220-1102 - Operating Systems (31% of the exam) - Section 1.10

Identify common features and tools of the macOS/desktop OS.

Recognise the macOS tools a technician uses - Time Machine, Disk Utility, FileVault, Keychain, Spotlight, Mission Control, Finder, and Terminal - and apply install and uninstall practices including the .dmg, .pkg, and .app file types, the App Store, and Apple ID and corporate restrictions. Navigate System Preferences (Displays, Networks, Printers, Privacy, Accessibility) and follow best practices for backups, antivirus, and updates and patches, including Force Quit for unresponsive apps.

macOSTime MachineFileVaultMission ControlSystem Preferences

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleOperating Systemsmedium

An external USB drive attached to a Mac mounts intermittently and Finder reports errors reading some files. The technician wants to check and repair the drive's file system using a built-in graphical tool. Which macOS utility is the best choice?

ATime Machine, restoring the volume from the most recent snapshot to replace the damaged file system
BDisk Utility, running First Aid on the affected volume to verify and repair the file system structure Correct
CConsole, reviewing system log messages so the specific read errors on the external drive can be repaired
DActivity Monitor, ending the process that is locking the external volume so the file system can be repaired

Recognise Disk Utility First Aid as the macOS graphical tool for verifying and repairing a volume's file system. Disk Utility First Aid scans the selected volume's directory and file system metadata and attempts to correct inconsistencies, which is the standard macOS remedy for mount problems and read errors on a disk.

Why A is wrong: Time Machine restores backed-up files rather than repairing a live file system, so it is second best; it cannot fix the mounting fault and may not even have the external drive backed up.

Why B is correct: Disk Utility's First Aid checks and repairs the file system and directory structure of a selected volume through a graphical interface, which is the correct built-in fix for read errors on the drive.

Why C is wrong: Console only displays diagnostic logs; it can help identify a problem but has no capability to repair a volume, so it does not meet the requirement.

Why D is wrong: Activity Monitor manages running processes and resource use; killing a process does not verify or repair a damaged file system, so it is not the right tool here.

See more 220-1102 practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Operating Systems

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the 220-1102 bank for this domain.

It creates an encrypted container that locks the startup disk so data cannot be read without credentials.
Why it is wrong: This describes FileVault, which encrypts the boot volume. It is tempting because both are data-protection features, but Time Machine backs up data rather than encrypting it.
Disk Utility, using First Aid to clone the internal volume onto the external drive on a set schedule
Why it is wrong: Disk Utility manages and repairs volumes, and its First Aid checks the file system; it does not run scheduled versioned backups, so it cannot meet the hourly recovery requirement.
iCloud Drive, which syncs the user's current files to Apple's cloud across devices but mirrors the live state rather than keeping scheduled hourly versions to roll back to.
Why it is wrong: Tempting because it stores files off the Mac, but iCloud Drive syncs the latest copy and does not retain scheduled restorable versions of an overwritten file.

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