220-1102 Question 827
Single answerData sourceA technician is troubleshooting an application on a Windows 11 PC that crashes whenever a user tries to generate a report. The application vendor says the program relies on a system data source configured through ODBC. The technician needs to verify whether the required DSN exists and points to the correct backend database. Which tool should the technician open FIRST?
- A
ODBC Data Sources
- B
Device Manager
- C
Services
- D
Task Scheduler
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
In Windows, a data source for many business applications commonly refers to an ODBC DSN. When troubleshooting application connectivity or reporting failures tied to a database, a technician should first verify the DSN in the ODBC Data Sources administrative tool. This allows review of the DSN type, associated driver, and connection settings. CompTIA A+ Core 2 objectives include using appropriate tools and data sources during troubleshooting. Microsoft documentation for ODBC Data Source Administrator also supports using this utility to configure and review DSNs on Windows systems.
- A. Correct.
Correct. ODBC Data Sources is the Windows utility used to view and manage ODBC drivers and DSNs (Data Source Names), including User DSNs, System DSNs, and File DSNs. If an application depends on a system data source, this is the most direct place to confirm whether the DSN exists and whether it is configured for the proper database driver and server.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Device Manager is used to manage hardware devices and drivers, such as network adapters, storage controllers, and display adapters. It does not provide visibility into ODBC DSN configuration, so it would not help verify an application's database data source.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Services can be useful if the application depends on a database-related service running locally, but it is not the correct first step for checking whether a DSN is present or correctly configured. A technician might choose this if they confuse a data source with a background service.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Task Scheduler manages automated tasks and scripts. It is unrelated to ODBC DSN configuration. Someone might pick this if they assume the report generation process is scheduled, but the issue described is specifically tied to an application data source.