A technician is replacing a failed CPU in a desktop PC. After removing the old CPU and cooler, the technician notices the old thermal paste has dried and cracked. The new CPU is already in the socket. What is the correct next step before installing the heatsink?

Apply a thick layer of thermal paste covering the entire CPU surface to ensure full coverage.

Reuse the old thermal paste since it is still partially intact on the heatsink.

Install the heatsink without any thermal paste because the CPU is new.

Apply a fresh, pea-sized amount of thermal paste to the center of the new CPU's integrated heat spreader.

What is the primary difference between LGA and PGA CPU sockets?

LGA requires a ZIF lever, PGA does not

LGA supports more cores than PGA

LGA is used only for AMD, PGA is used only for Intel

LGA has pins on the motherboard, PGA has pins on the CPU

A technician installs a new NVMe SSD in an M.2 slot. The drive is detected in the BIOS, but Windows does not boot and shows a 'Boot device not found' error. The technician needs to install Windows on the new drive. What should the technician do first?

Initialize the NVMe drive in Disk Management.

Change the boot order in the BIOS to prioritize the Windows installation media.

Disable the SATA controller in the BIOS.

Replace the M.2 drive because it is faulty.

CompTIAA+ Core 1

Domain 3Objective 1

Component Installation 220-1201 Practice Questions (Page 6)

Part of the Hardware domain, which accounts for 25% of the 220-1201 exam. CompTIA does not publish an official question count, but from its 90-minute exam (~35–60 total, ~9–15 in this domain), expect 2–4 from this objective — we provide 32 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

32questions here

7free pages

8concepts

25%of the exam

Questions 26–30

26application · medium
A technician is replacing a failed CPU in a desktop PC. After removing the old CPU and cooler, the technician notices the old thermal paste has dried and cracked. The new CPU is already in the socket. What is the correct next step before installing the heatsink?
Select an answer first
27foundation · easy
Which CPU socket type is designed for AMD Ryzen processors?
Select an answer first
28foundation · easy
What is the primary difference between LGA and PGA CPU sockets?
Select an answer first
29application · medium
A technician is upgrading a desktop CPU. The current motherboard uses an LGA 1151 socket. Which CPU can the technician install without changing the motherboard?
Select an answer first
30expert · hard
A technician installs a new NVMe SSD in an M.2 slot. The drive is detected in the BIOS, but Windows does not boot and shows a 'Boot device not found' error. The technician needs to install Windows on the new drive. What should the technician do first?
Select an answer first

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Component Installation 220-1201 Practice Questions (Page 6)

Questions 26–30

A technician is replacing a failed CPU in a desktop PC. After removing the old CPU and cooler, the technician notices the old thermal paste has dried and cracked. The new CPU is already in the socket. What is the correct next step before installing the heatsink?

Which CPU socket type is designed for AMD Ryzen processors?

What is the primary difference between LGA and PGA CPU sockets?

A technician is upgrading a desktop CPU. The current motherboard uses an LGA 1151 socket. Which CPU can the technician install without changing the motherboard?

A technician installs a new NVMe SSD in an M.2 slot. The drive is detected in the BIOS, but Windows does not boot and shows a 'Boot device not found' error. The technician needs to install Windows on the new drive. What should the technician do first?

Keep studying — Hardware