A+ / practice questions
CompTIA A+ Practice Questions, With the Reasoning Explained
A+ questions are less about trivia than people expect and more about whether you follow a process. The exam wants to see you troubleshoot in order, pick the least disruptive fix first, and know the handful of ports and procedures that come up on real tickets.
Six questions below in the exam's style, each with the answer and the reasoning. Work them before you read the explanation.
Pick an option to lock it in and see the reasoning straight away. Nothing is timed and nothing is recorded, so answer the way you would on the day rather than the way that looks good.
Question 1
You have questioned the user, identified symptoms, and formed a theory about what is failing. According to CompTIA's troubleshooting methodology, what is the next step?
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B. Test the theory to determine the cause
The methodology runs: identify the problem, establish a theory, test the theory to determine cause, establish a plan of action, implement and verify, then document. Testing before implementing is the whole point. If your theory does not survive the test, you escalate or form a new theory rather than start swapping parts. Expect several exam questions that turn purely on knowing this order.
Question 2
A user needs to connect to a Windows workstation's full desktop from another machine on the network. Which port must be open?
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C. 3389
RDP uses TCP 3389. Port 22 is SSH, which gets you a command line rather than a desktop. 389 is LDAP for directory lookups, and 445 is SMB for file and printer sharing. The port list feels like rote memorization, but in the field it is what turns a vague 'cannot connect' ticket into a specific firewall rule.
Question 3
A laptop needs a memory upgrade. Which module type will physically fit?
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B. SODIMM
Laptops use SODIMM, the shorter small-outline module. A desktop DIMM will not seat in the slot. Also confirm the generation matches, because DDR4 and DDR5 SODIMMs have different pin counts and notch positions and are not interchangeable, no matter how close they look in the drawer.
Question 4
You have confirmed a workstation is infected and disconnected it from the network. According to CompTIA's malware removal procedure, what comes next on a Windows machine?
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B. Disable System Restore
The order is investigate and verify, quarantine, disable System Restore, remediate (update definitions and scan), schedule scans and updates, re-enable System Restore and create a clean restore point, then educate the user. System Restore comes off before you clean, because restore points can hold the infection and quietly reinstall it after you think you have won.
Question 5
Several users report that print jobs are stacking in the queue and nothing reaches the printer, which is online and shows no errors. What is the first thing to try?
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C. Restart the Print Spooler service on the print server
A stuck spooler is the classic cause when jobs queue but the printer itself is healthy, and restarting the service is fast, reversible and affects nobody else. Least disruptive first is a habit the exam rewards and the field demands. Reinstalling drivers everywhere or bouncing a switch are far larger hammers for a problem that has not been narrowed down yet.
Question 6
A user's Windows machine is slow to start and you want to see which applications launch at sign-in. Where do you look in Windows 10 or 11?
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A. Task Manager, Startup tab
Startup apps live on the Startup tab in Task Manager, where you can also see each item's measured startup impact. Device Manager is for hardware and drivers, Disk Management for volumes, and Event Viewer for logged events after the fact. Knowing which console owns which job is half of the Core 2 operating systems material.
Six questions is a sample, not a study plan
Any fixed list of questions has the same problem: work it twice and you are remembering the list rather than learning the material. Techunique generates every scenario fresh against the CompTIA A+ (Core 1 220-1101 and Core 2 220-1102) blueprint, ladders the difficulty to how you are answering, and explains each miss the moment you make it. One full session is free every day.
Practice for the CompTIA A+ exams. Techunique is not affiliated with CompTIA.
How to get value out of practice questions
- Learn the six-step troubleshooting methodology in order and use it out loud on real tickets until it is automatic. It is free points and it makes you better at the job.
- Memorize the common port list, but attach each port to a symptom you would actually see when it is blocked.
- Performance-based questions reward hands-on time. Break something in a virtual machine and fix it.
- Core 1 and Core 2 are separate exams. Study them separately rather than blending the material into one pile.
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