dry is therefore the worst combination - which is why static problems are worst in winter.

Answer: A

Correct answer: 3e8

COM3 uses I/O address 3E8, sharing IRQ4 with COM1. COM4 uses 2E8 and shares IRQ3 with COM2.