CompTIA A+ Core 1 Sample Questions and Explanations

The comptia a+ core 1 sample questions below follow the real exam's format: a scenario, four options, one best answer. Read the explanation even when you get it right — understanding why the strongest wrong answer fails is often more useful than the correct answer itself.

Question 1 — Domain: Virtualization and cloud computing

A technician is preparing a host to run virtual machines. A test VM must be reachable from the Internet on TCP 80 and TCP 443 so external testers can use the web application. The VM uses bridged networking and has a DHCP reservation of 192.168.1.60 on the SOHO router. The technician proposes replacing the router with a firewall appliance. Which action meets the requirement with the least security risk?

A. Add port-forwarding rules for TCP 80 and TCP 443 to the VM's reserved IP. B. Change the VM network adapter to host-only and enable NAT on the host. C. Replace the SOHO router with a firewall appliance and configure equivalent rules. D. Place the VM's reserved IP in the router's DMZ to receive all inbound traffic.

Answer: A

The port-forwarding option is correct because it exposes only TCP 80 and 443 to the VM's reserved IP, which meets the stated requirement with the smallest attack surface. The strongest distractor is the DMZ option: it also makes the VM reachable, but it forwards every inbound port to that VM, which is broader exposure than the evidence justifies and increases risk. Replacing the SOHO router with a firewall appliance is the over-invasive fix proposed in the stem; the current router already supports the targeted rule. Host-only with NAT would keep the VM private and would not provide external testers the required inbound access. The general rule is to apply the narrowest change the symptoms support: use targeted port forwarding for specific services, reserve DMZ for cases where an entire host must be exposed, and change hardware only after the current device has been shown incapable.

Question 2 — Domain: Hardware

A laser printer on the 192.168.10.0/24 office LAN is assigned 192.168.10.99/24. Users report every page prints with the same faint, washed-out text. The print queue shows jobs completed, the printer's embedded web server opens normally, and the driver is still at factory defaults. The technician must correct the output without changing the network. Which action is most likely to resolve the problem?

A. Replace the imaging drum and use a known-good toner cartridge. B. Delete and re-add the network port, then restart the spooler. C. Set the printer to a free static IP address in the same subnet. D. Turn off the driver's toner-save or economode print setting.

Answer: A

This is correct because the evidence places the fault in the print engine, not in TCP/IP or the driver. The printer is reachable, jobs are completing, and the driver is at factory defaults, so the remaining cause of uniformly faint output is a worn imaging drum or depleted toner supply. The toner-save/economode distractor is the strongest trap because that driver setting also produces light output, but the stem rules it out. The static IP and spooler options assume a network or queue fault that is contradicted by the printer's web server and completed jobs. The general rule is to use observable evidence to separate network, driver, and print-engine causes before changing configuration or replacing hardware.

Question 3 — Domain: Networking

Several users report phone-to-NAS file transfers over Wi-Fi are much slower than before. Streaming and web browsing on phones feel normal, and wired PCs transfer to the NAS at full speed. The AP is in the same room with excellent client signal strength, and its uplink ran at gigabit until this week. The switch port connected to the AP now negotiates at 100 Mbps. The technician must restore full speed with the fewest configuration changes. Which action should the technician take?

A. Configure the NAS to use SMB3 and disable SMB1. B. Replace the Ethernet cable from the AP to the switch. C. Disable Wi-Fi power saving on the affected phones. D. Change the access point to a less congested Wi-Fi channel.

Answer: B

The correct action is to replace the Ethernet cable from the AP to the switch. The AP uplink has dropped from gigabit to 100 Mbps, which explains why only large local file transfers are slow while streaming and web browsing still feel normal. A damaged or poor-quality Ethernet cable can make the link negotiate at a lower speed, and the problem is physical, not a Wi-Fi configuration issue. The strongest distractor is changing the AP's Wi-Fi channel: channel congestion would also degrade streaming and browsing on the phones, and it would not explain the switch port negotiating at 100 Mbps. General rule: when wireless clients are healthy but the AP's wired uplink has renegotiated down, verify the physical cable and port before changing wireless or NAS configuration.

