220-1101 Question 437
Single answerPhysically damaged portsA user reports that an external hard drive disconnects whenever the cable is slightly bumped on a company laptop. You test the drive with a known-good cable on another laptop and it works normally. On the user's laptop, the USB-A port feels loose, and the plastic tongue inside the port is cracked. Which is the BEST next step?
- A
Replace the laptop's motherboard or internal I/O daughterboard that contains the damaged USB port
- B
Reinstall the USB controller drivers in Device Manager and retest the external hard drive
- C
Disable USB selective suspend in the power settings to prevent the disconnections
- D
Format the external hard drive and recreate the partition table
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests the ability to distinguish hardware failure from software or configuration issues. In A+ Core 1 troubleshooting, visible physical damage to a port is strong evidence that the port itself is faulty. Best practice is to isolate the issue with known-good components, which was done here by testing the external drive and cable on another system. Once the fault is narrowed to the damaged port, the correct action is hardware replacement at the appropriate serviceable level: on some laptops the USB port is part of the motherboard, while on others it is on a separate daughterboard or I/O board. CompTIA A+ objectives emphasize identifying physically damaged ports and understanding when component replacement is required rather than attempting software fixes for a mechanical problem.
- A. Correct.
Correct. The scenario points to physical damage in the laptop's USB port: the port is loose, the internal tongue is cracked, and the problem follows the laptop rather than the drive or cable. A physically damaged port is a hardware issue, so the proper fix is to replace the affected hardware assembly, which may be the motherboard or a replaceable I/O daughterboard depending on the laptop design.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Reinstalling drivers is appropriate when the operating system fails to recognize a device, reports driver errors, or shows controller problems in Device Manager. In this case, the visible damage and intermittent connection when the cable is moved indicate a mechanical fault, not a software or driver issue.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. USB selective suspend can contribute to power-related disconnect symptoms, especially with idle devices, but it does not fix a cracked internal USB port or loose physical connection. Choosing this option reflects a common mistake of troubleshooting software settings when there is clear evidence of physical damage.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Formatting the drive addresses file system or partition problems, not intermittent disconnects caused by a damaged laptop port. The drive has already been verified as working properly on another laptop, so erasing it would be unnecessary and would risk data loss.