UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2018/2019
EXAMINATION FOR THE DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
DIT304 PRINCIPLES OF COMPUTER SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE
DATE: AUGUST 2019 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE
a) Outline five factors that should be considered selecting a troubleshooting technique.
[5 Marks]
b) Explain three circumstances under which an organization could consider disposing
computers. [6 Marks]
c) Describe any four types of application software used in computers. [4 Marks]
d) Mr. Kamau started his computer and after some minutes of operation the computer entered
into a deadlocked state. He was not able to perform any task. Explain in detail three exact
causes of the problem. [6 Marks]
e) Explain how one would troubleshoot and service a faulty power supply unit. [4 Marks]
f) Describe the main components of a computer system board. [5 Marks]
QUESTION TWO
a) Highlight the exact use of the following maintenance tools and equipment: [4 Marks]
i. Multimeter.
ii. Punch down tool.
iii. Crimping tool.
iv. Soldering iron.
b) Joe realized on his personal desktop that there was no display received from the VGA card
despite all other system components functioning well.
i. Discuss two possible faults with the system and relevant solutions. [4 Marks]
ii. Give two possible causes for the faults mentioned above. [2 Marks]
c) Describe how you would mount four hard disks drivers on the same system unit and the best
way they will appear in the Bios Set-up during POST Procedure. [5 Marks]
d) Discuss a boot order and how you would set it in the Bios. [5 Marks]
QUESTION THREE
a) Give the solutions for the following video display unit troubleshooting tips: [8 Marks]
i. The picture does not appear
ii. The screen is NOT synchronized
iii. Shaking screen
iv. Sharp bright light at the center H/Vertical
b) Jewel noticed that she was in a boot failure environment. Highlight five possible causes of
the stalemate caused from within the system unit. [5 Marks]
c) Why do we have to discharge our body before handling any internal parts of computer
system? [2 Marks]
d) Give the procedure of how one would install a PS2 KEYBOARD device while the computer
is still on. [5 Marks]
QUESTION FOUR
a) Discuss four factors one would consider before purchasing a computer for official use.
[4Marks]
b) Outline four safety aspects that should be considered when selecting a power supply unit
[4 Marks]
c) Distinguish between disk compressor and disk defragmenter utilities as used in computers.
[3 Marks]
d) Philip was required to conduct training on the use of new computer systems in his company.
Explain two training methods that could have used. [4 Marks]
e) Sarah noted that some of her documents in her computer were encrypted and she was forced
to pay a certain fee through internet to decrypt her files.
i. Identify this type of attack [1 Mark]
ii. Outline four causes of attack identified in (i). [4 Marks]
QUESTION FIVE
a) Explain any two common keyboard errors and indicate possible solutions for the same.
[4 Marks]
b) Explain how you would troubleshoot a newly installed printer that is not responding and
provide the right steps involved in setting it up. [4 Marks]
c) State the process of setting up logical locations on system physical drivers and give two
reasons why we carry out the process. [5 Marks]
d) KCA University computer technician experience several challenges when carrying out
routine maintenance. Describe four challenges he could experience [4 Marks]
e) Daughter boards are commonly used when assembling computers, describe three scenarios
when they are applicable. [3 Marks]