Question 4 — Domain: Hardware and network troubleshooting

A technician is called to a workstation that stops during POST at a hardware RAID controller initialization screen. The controller reports the RAID 1 logical volume as offline, and then the system hangs. The technician has a known-good spare of the same RAID controller available. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST to restore the machine with the least risk of unnecessary part replacement?

A. Open the RAID controller BIOS and check drive status and event log. B. Replace the RAID controller with the known-good spare card and reboot. C. Rebuild the mirror from the surviving drive using the controller utility. D. Reseat both hard drives' data and power cables, then reboot.

Answer: A

The qualifier is FIRST with the least risk of unnecessary part replacement. A controller that reports a logical volume offline at POST is giving a diagnostic clue, so the technician should read the controller's event log and drive status before choosing a fix. That is establishing and testing a theory before implementing a solution. The answer that replaces the controller is the strongest distractor: a failed controller can cause the symptom, but swapping it before checking status skips the methodology step and may leave the real fault in place. Reseating cables and rebuilding the mirror are also premature until the status and event log narrow the cause. General rule: when a device reports an error during POST, use that device's own diagnostics to identify the cause before replacing or rebuilding hardware.

Question 5 — Domain: Mobile devices

A laptop's 500 GB hard drive was replaced with an SSD. After the repair, the internal Wi-Fi drops out whenever the laptop is moved, and the adapter shows error Code 10 in Device Manager until a reboot. A USB wireless adapter in the same location connects normally. Which action should the technician take first while following the troubleshooting methodology?

A. Restart the laptop and then re-enable the Wi-Fi adapter in Device Manager. B. Reseat the internal Wi-Fi card and verify both antenna cables are connected. C. Replace the internal Wi-Fi card with the exact vendor-approved replacement model. D. Update the Wi-Fi adapter driver to the latest version from the laptop vendor.

Answer: B

Reseating the internal Wi-Fi card and checking the antenna cables is correct because the symptom appeared immediately after a repair that opened the laptop, it is triggered by movement, the USB adapter is unaffected, and the internal adapter reports a device-start error. Those clues make a loose internal connection the first theory to test, and reseating the card tests that theory without replacing good parts. The replace-the-card option is the strongest distractor; it is a plausible fix for a failed card but it skips the verify-physical-connection step and spends the customer's money on a part that may only have been dislodged. Driver and restart options also apply software causes before the physical cause has been eliminated. General rule: when a fault appears after internal work and is movement-sensitive, inspect the connectors disturbed by that repair before substituting components.

Question 6 — Domain: Hardware

A desktop PC that worked yesterday now fails POST. The power LED is on, all fans spin at normal speed, and there is no display or POST beep. When opening the case, the technician sees that the retaining clip on DIMM slot 2 is open and the memory module is angled upward. Which action should the technician take first?

A. Replace the motherboard with a known-good unit. B. Clear CMOS using the clear jumper on the board. C. Reseat the memory module until slot 2's clip locks. D. Reseat the processor and its cooler in the CPU socket.

Answer: C

An unseated memory module is the only option directly supported by the symptoms: the open clip and angled DIMM mean the module is not making electrical contact, so the memory controller cannot initialize and the board never completes POST. Reseating it is therefore the correct first step. The motherboard replacement option is the strongest distractor because it would also fix a POST failure, but it is a heavier fix than the symptom warrants and should only be considered after the visible memory fault is ruled out. Clearing CMOS resets BIOS settings but cannot make a physically lifted module contact the slot; reseating the processor is supported by no evidence here. Rule: when a hardware defect is visible, address that component before replacing the board.

Question 7 — Domain: Virtualization and cloud computing

A technician is preparing a host to run several VMs. A USB all-in-one printer is passed through to one VM. When a test page is printed from that VM, the paper feeds a few centimeters, stops, and the printer makes a grinding noise; no jam error appears. The printer printed normally before it was moved beside the host. What should the technician do first?

