Computer Hardware and Software Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: CMOS battery is nearing end of life

The checksum is stored with the CMOS settings and fails when they are corrupted, which happens as the battery loses the charge that maintains them. A new battery and re-entered settings cure it.

Answer: C

Correct answer: protocol

A protocol is the agreed set of rules by which two machines exchange data, which is what makes it the common language of a network. The adapter is the hardware and the client the software using it.

Answer: B

Correct answer: PC drum

The photosensitive drum holds its image as a pattern of charge, and light discharges it. Strong light therefore erases the image and can damage the coating, which is why the drum is shipped in a light-proof cartridge.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Hard disk

The hard disk is a separate storage device connected to the motherboard, not a part of the processor. The CPU has three components. The arithmetic logic unit performs arithmetic and logical operations and sets the status flags - zero, carry, sign, overflow - that conditional branches test. The control unit fetches instructions, decodes them and directs the rest of the machine, generating the timing and control signals. The registers hold the operands and results being worked on, and are the fastest storage in the computer. Modern processors also carry cache on the same die, which blurs the boundary a little, and often an integrated graphics unit and memory controller as well. The processor operates in a repeating fetch–decode–execute cycle. The distinction the question tests is between what is inside the processor package and what is attached to it - and storage is always outside.

Answer: C

Correct answer: HDD

A peripheral is a device attached to the computer rather than part of it, and the keyboard, printer and optical drive all qualify. The hard disk is internal and is treated as part of the system rather than as a peripheral.

Answer: B

Correct answer: False

A CRT anode carries tens of kilovolts, hundreds of times beyond a standard meter's range and its insulation. Measuring it requires a high-voltage probe designed for the purpose.

Answer: D

Correct answer: motherboard BIOS

PCI cards have no jumpers or switches; their resources are assigned by the system. The BIOS setup shows which IRQs are in use and which are free, so that is where to look.

Answer: A

Correct answer: ROM BIOS

At power-on the processor has no software in memory, so it fetches its first instruction from firmware - the ROM BIOS. Everything else, including boot.ini and CONFIG.SYS, is on disk and cannot be read until the BIOS has started the machine.

Answer: B

Correct answer: integrated services digital network

ISDN carries voice and data over the same digital subscriber line, which is what integrated services means.

Answer: B

Correct answer: laser printer

A laser printer's fuser draws a very large current each time it heats, far beyond what a standard UPS is built to supply, and can trip or damage it. Printers are put on the surge-protected outlets instead.