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CompTIA · 220-1202

CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202

CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1202) is the software half: Windows, macOS, and Linux tools, security basics, malware removal, networking services, and the professionalism scenarios (tickets, safety, communication) that make up a big slice of the score.

Anyone finishing Core 1, help-desk techs who live in tickets and troubleshooting queues, and career changers who want the full A+ (both exams are required for the certification).

See labsCheck version dates

Version status

CompTIA has not published a date. Three years after launch is an estimate.

Retires: Estimated 2028

Where the marks live

Domain weights from the current 220-1202 objectives. Start with the heaviest slice, not the first chapter.

Operating systems leads at 28%

28%Operating systems

How much study time does 220-1202 need?

Pick the closest starting point. The range below is a planning estimate, not a promise or a pass prediction.

50 to 70 hoursat a steady pace

That is up to 14 weeks at 5 hours a week, or 9 weeks at 8 hours. Some IT background, but the exam material is still new.

Estimate only. Based on the exam level and a study-pace assumption. Your background, exam date and practice scores will move it.

A study plan that works

Order matters
  1. Learn the command-line tools by what each one fixes (disk, boot, network, permissions), not by alphabet.
  2. Walk the malware-removal steps in order until you can recite them. Order questions are common.
  3. Practice reading ticket descriptions the way the exam writes them: symptom first, best step second.
  4. Revisit Core 1 networking. Core 2 assumes you kept it.

Try one question

Live demo
Demo questionSecurity

A technician confirms malware on a Windows laptop and the machine is disconnected from the network. What is the next step in the malware removal process?

Written for this page. It is a teaching demo, not an item from the question bank or the real exam.

Try the hands-on shape

About 2 minutes

A user says the monitor shows 'no signal', but the PC fans spin and the keyboard lights come on. What is the best first check?

Demo preview. A teaching model with fixed sample data, not the real lab. Full labs run in the browser with checkable steps.

Practice a performance question

39 performance-based questions are written for CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202. They ask you to do the task in a simulated console, table or form, and they grade in parts, so a half-right answer still earns credit.

How performance questions are scored
Sample performance questionMatch each task to the control or service

A Linux script refuses to run: Permission denied

A workstation has 169.254.x.x and no internet

A switch port shows no link light

A teaching demo written for this page. It is not a real exam item, and nothing here is saved.

This matching sample is local and ungraded. The full set is included in practice for this exam.

Common traps

Ways smart people lose points on this exam.

  • Mixing up similar tools (diskpart vs chkdsk vs sfc). Learn one distinguishing job per tool.
  • Answering safety and professionalism questions like a user instead of a technician.
  • Ignoring Linux and macOS because your shop runs Windows. The objectives do not care where you work.

Practise 220-1202, three ways

Every lab is a job task in the tool that job uses, graded on the end state you leave behind. The PBQ pages explain the performance formats this exam uses and open one real scenario in the browser. The practice test gives you fifteen questions with a reason for every option.

Open the 220-1202 labs

Objectives by domain

Every published 220-1202 objective, grouped by the domain that carries it. The wording stays with CompTIA.

36 objectives

Operating systems28% of the examStart here

  • 1.1OS types
  • 1.2OS installs & upgrades
  • 1.3Windows editions
  • 1.4Windows tools
  • 1.5Windows command line
  • 1.6Windows settings
  • 1.7Windows networking
  • 1.8macOS essentials
  • 1.9Linux essentials
  • 1.10Installing apps
  • 1.11Cloud productivity tools

Security28% of the exam

  • 2.1Security measures
  • 2.2Windows security
  • 2.3Wireless security
  • 2.4Malware defense
  • 2.5Social engineering
  • 2.6Malware removal steps
  • 2.7Workstation hardening
  • 2.8Mobile hardening
  • 2.9Data destruction
  • 2.10SOHO security
  • 2.11Browser security

Software issues23% of the exam

  • 3.1Windows issues
  • 3.2Mobile app issues
  • 3.3Mobile security issues
  • 3.4PC security issues

Operational procedures21% of the exam

  • 4.1Documentation
  • 4.2Change management
  • 4.3Backup & recovery
  • 4.4Safety procedures
  • 4.5Environment & disposal
  • 4.6Privacy & licensing
  • 4.7Professionalism
  • 4.8Scripting basics
  • 4.9Remote access
  • 4.10AI basics

The full entry for each objective (the explainer, key terms, traps and practice questions) lives in the Study Book. One objective per certification is free to read; Pro opens the rest.

Questions about this exam

90 questions in 90 minutes. 700 to pass on the 100 to 900 scale. Domains: Operating systems (28%), Security (28%), Software issues (23%), Operational procedures (21%).

Study 220-1202 with your weak spots in view

Daily sessions that aim at your gaps, hands-on labs, and full simulations under the real clock. Free to start.

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