Desktop Support Engineer - Interview

Questions and Answers

This Hub has been read 75,581 times since November 29, 2010

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When you apply for a Desktop level job, besides asking general questions about yourself the
interviewer will also ask you questions that test your technical proficiency.

Desktop Support Engineers are required to have deep understanding of basic as well as
intermediate level concepts. The interviewer can ask you to explain the concept of OSI model or
TCP/IP model or can also ask you fact based questions to test your memory power. They can ask
you questions on Desktop or Server level questions.

List of Probable questions

1. What are the types of Operating System ?
2. Give examples of NOS (Network Operating System) and SOS (Server Operating System)
3. Difference between FAT and NTFS
4. Enhancements in Windows 2003 from Windows 2000
5. Enhancements in Windows 2003 from Windows NT
6. What is Active Directory ?
7. Types of Firewall
8. Difference between Hardware and Software Firewall
9. Name the seven layers of OSI model
10. How to enable Firewall in Windows XP?
11. How to Disable Firewall in Windows XP?
12. Minimum System requirement of Windows XP, Vista, 2003 and 2008
13. Explain ping command
14. Explain Cookies
15. How to boot the computer in Safe mode
16. Types of printer
17. Explain Last Known Good Configuration
18. What is Disk clean up, Disk Defragmentation, Device manager and System Restore
19. USB port Vs Firewire port
20. How to install a printer in Windows XP?
21. What is a Browser and name any 5 browsers ?
22. Serial port Vs Parallel port
23. What is a port number ?
24. Where is the HOSTS file located
25. Explain different RAID levels
 26. Explain APIPA, IP address and Subnet mask
27. Difference between IP v4 and IP v6
28. How to remove virus from a computer
29. How to make a computer run faster?
30. What is attrib command ?
31. What is edit command ?
32. How to copy a file or folder using copy command?
33. How to format the hard disk using command line utilities?
34. Explain mkdir, rmdir and chdir commands
35. Types of hard disk
36. Difference between primary and secondary partition
37. Types of backups in Window OS
38. Differential Backup Vs Incremental Backup Vs Copy backup
39. What is remote desktop.
40. Recovery Console Vs Automated System Recovery
41. What is NTLDR file?
42. How to tackle "missing NTLDR file" error?
43. How many bytes are there in MAC address
44. Range of Class A IP address
45. Range of Class B IP address
46. Range of Class C IP address
47. Default subnet mask of Class A, Class B and Class C IP address
48. What is BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) and how to overcome it
49. Difference between Preferred DNS and Alternate DNS server
50. Transmission speed of T1 carrier

I could go on and on forever writing questions and you could also go on and on searching for
"Desktop Support Engineer Interview Question", but the fact is that if you are going for L1 (level
1) positions you only need to do your basics well.

Do You Still Want Answers?

 94% Yes
 1% No
 5% I now agree that one needs to answer by himself

2529 people have voted in this poll.

Some Objective Type Questions From the Above List

Answers

You have had the training, practicals and stuff like that, now answer the questions in your words.
Simply mugging up the answers will a be a recipe for disaster.

A quick Google search of the question will reveal all the answers. Surf for the answers and in the
process you'll learn, and once you learn you won't forget at the time of the interview.
Practical Demonstrations

Besides fact based questions you will also be tested on your practical skills. They could ask you
to do the easy task of installing the Operating System in front of them or even ask you to solve a
problem faced by a user right there.

Last Word

Get properly dressed and don't excessively stare the receptionist (lol..).

Articles that you may like

 Desktop Support Engineer Description, Jobs and Salary
 How to Become a Desktop Support Engineer
 Desktop Support Engineer: A Day in Their Daily Job Life
 How to Pass CCNA - Complete CCNA Guide
 How to Get Free Resume Samples and Cover Letters

Download the Questions as a PDF file

 Link to the PDF file

How to appear for an Interview

This Hub has been read 75,581 times since it was originally published November 29, 2010. It
was last updated by the author on May 10, 2012.

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1) What is Active Directory?

A central component of the Windows platform, Active Directory directory service provides the
means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network environments. For
example we can create, manage and administrator users, computers and printers in the network
from active directory.

2) What is DNS? Why it is used? What is "forward lookup" and "reverse lookup" in DNS? What
are A records and mx records?
DNS is domain naming service and is used for resolving names to IP address and IP addresses to
names. The computer understands only numbers while we can easily remember names. So to
make it easier for us what we do is we assign names to computers and websites. When we use
these names (Like yahoo.com) the computer uses DNS to convert to IP address (number) and it
executes our request.

Forward lookup: Converting names to IP address is called forward lookup.

Reverse lookup: Resolving IP address to names is called reverse lookup.

