Desktop Support Interview Questions

These Desktop Support interview questions and answers are written for the students and professionals who are looking for a job as a desktop support engineer.

In this job profile, the candidates are asked to manage a company's multi-user computing environment with LAN's help. So, you must completely aware of your roles and responsibilities for the job. In this article, you will get a set of most asked questions and answers for a desktop support engineer job.

1) Why did you want a career in desktop support?

The hiring manager asks this question to check what motivates you as an applicant for this post. He also wants to know by this question whether you are driven by the attractive salary package of the company or have a passion for solving customer problems. As a candidate, you must positively take this opportunity and showcase your interest, talent, and knowledge of the industry and what you are going to offer if the company employs you. It would be best if you were very cautious while answering this question. Money is a motivating factor, but you should first tell about the challenges and aspects of desktop support that make you passionate about it. You should talk about your love of troubleshooting computers or your keen interest and in-depth knowledge about trending technologies, OS and its applications.

A sample answer should be like:

I want to make my career in technical support or desktop support because of my love for computers, operating systems, trending technologies, and to my nature of solving people's problems. I want to share my technical knowledge to help with clients' businesses and company operations. I believe that a desktop support engineer can make a customer life and business easier. So I want to do this job as this allows me to do what I enjoy doing most.

2) Tell me your way of the troubleshooting process

This is also a common question for the IT desktop support interview. By querying this question, the interviewer wants to know the way you deal with your customers. In this job, you have to help untrained computer users solve their technical problems, so your answer should show that you have a good understanding of the common issues the users face, and you have a great approach to solve them.

A sample answer should be like:

Sir, I follow a simple and easy approach as I know that the customer may be a non-technical user. First, I collect all the possible required information about the problem. After analyzing the problems, I try to quickly identify and verify the issue and deploy some common solutions. If the issue is complicated and not solved yet, I do some more research and use advanced tools to diagnose it. After finding and resolving the issue, I try to carry out some repairs or replacements and perform rigorous tests to ensure that the problem does not exist anymore.

3) What is an operating system?

An Operating System (commonly known as OS) is an interface between a computer user and the computer hardware. It is used to interact between the computer hardware with the user. So you can call it a user interface. It performs all the necessary tasks like file management, process management, memory management, input and output handling, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.

4) What are the different types of Operating System?

There are three most common types of operating systems used in personal computers:

The operating system is the software that facilitates you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the language of the computer. A computer is good for nothing without an operating system.

5) What are some examples of the Operating System?

The following are some popular Operating System. Example: MS-DOS Microsoft's Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 10, Linux, macOS, Unix, Andriod, iOS, etc.

6) What is the difference between a Desktop or Client OS and a Server OS?

An operating system that is operated within desktops and other various portable devices is called a Desktop or client operating system. On the other hand, an operating system designed to be installed and used on a server is called a server operating system. This is the main difference between client OS and server OS.

Let's see some other differences:

7) What do you know by active directory?

Active Directory or AD is developed by Microsoft. It contains several services that run on Windows Server and manage permissions and access to networked resources. It ensures that the software and the computer are secure. It is also used to create admin users, connect to external devices such as printers, scanners, etc.

This Microsoft's product is also used for organizing the users of a company and its computers. It is also used by IT administrators to maintain the hierarchy of the company.

8) What do you know by a domain or a domain name?

A domain or a domain name is an identification string that specifies an address where Internet users can access a website. A domain name is used in various networking scenarios and for application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In other words, you can say that a domain name specifies a network domain or an Internet Protocol (IP) resource used to access the internet and host a website.

9) Is it necessary to upgrade your Windows 7 operating system to Windows 10 after Microsoft has withdrawn the service support for Windows 7?

No, it is not necessary to upgrade your Windows 7 operating system to Windows 10 if you prefer to keep using your current Windows version. But you should note that Microsoft has withdrawn support for older Windows versions like Windows 7 or Windows 8 and will provide support only for Windows 10 afterward. It is recommended to upgrade to Windows 10 for not facing any technical problem in the future.

10) What happened to Windows 9?/ What are the reasons that Microsoft did not decide to launch Windows 9 after Windows 8.1 and directly launched Windows 10?

Microsoft Windows 7 was one of the most successful Windows operating systems, but after the launch of Windows 8, the new OS got several negative feedbacks as users don't like the GUI of this OS. Microsoft doesn't want to make this mistake again so, they recall some GUI features of Windows 7 and skip a version number and go straight to Windows 10 version. The Windows 10 version denotes the perfect 10 for the new OS.

11) What is the NTLDR error? How would you try to resolve this issue?

NTLDR error issues were found in the Windows 2000-based computer. If you find the following error message in your Windows 2000-based computer:

It means that the basic input/output system (BIOS) on your computer is outdated. You can also face this problem if one or more of the following Windows boot files are missing or damaged:

• Ntldr
• Ntdetect.com
• Boot.ini

To resolve this issue, you should verify that the BIOS on your computer is updated. After updating the BIOS, follow the steps given below to resolve this issue according to your situation:

• Restart your computer and then check. Sometimes NTLDR error could be resolved just after a restart.
• Check your floppy, CD/DVD drives, and hard drive for media and disconnect any external drives. Sometimes, the "NTLDR is missing" error is displayed if your computer is trying to boot to a non-bootable floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, external hard drive, or flash drive.
• Check the other drive settings in BIOS and make sure that they are correct and updated because an incorrect setting can cause NTLDR errors.
• Restore the NTLDR and ntdetect.com files from the Windows CD.
• Replace or repair the boot.ini file. Sometimes, we get the NTLDR error if the boot.ini file is not configured correctly for your Windows installation.
• Repair the Windows XP master boot record. You can get NTLDR error messages also if the master boot record is corrupt.
• Reseat all internal data and power cables (or replace power cable). If the NTLDR error messages are due to loose or malfunctioning IDE cables, it will be removed.
• Repair the installation of Windows. It will replace the missing or corrupt files if any exists.
• Perform a clean installation of Windows. It will completely remove Windows from your computer and install a new one from the start.
• If any of the above steps don't work, replace the hard drive, and then perform a new installation of Window.

