CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) Exam 2026: Professional
Certification Practice Test — Operating Systems, Security, Software
Troubleshooting & Operational Procedures — 190 Multiple-Choice
Questions with Answers & Detailed Rationales
DOMAIN 1: OPERATING SYSTEMS
Question 1
A technician is configuring a Windows 11 workstation for a user who frequently works offline
during international travel. The user needs to access encrypted files on an external USB drive
and also requires full-disk encryption on the internal system drive. Which two Windows
features should the technician enable to meet both requirements?
A. BitLocker and EFS
B. BitLocker and BitLocker To Go
C. Device Encryption and NTFS permissions
D. EFS and Secure Boot
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: BitLocker encrypts the internal system drive, while BitLocker To Go encrypts
removable USB drives, together satisfying full-disk and portable encryption needs.
Question 2
A user reports that their Windows 10 laptop has become increasingly slow over several
weeks. The technician notices disk usage remains at 100% even when the system is idle.
Which tool should the technician use FIRST to identify the process causing sustained disk
activity?
,A. Performance Monitor (perfmon.msc)
B. Task Manager (Taskmgr.exe)
C. System Configuration (msconfig.exe)
D. Resource Monitor (resmon.exe)
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Resource Monitor provides granular real-time data on disk, CPU, memory, and
network usage per process, making it the optimal first tool for identifying sustained disk
activity by a specific process.
Question 3
A technician must upgrade a Windows 10 Home edition workstation to Windows 11 Pro. The
workstation meets all hardware requirements. Which upgrade path is supported?
A. Windows 10 Home can be upgraded directly to Windows 11 Pro using a Pro product key.
B. Windows 10 Home must first be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, then to Windows 11 Pro.
C. Windows 10 Home cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 Pro; a clean install is required.
D. Windows 10 Home can only be upgraded to Windows 11 Home.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Windows 10 Home can be upgraded directly to Windows 11 Pro by supplying a
valid Pro product key during setup, which unlocks Pro features automatically.
Question 4
,A technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 system that fails to boot, displaying a "Boot
Device Not Found" error. The technician confirms the drive is properly connected and
detected in BIOS/UEFI. Which recovery tool should the technician use to repair the boot
configuration?
A. System Restore
B. Startup Repair
C. Reset This PC
D. Disk Cleanup
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Startup Repair is a Windows Recovery Environment tool specifically designed to
automatically fix boot configuration data (BCD) and startup-related issues preventing normal
boot.
Question 5
A user wants to run a virtual machine on their Windows 11 Pro workstation to test Linux
distributions. Which Windows feature should the technician enable?
A. Windows Sandbox
B. Hyper-V
C. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
D. Remote Desktop Services
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Hyper-V is Microsoft's native hypervisor that enables full virtual machine
creation and management on Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions.
, Question 6
A macOS user reports that their system will not boot past the Apple logo. The technician
suspects a corrupted system file. Which macOS recovery utility should the technician use to
repair the startup disk?
A. Disk Utility
B. Terminal
C. Time Machine
D. Keychain Access
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Disk Utility in macOS Recovery mode includes First Aid, which verifies and
repairs disk permissions and file system corruption preventing normal boot operations.
Question 7
A Linux administrator receives a report that a server's root partition is nearly full. The
administrator needs to identify which directories consume the most disk space. Which
command should be used?
A. df -h
B. du -sh /*
C. ls -la /
D. free -m
Correct Answer: B
Certification Practice Test — Operating Systems, Security, Software
Troubleshooting & Operational Procedures — 190 Multiple-Choice
Questions with Answers & Detailed Rationales
DOMAIN 1: OPERATING SYSTEMS
Question 1
A technician is configuring a Windows 11 workstation for a user who frequently works offline
during international travel. The user needs to access encrypted files on an external USB drive
and also requires full-disk encryption on the internal system drive. Which two Windows
features should the technician enable to meet both requirements?
A. BitLocker and EFS
B. BitLocker and BitLocker To Go
C. Device Encryption and NTFS permissions
D. EFS and Secure Boot
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: BitLocker encrypts the internal system drive, while BitLocker To Go encrypts
removable USB drives, together satisfying full-disk and portable encryption needs.
Question 2
A user reports that their Windows 10 laptop has become increasingly slow over several
weeks. The technician notices disk usage remains at 100% even when the system is idle.
Which tool should the technician use FIRST to identify the process causing sustained disk
activity?
,A. Performance Monitor (perfmon.msc)
B. Task Manager (Taskmgr.exe)
C. System Configuration (msconfig.exe)
D. Resource Monitor (resmon.exe)
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Resource Monitor provides granular real-time data on disk, CPU, memory, and
network usage per process, making it the optimal first tool for identifying sustained disk
activity by a specific process.
Question 3
A technician must upgrade a Windows 10 Home edition workstation to Windows 11 Pro. The
workstation meets all hardware requirements. Which upgrade path is supported?
A. Windows 10 Home can be upgraded directly to Windows 11 Pro using a Pro product key.
B. Windows 10 Home must first be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, then to Windows 11 Pro.
C. Windows 10 Home cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 Pro; a clean install is required.
D. Windows 10 Home can only be upgraded to Windows 11 Home.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Windows 10 Home can be upgraded directly to Windows 11 Pro by supplying a
valid Pro product key during setup, which unlocks Pro features automatically.
Question 4
,A technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 system that fails to boot, displaying a "Boot
Device Not Found" error. The technician confirms the drive is properly connected and
detected in BIOS/UEFI. Which recovery tool should the technician use to repair the boot
configuration?
A. System Restore
B. Startup Repair
C. Reset This PC
D. Disk Cleanup
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Startup Repair is a Windows Recovery Environment tool specifically designed to
automatically fix boot configuration data (BCD) and startup-related issues preventing normal
boot.
Question 5
A user wants to run a virtual machine on their Windows 11 Pro workstation to test Linux
distributions. Which Windows feature should the technician enable?
A. Windows Sandbox
B. Hyper-V
C. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
D. Remote Desktop Services
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Hyper-V is Microsoft's native hypervisor that enables full virtual machine
creation and management on Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions.
, Question 6
A macOS user reports that their system will not boot past the Apple logo. The technician
suspects a corrupted system file. Which macOS recovery utility should the technician use to
repair the startup disk?
A. Disk Utility
B. Terminal
C. Time Machine
D. Keychain Access
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Disk Utility in macOS Recovery mode includes First Aid, which verifies and
repairs disk permissions and file system corruption preventing normal boot operations.
Question 7
A Linux administrator receives a report that a server's root partition is nearly full. The
administrator needs to identify which directories consume the most disk space. Which
command should be used?
A. df -h
B. du -sh /*
C. ls -la /
D. free -m
Correct Answer: B
