FC0-U71 CompTIA Tech+ Certification Exam Question and Answers

The CompTIA troubleshooting methodology is clearly outlined:

"Once a theory of probable cause has been established, the next step is to test that theory."

Testing confirms whether the identified potential cause is correct before proceeding with action planning, repairs, or documentation.

Task management tools such as Task Manager in Windows or Activity Monitor in macOS allow users to monitor running applications and processes. They also provide the functionality to force-close (end) applications that are not responding.

“Task Manager provides a way to close applications that are unresponsive and manage running processes.” — CompTIA ITF+ Official Guide

Correct answer: A

Browsers store previously loaded pages in their cache to improve performance. If outdated content is cached, clearing the cache forces the browser to load the latest version from the server.

“Clearing the browser cache removes stored versions of web pages and resolves display issues caused by outdated content.” — CompTIA ITF+

Correct answer: C

According to the CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide (Exam FC0-U71, 3rd Edition, 2025):

“A crimper is used to attach modular connectors, such as RJ45 or RJ11, to network or phone cables. The crimper pushes the metal contacts into the wires, securing them in place.”

Punchdown tools, by contrast, are used for patch panels or keystone jacks, not RJ45 ends.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 2: Peripherals and Connectors — “Networking Tools: Crimpers, Punchdown Tools, Cable Testers” (pp. 106–108).

RAM allows multiple applications to run simultaneously. Insufficient RAM causes performance drops:

“When several applications are open, the system relies heavily on RAM for temporary storage of active processes.”

Storage, motherboard, or NIC do not directly handle temporary application memory while multitasking.

Generative AI is used to create new content including images, music, videos, or text. This includes tasks like image editing, enhancement, or generation using tools such as DALL·E, MidJourney, or generative adversarial networks (GANs).

“Generative AI creates new data or content, such as images, music, or text. It is commonly used in image editing, graphic design, and media production.” — CompTIA ITF+ Guide

Other AI types:

Assistive AI helps with tasks like navigation or text suggestions.

Predictive AI forecasts outcomes using existing data.

Chatbots simulate conversation, often in customer service.

Account logs provide details about authentication attempts and can confirm whether a user successfully logged in or was denied access.

“Authentication events are recorded in system and application logs, helping verify login success or failure.” — CompTIA ITF+ Security Concepts

Correct answer: A

In terms of storage measurement hierarchy:

1TB = 1,000GB

1GB = 1,000MB

1MB = 1,000KB

Therefore:

20TB = 20,000GB

2,000GB = 2,000GB

200MB = 0.2GB

2,000KB = 0.002GB

Thus, 20TB is the largest. The CompTIA ITF+ FC0-U71 Official Study Guide defines storage units in this way under data representation topics.

Encryption protects files by converting them into unreadable formats unless the correct decryption key is provided. The CompTIA ITF+ FC0-U71 Official Study Guide explains:

"Encryption is the process of converting data into a secure format that cannot be read without a decryption key. Only users with the proper key can access the original data."

File permissions control user access based on OS-level rules, but encryption specifically ensures that only those with the key can read the file even if they access the file storage.

Hidden folders merely conceal files but don’t protect content. Compression reduces file size but doesn’t protect access.

Application data refers to user-generated or application-specific files that are critical to retain. This includes saved work, preferences, and databases. These must be included in backups to ensure continuity and recovery.

“Application data and user-generated content should be prioritized in backups to ensure critical information is retained during restoration.” — CompTIA ITF+ Data Protection

Correct answer: B

USB-C supports bidirectional communication, which means it can both send and receive data, including video, audio, power, and data signals over the same cable. This is unlike traditional video cables such as VGA, DVI, or even DisplayPort, which primarily transmit data in one direction.

“USB-C is a reversible connector capable of transmitting power, data, video, and audio signals. It is also bidirectional, allowing two-way communication between devices.” — CompTIA ITF+ Study Guide

VGA, DVI, and even DisplayPort are primarily unidirectional video outputs.

Only USB-C fully supports modern bidirectional multimedia communication.

Correct answer: D

A touch screen functions as both an input and output device. According to the CompTIA ITF+ FC0-U71 Official Study Guide:

"A touchscreen display is a hybrid device combining input and output. It shows visual output like a standard monitor but also allows the user to interact directly by touching the screen."

"Input devices allow users to provide data or control signals (e.g., keyboard, mouse, touchscreen)."

"Output devices show results from the computer's processing (e.g., monitor, printer, touchscreen)."

Touchscreens display information (output) and receive user input through touch (input). They do not perform storage, networking, processing, or logging.

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide provides a conversion table for storage units:

“1 bit = 1 bit, a single 0 or 1.

8 bits = 1 byte (one text character).

1,000 bytes = 1 kilobyte (KB).”

Thus, 8 bits equals 1 byte.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 1: Core Hardware Components — Table 1.2 “Bit and Byte Conversions” (p. 36).

A variable is a named space in memory used to store data that can change during program execution.

“Variables are memory storage locations used to hold data that can change while a program runs.” — CompTIA ITF+ Programming Concepts

Correct answer: A

UESTION NO: 83 [IT Concepts and Terminology]

A systems administrator resolves a persistent issue with a laptop. Which of the following steps should the administrator take next?

