CompTIA A+ · Domain 6 · 28% of the examCore 2 (220-1202) · Operating Systems
10 practice questions. Tap an option to check it, or open “Show answer” for the explanation.
1. A photographer needs a USB drive that both Windows and macOS can read and write, and that can store 20 GB video files. Which file system should it use?
Objective 1.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: C. exFAT
exFAT supports very large files, and both Windows and macOS can read and write it out of the box. FAT32 limits files to 4 GB, and macOS mounts NTFS read-only by default.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
2. A technician is installing Windows 11 on a new PC with UEFI firmware and a 4 TB drive. Which partition style should the drive use?
Objective 1.2Show answerHide answer
Answer: B. GPT
GPT is required to boot Windows 11 on UEFI and supports disks larger than 2 TB. MBR is limited to 2 TB and four primary partitions.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
3. A small business bought laptops running Windows 11 Home. The owner wants to join them to the company's Active Directory domain and manage them with Group Policy. What has to happen first?
Objective 1.3Show answerHide answer
Answer: A. Upgrade the laptops to Windows 11 Pro or higher
Windows Home can't join a domain or use Group Policy, but Pro, Enterprise and Education can. N editions only leave out some media features and don't add domain support.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
4. A user reports that an application closed unexpectedly overnight. Which Windows tool shows timestamped application error records that can help find the cause?
Objective 1.4Show answerHide answer
Answer: D. Event Viewer
Event Viewer's Application log records crashes and errors with timestamps and sources. Task Scheduler runs jobs on a schedule but doesn't record application crashes.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
5. An administrator changed a Group Policy setting, but a user's PC hasn't picked it up yet. Which command applies the policy right away without a reboot?
Objective 1.5Show answerHide answer
Answer: C. gpupdate /force
gpupdate /force reapplies all computer and user policies immediately. gpresult /r only reports which policies are applied and doesn't change anything.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
6. A laptop on the office network can't see shared folders on other PCs, and other PCs can't see it. Network settings show the connection's profile is Public. What should the technician change?
Objective 1.7Show answerHide answer
Answer: B. Change the network profile to Private
The Public profile hides the PC and turns off network discovery and file sharing, while Private allows them on a trusted network. Turning off the firewall would also work, but it removes protection and isn't best practice.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
7. A Mac user wants automatic hourly backups to an external drive and the ability to restore earlier versions of files. Which built-in macOS feature should she use?
Objective 1.8Show answerHide answer
Answer: A. Time Machine
Time Machine makes automatic hourly backups and lets you browse and restore earlier versions. FileVault is full-disk encryption and doesn't back anything up.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
8. A Linux administrator wants a second data drive to be mounted at /data automatically every time the system boots. Which file should she edit?
Objective 1.9Show answerHide answer
Answer: D. /etc/fstab
/etc/fstab lists the file systems and mount points to mount at boot. /etc/hosts maps hostnames to IP addresses and has nothing to do with mounting disks.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
9. A user on an older PC running 32-bit Windows 10 can't install a new application. The installer says the app isn't compatible, and the vendor offers only a 64-bit version. What is the cause?
Objective 1.10Show answerHide answer
Answer: C. A 64-bit application can't run on a 32-bit operating system
A 64-bit OS can run most 32-bit apps, but a 32-bit OS can't run 64-bit apps, so the OS (and CPU) must be 64-bit. Missing admin rights would cause a permissions or UAC prompt, not an incompatibility message.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
10. A new hire can sign in to the company's cloud productivity portal, but when she opens the word processor and email apps she's told she doesn't have a license. What should the admin do?
Objective 1.11Show answerHide answer
Answer: B. Assign her account a license for the productivity suite in the admin portal
Her sign-in works, so her identity is fine, but no license has been assigned to her account. Reinstalling won't help, because the entitlement is tied to the account, not the installation.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
Original practice questions written from CompTIA’s published exam objectives, not real exam questions. CompTIA is a trademark of CompTIA, Inc.; this site isn’t affiliated with CompTIA.