'A' record: Its called host record and it has the mapping of a name to IP address. This is the
record in DNS with the help of which DNS can find out the IP address of a name.

'MX' Record: its called mail exchanger record. Its the record needed to locate the mail servers in
the network. This record is also found in DNS.

3) What id DHCP? Why it is used? What are scopes and super scopes?

DHCP: Dynamic host configuration protocol. Its used to allocate IP addresses to large number of
PCs in a network environment. This makes the IP management very easy.

Scope: Scope contains IP address like subnet mask, gateway IP, DNS server IP and exclusion
range which a client can use to communicate with the other PCs in the network.

Superscope: When we combine two or more scopes together its called super scope.

4) What are the types of LAN cables used? What is a cross cable?

Types of LAN cables that are in use are "Cat 5" and "Cat 6". "Cat 5" can support 100 Mbps of
speed and "CAT 6" can support 1Gbps of speed.

Cross cable: Its used to connect same type of devices without using a switch/hub so that they can
communicate.

5) What is the difference between a normal LAN cable and cross cable? What could be the
maximum length of the LAN cable?

The way the paired wires are connected to the connector (RJ45) is different

in cross cable and normal LAN cable.

The theoretical length is 100 meters but after 80 meters you may see drop in speed due to loss of
signal.

6) What would you use to connect two computers without using switches?

Cross cable.

7) What is IPCONFIG command? Why it is used?

IPCONFIG command is used to display the IP information assigned to a computer. From the
output we can find out the IP address, DNS IP address, gateway IP address assigned to that
computer.

8) What is APIPA IP address? Or what IP address is assigned to the computer when the DHCP
server is not available?

When DHCP server is not available the Windows client computer assigns an automatic IP
address to itself so that it can communicate with the network computers. This ip address is called
APIPA. ITs in the range of 169.254.X.X.

APIPA stands for Automatic private IP addressing. Its in the range of 169.254.X.X.

9) What is a DOMAIN? What is the difference between a domain and a workgroup?

Domain is created when we install Active Directory. It's a security boundary which is used to
manage computers inside the boundary. Domain can be used to centrally administrator
computers and we can govern them using common policies called group policies.

We can't do the same with workgroup.

10) Do you know how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003 for a user?

Please visit the link below to find out how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003. IT: Help
Desk: Quick Guide: Configuring Outlook 2003 for Exchange Server

11) What is a PST file and what is the difference between a PST file and OST file? What file is
used by outlook express?

PST file is used to store the mails locally when using outlook 2000 or 2003. OST file is used
when we use outlook in cached exchanged mode. Outlook express used odb file.

12) What is BSOD? What do you do when you get blue screen in a computer? How do you
troubleshoot it?

BSOD stands for blue screen of Death. when there is a hardware or OS fault due to which the
windows OS can run it give a blue screen with a code. Best way to resolve it is to boot the
computer is "Last known good configuration".

If this doesn't work than boot the computer in safe mode. If it boots up than the problems with
one of the devices or drivers.

13) What is RIS? What is Imaging/ghosting?

RIS stands for remote installation services. You save the installed image on a windows server
and then we use RIS to install the configured on in the new hardware. We can use it to deploy
both server and client OS. Imaging or ghosting also does the same job of capturing an installed
image and then install it on a new hardware when there is a need. We go for RIS or
imaging/ghosting because installing OS every time using a CD can be a very time consuming
task. So to save that time we can go for RIS/Ghosting/imaging.
14) What is VPN and how to configure it?

VPN stands for Virtual private network. VPN is used to connect to the corporate network to
access the resources like mail and files in the LAN. VPN can be configured using the steps
mentioned in the KB: How to configure a VPN connection to your corporate network in
Windows XP Professional

15) Your computer slowly drops out of network. A reboot of the computer

fixes the problem. What to do to resolve this issue?

Update the network card driver.

16) Your system is infected with Virus? How to recover the data?

Install another system. Install the OS with the lates patches, Antivirus with latest updates.
Connect the infected HDD as secondary drive in the system. Once done scan and clean the
secondary HDD. Once done copy the files to the new system.

17) How to join a system to the domain? What type of user can add a system to the domain?

Please visit the article below and read "Adding the Workstation to the Domain"
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...003/technol /directory/

18) What is the difference between a switch and a hub?

Switch sends the traffic to the port to which its meant for. Hub sends the traffic to all the ports.

19) What is a router? Why we use it?

Router is a switch which uses routing protocols to process and send the traffic. It also receives
the traffic and sends it across but it uses the routing protocols to do so.

20) What are manageable and non manageable switches?

Switches which can be administered are called manageable switches. For example we can create
VLAN for on such switch. On no manageable switches we can't do so.