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6 free, original PBQs for A+ Core 2 (220-1202), with the Windows command line and drag-and-drop. Do each task, check it, and read why the answer is right.
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CompTIA A+ Core 2
You do each task instead of picking an answer. Every question is explained after you check it, and you get a score at the end.
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OpenpassAI’s practice sessions add performance-based questions, with command-line and network topology tasks, to full timed exams, AI explanations and a readiness score.
The questions
Each one with its scenario and task. Try it above first, then open the explanation.
Question 1 · Windows command line · Operating Systems
A user’s report has to be copied to a backup folder before her profile is rebuilt, and an old log file in C:\Temp is to be removed. The PC has no mouse attached, so you’re working in the Command Prompt.
Complete the four tasks using Windows commands.
md (or mkdir) creates a folder, copy duplicates a file and leaves the original where it is, del removes a file, and dir lists a folder so you can confirm the result. move would have taken the report out of Documents, which the user still needs.
Question 2 · Ordering · Security
A receptionist’s PC shows pop-ups, the browser’s home page keeps changing and the antivirus has been switched off. You’ve been asked to clean it using CompTIA’s best-practice procedure.
Arrange the seven steps from first to last.
Confirm what you’re dealing with, then take the PC off the network so it can’t spread. System Restore is turned off before cleaning so the malware isn’t saved in a restore point, and turned back on, with a fresh restore point, only once the PC is clean. Scheduled scans and updates keep it clean, and the last step is always the user: showing them what happened is what stops it happening again.
Question 3 · Matching · Operating Systems
You’re supporting a Windows 11 PC and each of these jobs has one built-in tool that fits it best.
Match each job to the tool you would open.
Task Manager ends a program that has stopped responding. Event Viewer holds the logs that say why a service failed. Disk Management creates and resizes partitions, and Device Manager updates or rolls back drivers. The Registry Editor changes settings under keys such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and Task Scheduler runs a script at a set time.
Question 5 · Sorting · Operational Procedures
A new technician is starting at the repair bench, and you’re explaining what each workshop rule is there to protect.
Put each practice under what it mainly protects.
Lifting with your legs and leaving power supplies sealed (their capacitors hold a dangerous charge) protect the person. Antistatic straps and bags protect components from electrostatic discharge, which can destroy a chip without any visible sign. Batteries and toner contain materials that must go to proper recycling, not general waste.
Question 6 · Windows command line · Software Troubleshooting
The front-desk PC has slowed to a crawl since a PDF add-on was installed, and Windows has started reporting damaged system files. You have an administrator Command Prompt.
Find and end the process that is using the memory, then repair the system files.
tasklist shows every process with its memory use: pdfhelper.exe is holding about 2 GB. taskkill /IM ends it by name, and /F forces it. sfc /scannow then compares the protected system files with known-good copies and replaces the damaged ones.
CompTIA lists A+ among its certifications with simulation performance-based questions: tasks in an approximation of a real tool, such as a firewall, a network diagram or a terminal window. CompTIA’s page on performance-based questions, read on November 12, 2026.
Guide
CompTIA describes performance-based questions as exam items that test your ability to solve problems in real-world settings. Most are simulations: an approximation of a tool such as a firewall, a network diagram, a terminal window or an operating system.
You don’t pick an answer. You do the task, and there can be more than one correct way to do it.
Try each question cold. Getting it wrong first and then reading why teaches more than reading the answer and nodding along.
A right answer reached by guessing is a wrong answer waiting for exam day. Every question here explains why each part is what it is.
CompTIA says a simulation question can be skipped and returned to later, with your work saved. If one is eating your time, move on, answer the multiple-choice questions and come back.
14 free labs in your browser: Linux and Windows command line, firewall rules and SOHO router setup, checked as you go.
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Open the toolFAQs
Find quick answers or contact our support team.
Yes. CompTIA lists A+ among its certifications with simulation performance-based questions: tasks in an approximation of a real tool, such as a firewall, a network diagram or a terminal window. That is from CompTIA’s page on performance-based questions, read on November 12, 2026.
No. They’re original tasks written to each exam’s published objectives. Using leaked real exam questions breaks every vendor’s exam rules.
CompTIA says a performance-based question can have more than one correct way through it, that its scoring allows for the different approaches, and that partial credit may be given. Here, each question is scored by its parts, so you can see which part you missed.
CompTIA says a simulation question can be skipped and returned to later, and that your work on it is saved when you move on. A virtual-environment question has to be completed when you reach it: a warning screen tells you so first.
No. It’s a practice terminal that runs in your browser. It understands the real commands the task needs and answers the way the real system would, but it isn’t a full operating system: nothing is installed, and nothing you type can break anything.
No. The questions run in your browser and nothing is saved. Sign up only if you want full practice exams and progress tracking.
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