CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) — Question 314

A company laptop uses a docking station with an integrated NIC and is unable to access a wired SOHO network using DHCP. A technician runs ipconfig and discovers the laptop has an IPv4 assignment of 169.254.0.9. The NIC does not have any link or activity lights on. Which of the following should the technician do next?

Answer options

• A. Restart the laptop in safe mode.
• B. Reboot the DHCP server.
• C. Reset the network adapter.
• D. Replace the laptop.
• E. Reset the laptop in the docking station.

Correct answer: E

Explanation

The correct action is to reset the laptop in the docking station because the absence of a link or activity lights suggests a physical connection issue. Restarting the DHCP server or resetting the network adapter would not address any potential docking station issues, and replacing the laptop is unnecessary if the connection can be resolved.