Free Course Introduction and IT Foundations practice questions

The full A+ certification requires passing two separate exams, Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202), and this course prepares you for Core 1. Passing Core 1 alone does not earn the certification, and Network+ is a separate, more advanced certification rather than a second half of A+. CompTIA does not offer a single combined A+ exam; the two cores are scheduled and scored independently. Security+ is likewise its own certification that many technicians pursue after A+, not a requirement for earning it.

The Core 1 exam gives candidates 90 minutes and contains up to 90 questions, which works out to roughly a minute per item. The 60-minute option is too short and understates the question count, so a candidate pacing to it would rush unnecessarily. The 120-minute option overstates both the time allowed and the number of questions, which would leave a candidate badly misjudging the pace they need. The last option has the right time limit but is wrong about the count being fixed at 100; CompTIA publishes a maximum of 90, not an exact number.

Identifying the problem is the first step, and it means questioning the user, asking what changed in the environment, reviewing logs and error messages, and reproducing the issue where that is safe to do. Establishing a theory of probable cause is the second step, and forming a theory before you know what the symptom actually is means guessing. Establishing a plan of action is the fourth step, so committing to a fix at this stage would be acting before the cause is known. Documenting findings and outcomes is the final step and cannot be done before any work has happened.

Documenting the findings, lessons learned, actions, and outcomes is the sixth and final step, and it is what lets the next technician benefit from the work you just did. Establishing a plan of action is the fourth step and happens before the repair, not after it. Verifying full system functionality is the fifth step, and the question states it has already been done because the printer was confirmed working. Testing the theory is the third step, which sits early in the process while the cause is still being confirmed.

The technician has a theory but no confirmation, so the next step is to test that theory, for example by swapping in a known-good patch cable and seeing whether the symptom follows the old one. Establishing a plan of action and implementing it comes after the cause is confirmed; acting now risks replacing hardware that was never faulty. Documenting findings is the final step and there is nothing yet to document. Verifying full system functionality happens after a fix has been applied, and no fix has been carried out at this point.

CompTIA calls out backing up data before making changes as a responsibility inside the first step, because a backup taken beforehand is what turns a botched repair into an inconvenience rather than a disaster. Escalating to a senior technician may be appropriate for problems beyond your scope, but it is not what protects the user's files. Replacing the storage drive is a repair action, and swapping hardware before the cause is known destroys the very data the step is meant to protect. Reinstalling the operating system is far more destructive than the situation calls for and would itself put the files at risk.

Core 1 is weighted Hardware and Network Troubleshooting 28%, Hardware 25%, Networking 23%, Mobile Devices 13%, and Virtualization and Cloud Computing 11%. Troubleshooting is the largest slice, which is why the course ends with scenario-based troubleshooting of every earlier topic.

Performance-based questions (PBQs) drop you into a simulated environment and grade the task you complete. They tend to appear at the start of the exam and can be flagged and revisited. Drag-and-drop items are separate matching or ordering questions, and the A+ has no essay items.