Free Practice Questions for CompTIA 220-1202 Exam

A corruptedMaster Boot Record (MBR)is a common issue after disk manipulation. Booting from installation media and using tools like bootrec to repair the MBR can resolve the problem.

Travis Everett – All-in-One Exam Guideexplains:

“A damaged MBR may result in the OS not loading. Booting from recovery or installation media and selecting startup repair or running bootrec commands can restore functionality.”

Before you can accurately understand impact (what will break, what will change, what dependencies exist), you should validate the change in a controlled environment. Mike Meyers’ Lab Manual defines sandbox testing as using a safe place “where you can experiment without messing up the primary system,” typically a virtualized environment that isolates the test machine and enables restore from snapshots. It states sandbox testing “entails checking out new and updated applications without putting the systems and data you depend on at risk.”

The All-in-One guide mirrors this exact best practice for change management, emphasizing that you don’t roll changes into production for many users/systems without “thorough testing and analysis,” and highlights sandbox testing as a documented business process used to evaluate changes safely. In this scenario, the scope is known, so the next “first” practical procedure to evaluate effect is to test it in a sandbox so you can then measure and document impacts based on evidence. A rollback/backup plan is critical, but sandbox testing comes first to determine what safeguards are required.

Linux is an open-source operating system that is freely available and does not require traditional licensing fees. It is highly versatile and scalable, making it suitable for both workstations and servers. Many enterprise environments use Linux to reduce software costs and benefit from robust server features.

B. Windows requires per-device or per-user licensing for both workstation and server editions.

C. macOS is proprietary and limited to Apple hardware with licensing restrictions.

D. Chrome OS is designed for lightweight devices and lacks server functionality.

3G networks generally do not provide the bandwidth required for seamless HD video streaming. With only two signal bars and a 3G connection, the mobile device likely cannot maintain the necessary data throughput, resulting in timeouts or buffering failures. This is a classic symptom of insufficient network speed or signal strength.

A. Lack of Wi-Fi may contribute, but the root cause is the low mobile bandwidth, not the Wi-Fi state.

B. A website subscription lapse would return an account error, not a timeout.

D. Full device storage can affect downloads but not streaming from the internet.

Extra icons in the system tray after an update often indicate new background apps loading at startup, increasing boot time. The Mike Meyers Lab Manual explains that “autostarting programs will slow down your system,” and Windows provides control through Task Manager’s Startup tab to enable/disable startup programs—specifically calling this out as useful “especially if Windows is slow to load.” The All-in-One Exam Guide gives the same practical step: open Task Manager’s Startup tab and “review the enabled applications for any you don’t need,” then disable unnecessary ones to regain speed.

Importantly, the All-in-One answer guidance explicitly notes that disabling unnecessary startup programs is the least disruptive first action: “Andre’s best option would be to disable unnecessary startup programs… A system restore might help… but it’ll be much slower and more disruptive.”

Uninstalling the update or restoring the system are more disruptive and should come later if simpler optimization fails. Antivirus scanning can be appropriate if no obvious cause exists, but the clear clue here is new startup items (system tray icons).

This is macOS “Gatekeeper”-style behavior: the OS warns when an app is not from a trusted source (for example, not signed/not from an identified developer). In Quentin Docter’s macOS section, the correct place to control what apps are allowed is Security & Privacy. He states that in Security & Privacy, “the applications downloaded on the device can also be controlled; you can select whether apps can be downloaded only from the App Store or from App Store And Identified Developers, which is the default.” He also notes many advanced settings in Security & Privacy require unlocking with an administrator password.

Although the exact control is on the General area of Security & Privacy (not the Privacy tab itself), among the answer choices the closest and intended match is Privacy (A) because it points to the correct macOS security settings area in System Preferences/System Settings. Accessibility and Finder do not manage app trust controls, and iCloud relates to syncing/account services rather than software signing enforcement.

The correct answer is C. Lock the account after three failed attempts. A brute-force attack attempts many password guesses. Account lockout directly slows or stops this by preventing unlimited login attempts. Quentin Docter’s Complete Study Guide explains that administrators should configure user account settings to limit the number of failed login attempts before the account is locked for a period of time. It specifically notes that setting a failed login attempt counter and lockout duration slows the progress of password attacks. The same material notes that three failed attempts provides better security, although it may create more help desk calls. Restricting login times may reduce the attack window but does not stop repeated guessing during allowed hours. Requiring login after wake protects unattended sessions. Least privilege limits damage after compromise, but account lockout best mitigates brute-force password attempts.

To prevent external access, the technician should avoid exposing the surveillance system’s port to the public internet. Port mapping (also known as port forwarding) is the method used to control which internal devices and ports are accessible from the outside. By not configuring port forwarding for the device, external login attempts are effectively blocked.

B. Subnetting organizes IP addresses but doesn ' t directly restrict access.

C. A static IP ensures consistent addressing but does not secure access.

D. Content filtering is used to restrict web content, not to block access to a web interface.

The correct answer is B. Restarting the print spooler from services, because the problem is isolated to one user and the print job is stuck or failed in the local print queue. This strongly indicates a print spooler service issue on the user’s workstation.

According to the Quentin Docter – CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide, the print spooler manages print jobs sent from applications to printers. If the spooler service hangs or becomes unstable, print jobs may fail even though network connectivity and the printer itself are functioning correctly.

The Travis Everett & Andrew Hutz – All-in-One Exam Guide explains that restarting the print spooler is a standard troubleshooting step when jobs remain in a failed or paused state. This clears the queue and reloads the service without requiring a full system reboot.

The Mike Meyers / Mark Soper Lab Manual reinforces that reinstalling printers should be done only after service-level troubleshooting has failed. Printing from another computer is unnecessary because other users are already printing successfully, confirming the printer and network are operational.

Because the failure is local to the user and visible in the queue, restarting the print spooler service is the most logical and efficient next step, making B the correct answer.

Event Viewer is the best tool to analyze the root cause of service failures in Windows. It provides detailed logs from system processes, including errors, warnings, and crash reports related to services and applications. When a service starts and stops unexpectedly, Event Viewer will often record the cause, such as dependency failures or access violations.

B. Task Manager shows active processes but doesn ' t retain logs or causes of failure.

C. Internet Options is used for configuring browser settings, not troubleshooting services.

D. Process Explorer is powerful but more suited for live monitoring and detailed process trees, not post-failure log analysis.