A. Test the theory.

B. Document the findings.

C. Create an action plan.

D. Implement the action plan.

Answer: B

After resolving the issue, the final step in the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology is to document the findings. This includes noting what was done, what caused the issue, and how it was resolved, so others can reference it in the future.

“After resolving and verifying the issue, document the findings, actions taken, and outcomes to complete the troubleshooting process.” — CompTIA ITF+ Troubleshooting Steps

Correct answer: B

An open-source license allows users to access, modify, and redistribute the software’s source code. It supports user customization and community contributions.

“Open-source software provides access to the source code, allowing users to inspect, modify, and enhance the software.” — CompTIA ITF+ Licensing and Software Concepts

Correct answer: C

For locations without cable or cellular towers, satellite internet is the most viable solution. Satellite does not require terrestrial infrastructure beyond a dish and has global coverage.

“Satellite is often used in remote or rural locations where wired and cellular connectivity is not available. It uses a dish to communicate with orbiting satellites for internet access.” — CompTIA ITF+ Curriculum

Fiber optic and IDSL require ground cabling.

Cellular requires nearby towers, which the scenario rules out.

Correct answer: D. Satellite

An e-reader is designed specifically for reading digital books in a portable, lightweight format:

“E-readers are mobile devices optimized for reading electronic books, offering portability, long battery life, and digital storage of thousands of titles.”

Servers, external drives, and workstations are either not portable or not designed for reading books.

In CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide (Exam FC0-U71, 3rd Edition, 2025), the section “Reviewing Throughput Speeds” explains:

“The most basic measure of throughput is in bits per second (bps)—that is, how many bits are transmitted across the network media (or wireless connection) any given second. Each of the following designations increases that speed by 1000 times:

â–  Kilobits per second (Kbps)

â–  Megabits per second (Mbps)

â–  Gigabits per second (Gbps)

■ Terabits per second (Tbps)”

This shows that Mbps (megabits per second) is the standard measurement unit for Internet connection speed.

802.11X is a wireless security standard,

MHz measures processor frequency, and

Bytes measure data size, not transfer rate.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 8: Networking Concepts and Technologies — “Reviewing Throughput Speeds” (pp. 424–425).

Chapter 2: Peripherals and Connectors — “Throughput units of measure” (p. 80).

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide (Exam FC0-U71, 3rd Edition, 2025) explains:

“Inside the BIOS, you can make system configuration selections such as changing the system time, selecting a preferred boot device, or enabling/disabling features.”

Additionally, it details:

“The CMOS chip must have power constantly or it will lose its information (just like RAM does when your computer is powered off). To prevent CMOS from losing its rather important information, motherboard manufacturers include a small battery called the CMOS battery to power the CMOS memory.”

If the system time resets or becomes incorrect after power off, it indicates a BIOS or CMOS battery issue. Configuring or replacing the BIOS/CMOS settings resolves it.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 1: Core Hardware Components — “BIOS and CMOS” (pp. 20–21).

A keyboard allows a user to enter data into a system:

“Input devices allow users to provide data or control signals to the computer; keyboards are primary examples.”

Storage saves data, output displays data, and processing handles data operations.

Satellite internet typically suffers from higher latency due to the long distances signals must travel to orbit and back. Even with high download speeds, the time delay in communication is significant.

“Satellite internet often experiences high latency due to the long signal travel time between Earth and orbiting satellites.” — CompTIA ITF+ Networking Concepts

Correct answer: C

The correct order of storage units from smallest to largest is:

Kilobyte (KB)

Megabyte (MB)

Terabyte (TB)

Petabyte (PB)

“A kilobyte is approximately 1,000 bytes. It is smaller than a megabyte (1 million bytes), terabyte (1 trillion bytes), or petabyte (1 quadrillion bytes).” — CompTIA ITF+ Reference

Hence, C. Kilobyte is the smallest unit listed.

Recording user actions is an example of accounting, which helps track what users do on a system, especially for auditing purposes.

“Accounting refers to the recording and logging of system activities, including tracking user actions within applications or services.” — CompTIA ITF+

Correct answer: A

CPU speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz), indicating how many million or billion cycles the processor can execute per second.

“CPU performance is commonly measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz), representing the processor’s clock speed.” — CompTIA ITF+

MB is for memory/storage size.

Mbps is for network speed.

MAC is a hardware address, not a performance metric.

Correct answer: A

The web browser history stores records of websites that a user has visited. This is typically the most straightforward and accessible method for determining whether users accessed inappropriate or unauthorized online content. The CompTIA ITF+ documentation explains:

“Web browsers maintain a history of visited URLs, which can be used for monitoring and auditing user activity, including detecting policy violations regarding internet usage.”

System logs are broader and generally capture system or security events.

Cookies store session and tracking data but don’t always show what content was accessed.

Location tracking helps with geolocation, not content monitoring.

Therefore, the correct choice is D.

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Compiled languages (e.g., C, C++, Go) are translated into machine code before execution, making them faster and more efficient at runtime than interpreted or scripting languages.