12) What do you know by the scope and superscope?

The scope is a field that contains an IP address like gateway IP, subnet mask, DNS server IP. When you combine two or more scopes together, it is called superscope. The scope and superscope both are used to communicate with other PCs within the network.

13) What is a Default Gateway?

A default gateway is a routing device that is used to send the unaddressed traffic to the local area sub-net. It is used when you want to reach a computer that is on another network.

14) Is it necessary to have a Default Gateway?

No. It is not necessary to have a default gateway. You don't have to specify a default gateway if there is no router on your network.

The default gateway is required only when you want to communicate with a computer on another network. If you try to communicate with the other networks without a default gateway, you will receive an error message.

15) What is Safe Mode ?/What do you know by safe Mode?

Windows Safe mode is a system software mode that facilitates computer users to access their computers in a changed Windows version. It is also used when you get any problem in your Windows from booting up normally.

16) What is the difference between Safe Mode and Normal Mode in Windows?

Safe Mode is different from the Normal Mode in the Windows operating system. Let's see some key differences in Safe Mode:

• Safe Mode is used when the computer user finds any problem that restricts Microsoft Windows from operating normally while the Normal Mode is the default mode to enter in a system.
• Users are instructed to enter in safe Mode when they find any booting problem in their Windows.
• Safe Mode facilitates computer users to correct issues, so their computer starts properly.
• In Safe Mode, only the essential and primary functions are loaded upon startup. Most of the device drivers are not loaded.
• In Safe Mode, Computer's Windows is loaded in VGA graphics mode with a smaller color palette and resolution.
• You can easily recognize your Windows that it is in safe Mode as the word "Safe Mode" is displayed in all four corners of the screen.
• You can't run many files, including autoexec.bat and config.sys in Safe Mode.
• In Safe Mode, Windows tests the extended memory before loading.
• In Safe Mode, Windows boot uses a batch file called system.cb instead of using the standard system.ini file. It allows Windows to communicate with system hardware via Virtual Device Drivers.

17) How can you start a system in Safe Mode?

There are two methods to run your system in a safe mode.

The first method is:-

• Shut down all your running programs and restart the computer.
• As soon as the OS starts to launch, press the F8 button several times. This will open a new window where you can see the safe mode option along with multiple booting options.

The second method is:-

• You can do it by using the Run command.
• Press the Windows key and R key together to launch the Run command.
• Type MSConfig in the Window and press the enter button. This will open a new window with the safe boot options.
• Select the option of minimal and restart the system. It will start your system in Safe Mode.

You can read more detail here: How to boot in Safe Mode in Windows 10?

18) Why is Blue Screen displayed on the system? What is the meaning of the Blue Screen of Death?

The Blue Screen of Death or the completely Blue Screen displayed on the system is an error message. It is displayed on the computer after a system crash or the following fatal system errors. i.e.

• Heavy load on CPU, high processing and usage.
• Faulty RAM
• Installation of0 faulty software.

This problem restricts your operating system to work correctly. If you get this error repeatedly, clean the chip of the RAM to resolve this issue. If the error still occurs, remove your RAM from the system and check it on another computer to see if the issue is with RAM. There is a unique code to every error of the Blue Screen of Death. You can copy it and search on Google for more detail or contact someone who knows about it.

19) Can you change a Hard Disk into Dynamic? If yes, how?

Yes. We can change a Hard Disc in Dynamic. Follow the steps given below:

• First, log in to the administrator account and launch the Run window.
• Now, type the diskmgmt.msc command and press the enter button.
• After pressing on the enter button, a new window will appear. Now, Right-click on the option of the Basic hard disk and change it to Dynamic hard drive.

20) What do you know about the "Windows Cannot Currently Connect For Updates" error?

The "Windows Cannot Currently Connect For Updates" error usually occurs due to the following two reasons:

• Missing or deleted files.
• If the update services are disabled.

There are two ways to resolve this error.

Method 1: If you want to resolve this issue by yourself, follow the steps given below:

• First, launch the Run command and type services.msc within it. Now, press the enter button.
• It will open a new window. Now, find the option of updating Windows. Right-click on that option and select properties.
• The startup page will open, type 'enable' and click on the start button. Now, click on the OK button, and the issue will be resolved.

Method 2: You can easily resolve this error by contacting Microsoft and reporting the error.

21) What do you know about the VPN server?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. The VPN server is a private server widely used by the government, companies, and organizations to communicate privately over the public or local network and to protect the online traffic from censorship, snooping, and other interference. The VPN server is known for its secure communication. It acts like a secure channel between the internet and your device. The VPN server is also used to hide IP addresses and locations to use the internet anonymously. By using a VPN server, you can encrypt your communication and stream all your favorite content quickly.

22) What is the difference between Permissions, Policy, and Rights?

Permissions are used to assign network resources such as printer, file, folders, etc.

Policy is used to assign to the containers of active directory such as Domain, Site, OU, etc.

Rights are used for users and groups.