These questions cover troubleshooting and OS operations — skills that appear across both Core 1 and Core 2 of the A+ exam and test your ability to follow structured IT processes rather than just recall facts.
Question 1
A technician needs to upgrade the RAM in several workstations during business hours. Which change management step is most important before proceeding?
- A) Make the change immediately to minimise disruption time
- B) Document, test the procedure, and schedule a maintenance window
- C) Only upgrade one machine first to test, then do the rest without scheduling
- D) Upgrade during business hours since RAM replacement is non-disruptive
Answer: B — Document, test the procedure, and schedule a maintenance window
CompTIA's change management process requires every change — even routine hardware upgrades — to follow a structured approach:
- Identify the change needed
- Plan the change (document steps, identify risks)
- Test in a non-production environment when possible
- Get approval from stakeholders
- Schedule a maintenance window
- Implement the change
- Document the outcome and any issues
RAM installation requires the machine to be powered down, which interrupts the user. Even if the procedure is quick, failing to schedule a window means interrupting someone mid-work without warning — a process failure regardless of technical success.
</details>Question 2
A user reports that their Windows PC is running slowly and some files are missing. Which built-in utility should the technician run first to check for file system errors?
- A) Disk Defragmenter (
dfrgui) - B) Resource Monitor (
resmon) - C) Check Disk (
chkdsk) - D) Disk Cleanup (
cleanmgr)
Answer: C — Check Disk (chkdsk)
chkdsk scans the file system and disk surface for errors and can repair logical file system corruption. Missing files are a symptom of file system errors. Run with the /f flag to fix errors, and /r to also scan for bad sectors:
chkdsk C: /f /r
On a system drive, Windows schedules chkdsk to run at the next reboot since it needs exclusive access to the volume.
Windows disk utilities and what they do:
| Utility | What it does |
|---|---|
chkdsk | Checks and repairs file system errors and bad sectors |
dfrgui / defrag | Rearranges fragmented files on HDD (not needed on SSD) |
cleanmgr | Deletes temporary files and clears space |
diskpart | Command-line disk and partition management |
Defragmenting doesn't fix corruption, and Resource Monitor is a performance monitoring tool — neither addresses missing files.
</details>Question 3
A user says a business application crashes every time they open a specific report. The application was working fine last week. What is the best first troubleshooting step?
- A) Uninstall the application and reinstall from scratch
- B) Roll back Windows to a previous restore point
- C) Check for application updates and review the Event Viewer logs
- D) Replace the user's computer
Answer: C — Check for updates and review Event Viewer
The CompTIA troubleshooting methodology is:
- Identify the problem
- Establish a theory (what changed since it worked?)
- Test the theory
- Establish a plan of action
- Implement the solution
- Verify and document
"It worked last week" tells you something changed — an OS update, an application update, or a configuration change. Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) logs application crashes with error codes that point directly to the cause. Checking for application updates follows the same logic: a recent patch may have introduced the bug, or a pending patch may fix it.
Uninstalling and reinstalling is a valid later step if softer fixes fail, but it's not the first step — you'd lose the diagnostic information in logs.
</details>Key Takeaways
- Change management: document, test, schedule, implement, document outcome — skipping steps is a process failure
chkdsk /f /rchecks and repairs file system errors; defrag rearranges files but doesn't fix corruption- CompTIA troubleshooting: establish a theory before acting — check logs and recent changes before uninstalling anything