“Compiled code is translated into machine language before execution, providing faster performance compared to interpreted code.” — CompTIA ITF+ Software Concepts

Correct answer: B

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide states:

“Nearly every program running on a computer is run as a process. This includes system operations, background tasks, and applications… The Task Manager utility helps you see everything that’s running on a computer… If I have an app that’s taking up too much memory, I can click it and then click End Task to shut it down. This is also known as killing the process.”

Thus, process management is the OS function that allows users to stop (terminate) running applications.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 4: Operating Systems — “Process Management” (pp. 238–240).

Accounting refers to the logging and monitoring of user actions. In this case, tracking login events through log files is an example of accounting in the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) model.

“Accounting provides auditing and logging of user actions, such as login times and resource access.” — CompTIA ITF+ Security Essentials

Correct answer: A

A loop is a programming construct that repeats a set of instructions while a condition is true. This is used to automate repetitive tasks in code.

“Loops are used in programming to execute the same block of code multiple times under specific conditions.” — CompTIA ITF+ Programming Concepts

Correct answer: A

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide (Exam FC0-U71, 3rd Edition, 2025) defines phishing as:

“Creating a site or sending an email that masquerades as a legitimate secure site but actually steals your information is called phishing.”

It further explains:

“When people talk about phishing, it’s generally in the context of suspicious email because that’s how the term originated. Hackers sent out messages hoping to get someone to take the bait.”

By deleting a suspicious email without opening or clicking links, the user is practicing anti-phishing awareness — a key cybersecurity best practice.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 11: Security Best Practices — “Recognizing Suspicious Sites, Links, and Ads” and “Phishing” (pp. 587–589).

Installing software typically requires elevated permissions that standard user accounts do not have. The CompTIA ITF+ FC0-U71 Official Study Guide explains:

“An administrator account provides full system access, including installing or removing software, changing system settings, and managing user accounts.”

The user account does not have these privileges by default.

Least privilege refers to granting only the minimum permissions necessary (which would not typically include software installation for regular users).

Single factor refers to authentication methods, not access levels.

Since the employee is denied installation due to insufficient privileges, administrator access is needed to complete the installation.

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide explains:

“For a table in a database to be relational, it must have a primary key. In fact, its creation is mandatory when a table is created. A primary key is one or more fields whose data is used to identify a record uniquely.”

It further adds:

“Primary keys for tables are stored in an index, which enforces the uniqueness requirement.”

Hence, the unique identifier for records in a relational database is the primary key.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 7: Database Fundamentals — “Primary Key” (pp. 394–395).

Presentation software (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides) is specifically designed to display information to an audience in a visual and organized format, making it ideal for meetings.

“Presentation software is used to create slide-based content that can be projected or shared in meetings to communicate ideas visually and effectively.” — CompTIA ITF+ Study Guide

Correct answer: D

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to any data that can be used to identify an individual uniquely. Full name and date of birth are classic examples of PII.

“PII includes data such as names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and other information that can directly or indirectly identify a person.” — CompTIA ITF+ Security Essentials

Correct answers: A and B

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide (Exam FC0-U71, 3rd Edition, 2025) defines hexadecimal as follows:

“The hexadecimal notational system, or base-16… In hex, the numbers 0 to 9 are used, just like in decimal. However, the letters A to F are used to represent decimal numbers 10 through 15.”

This directly confirms that hexadecimal uses digits 0–9 and letters A–F.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 6: Software Development Concepts — “Notational Systems” (pp. 357–359).

Disk management is the OS feature used to create, delete, format, or partition storage devices. It allows users to manage drives and volumes locally.

“Disk management tools are used to manage and configure storage devices, including creating and formatting partitions and volumes.” — CompTIA ITF+ Operating System Features

Correct answer: D

The CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide explains:

“A compiled programming language is one that requires the use of a compiler to translate it into machine code. Creating and using a program using a compiled language consists of three steps:

Write the source code.

Use a compiler to translate the source code into machine code.

Execute the program file, which usually has an .exe extension.”

Compiled languages package programs into executable files.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 6: Software Development Concepts — “Compiled Languages” (pp. 361–363).

Line 10 starts with “FOR Q=1 TO 100,” which is a loop construct. It defines a loop that will run 100 times, incrementing Q from 1 to 100 and executing the enclosed lines (20 and 30).

“Loops are programming constructs that repeat a set of instructions until a condition is met. A ‘FOR’ loop is a common control structure in procedural programming.” — CompTIA ITF+ Official Objectives

Other options:

Attribute applies to objects, not control flow.

Sequence is the overall flow of code lines.

Branches involve decision-making (e.g., IF/ELSE), not repetition.

Correct answer: D

According to the CompTIA Tech+ Study Guide:

“Changing Default Usernames and Passwords — The first thing a potential hacker will try to use is the default username or password for a device. Always change them.”

It also emphasizes:

“Enabling passwords and changing default usernames and passwords are essential password management best practices.”

Therefore, the correct action after server setup is to change the default usernames and passwords to secure the system.

Verified Reference:

Chapter 11: Security Best Practices — “Managing Passwords” (pp. 594–595).