A. Print a self-test page from the printer's control panel. B. Reinstall the all-in-one printer driver inside the VM. C. Restart the VM's print spooler service and print again. D. Replace the printer with another USB model and install its driver.

Answer: A

This is correct because the self-test page is generated by the printer itself, bypassing the VM, the USB passthrough, and the driver. A repeating paper-feed failure with a grinding noise points to the printer's mechanical paper path rather than to software. The strongest distractor is reinstalling the printer driver in the VM; it is a natural response to a VM printing problem, but a driver cannot cause a grinding roller or gear symptom, so it would be wasted effort. The general rule is to isolate the device from the host/VM/software path by using a printer self-test or vendor diagnostic before changing drivers or replacing hardware.

Question 8 — Domain: Virtualization and cloud computing

A small office added a switch to connect five new PCs to the LAN. The shared printer is served by a VM on a desktop computer. The VM can reach the Internet, but the new PCs cannot see it. During maintenance yesterday, a technician changed the VM's network adapter to NAT and did not change it back. The manager wants to rebuild the VM. Which action resolves the problem with the least disruption?

A. Change the VM's network adapter from NAT back to bridged mode. B. Increase the VM's memory and vCPU resources on the host. C. Restore the VM from the backup taken before yesterday's maintenance. D. Migrate the VM to another hypervisor host on the office LAN.

Answer: A

The answer that changes the adapter back to bridged mode is correct. NAT lets the guest start outbound connections and reach the Internet, but it does not place the guest on the office LAN or allow LAN clients to initiate connections to it. A bridged virtual NIC connects the VM directly to the physical LAN, which is exactly what the new PCs need. The restore-from-backup option is the strongest distractor: it could work if the backup predates the change, but it is a far more invasive fix than the evidence requires, and changing one VM setting removes the fault. The general rule is to verify the virtual NIC's connection mode and the virtual switch it is attached to before reimaging, restoring, or replacing hardware for a VM networking problem.

Question 9 — Domain: Hardware

A technician is preparing a desktop PC as a virtualization host in a small office. The PC alone runs several VMs without a problem. When a user prints a 25-page document on the nearby laser MFD, the MFD's display briefly goes dark and the host powers off and restarts. The host and MFD share a power strip, and the MFD's fuser turns on heavily during the job. Which action corrects the most likely cause with the FEWEST new parts?

A. Set the VMs to use fewer virtual CPUs. B. Install a higher-capacity power supply in the host. C. Replace the MFD's fuser assembly with a new unit. D. Move the MFD to a dedicated wall circuit.

Answer: D

The symptom only appears when the laser MFD's fuser cycles on and the two devices share a power strip, so the failure is an electrical circuit power budget problem: the MFD's peak current draw plus the running host exceeds what the strip/circuit can supply. Moving the MFD to a dedicated wall circuit removes the overload directly and needs no new parts. The strongest distractor is installing a higher-capacity power supply in the host, because the host alone runs VMs fine and the printer's display also blanks, evidence that this is not a host PSU failure; replacing the fuser has the same problem, and reducing VMs only trims one side of the load without fixing the shared-circuit budget. The rule is to check power and thermal budgets before replacing components when the symptom correlates with peak demand.

Where these comptia a+ core 1 practice questions come from

Each comptia a+ core 1 exam questions example above mirrors the scenario-based style CompTIA uses for Core 1: a short situation, a qualifier like "FIRST" or "least risk," and a strongest distractor designed to look correct until checked against the stem. These are original items, not reproduced from CompTIA's exam bank, but the format matches CompTIA's own description of the real question style.

For the syllabus these questions are drawn from, see exam objectives. For timing and scoring, check exam format. For more comptia a+ core 1 questions and answers at full length, our practice test covers that, and study plan shows how to fit this into a schedule.

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