220-1201 BIOS / UEFI — 15 Questions

Question 1

After replacing a motherboard, a technician installs Windows but the system will not boot from the SSD. The drive is detected in UEFI. The technician recalls the previous motherboard used Legacy BIOS. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The UEFI is set to UEFI mode but the drive uses MBR. If the new motherboard defaults to UEFI mode but the SSD was formatted with an MBR partition table (for Legacy), the system cannot boot. Changing to Legacy/CSM mode or reinstalling with GPT is needed. This tests understanding of partition table and boot mode compatibility.

Answer

The SSD is not getting power

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Secure Boot is blocking the Windows bootloader

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The CMOS battery is dead

Question 2

A customer complains that their computer takes a very long time to boot and sometimes shows a 'CMOS Checksum Error' before starting. What is the most likely hardware issue?

Accepted Answer

The CMOS battery is depleted. A CMOS checksum error indicates that the BIOS/UEFI settings are not being retained, often due to a failing or dead CMOS battery. This causes time/date resets and boot delays as the firmware re-detects hardware. This tests knowledge of common CMOS-related symptoms.

Answer

The hard drive is failing

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The RAM module is faulty

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The UEFI firmware is corrupted

Question 3

After updating the firmware on a workstation, the system fails to boot and displays a 'Boot Device Not Found' error. The hard drive is detected in UEFI settings. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The boot mode changed from Legacy to UEFI (or vice versa). A firmware update can reset UEFI settings to defaults, including boot mode. If the drive was formatted for Legacy (CSM) but the system now defaults to UEFI, or vice versa, the bootloader won't be found. This tests understanding of boot mode compatibility.

Answer

The hard drive has failed due to the update

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Secure Boot is blocking the bootloader

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The CMOS battery needs replacement

Question 4

A technician is tasked with enabling hardware-level virtualization on a desktop to run a virtual machine. Which UEFI setting must be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V. Intel VT-x or AMD-V is the hardware virtualization feature that must be enabled in the CPU configuration section of UEFI. Without it, virtual machines will run slowly or fail to start. This tests knowledge of common UEFI settings for virtualization.

Answer

Enable Secure Boot

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Enable Execute Disable Bit (XD/NX)

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Set SATA mode to AHCI

Question 5

During a routine hardware upgrade, a technician installs a new graphics card. The system powers on but no display appears. The old card works fine. What UEFI setting should be checked first?

Accepted Answer

Change the primary video adapter from onboard to PCIe. If the system has integrated graphics and a discrete card, the UEFI may default to the integrated output. Changing the primary video adapter to PCIe/ PEG forces the system to use the new card. This tests understanding of video initialization order in UEFI.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot

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Enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module)

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Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version

Question 6

A technician upgrades a workstation from Windows 10 to Windows 11, but the installation fails with an error that the system does not support TPM 2.0. The CPU is compatible. What must the technician do in UEFI to resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Enable the TPM device in UEFI security settings. Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0, which may be disabled in UEFI by default. The technician must enable the TPM device in the security settings. This tests knowledge of TPM configuration and its role in system requirements.

Answer

Enable Secure Boot and set it to Windows UEFI mode

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Disable CSM and set boot mode to UEFI only

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Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a server that randomly resets the time and date to 2000 after being powered off for a few hours. The system otherwise boots and runs normally. Which component is most likely failing?

Accepted Answer

The CMOS battery needs replacement. The CMOS battery maintains the real-time clock and UEFI settings when power is off. If it fails, the time resets and settings may be lost. This tests the ability to distinguish between battery failure and other hardware issues.

Answer

The power supply unit is failing

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The motherboard clock crystal is defective

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The UEFI firmware has a bug

Question 8

A technician needs to boot a laptop from a USB drive to run a diagnostic tool. The USB is plugged in but the system skips it and boots from the internal SSD. Which UEFI setting is most likely preventing the USB boot?

Accepted Answer

Disable Secure Boot. If Secure Boot is enabled and the USB is not signed or UEFI-bootable, the system may ignore it. Alternatively, the boot order may not include USB. This tests understanding of boot security and order settings.

Answer

Enable Fast Boot

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Set SATA mode to RAID

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Disable the TPM

Question 9

A technician is configuring a new workstation for a secure environment. The policy requires that only signed operating systems can boot. Which UEFI feature should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Enable Secure Boot. Secure Boot ensures that only software signed with trusted certificates can boot. This prevents unauthorized bootloaders and rootkits. This tests knowledge of UEFI security features.

Answer

Enable Legacy Boot (CSM)

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Enable TPM

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Set boot order to network first

Question 10

A user reports that their new SSD is not recognized by the system. The drive is properly connected and powered. Which UEFI setting should be checked to ensure the drive is detected?

Accepted Answer

Set SATA mode to AHCI or RAID as appropriate. The correct answer is to check the SATA configuration mode. If the SATA controller is set to RAID or AHCI when the drive requires the other, or if it's disabled, the drive may not be detected. This tests understanding of how UEFI/BIOS settings affect hardware enumeration.

Answer

Enable Secure Boot

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Disable the TPM chip

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Change boot order to list the SSD first

Question 11

A user wants to boot their laptop from a USB flash drive to run a diagnostic tool. They have already inserted the USB drive and restarted the system. What is the most efficient way to temporarily change the boot order to boot from the USB drive?

Accepted Answer

Press the appropriate key to open the one-time boot menu and select the USB drive.. Most modern UEFI systems allow you to press a key (like F12, F2, Esc) during startup to access a one-time boot menu. This lets you select the boot device for that session without permanently changing the boot order.

Answer

Enter the UEFI setup and change the boot order permanently.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot in the UEFI settings.

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Remove all other bootable drives from the system.

Question 12

A technician is installing a new M.2 NVMe SSD in a desktop computer. After installation, the drive is not listed in the operating system's disk management tool, but it appears in the UEFI firmware interface. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Initialize the disk in Disk Management and create a volume.. When a drive is recognized in UEFI but not in the OS, it often means the drive is not initialized or formatted. Disk Management can initialize the drive and assign a file system, making it usable by the OS.

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version.

Answer

Change the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE in UEFI.

Answer

Reseat the M.2 drive in the slot.

Question 13

A technician is building a new PC for a graphic designer who needs to run Windows 11. The technician installs a 2 TB NVMe SSD and 32 GB of RAM. During Windows installation, the installer reports that the drive cannot be used because it uses the MBR partition table. What UEFI setting or action should the technician change?

Accepted Answer

Convert the drive to GPT using the diskpart utility during installation.. Windows 11 requires UEFI with GPT partition table and Secure Boot. The error indicates the drive is using MBR, which is incompatible with UEFI. The technician should either convert the drive to GPT using diskpart or reinitialize it as GPT during installation.

Answer

Enable Legacy BIOS mode in the UEFI to support MBR.

Answer

Disable Secure Boot in the UEFI settings.

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version.

Question 14

A company is migrating its fleet of 100 desktops from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The IT department needs to enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on each system via the UEFI. Some older systems have TPM disabled by default. Which UEFI setting must be changed to enable TPM?

Accepted Answer

Enable TPM in the UEFI security settings and set the boot mode to UEFI.. TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is often disabled by default in the UEFI firmware. It must be enabled in the security settings of the UEFI. Additionally, the system must be set to UEFI mode (not Legacy) with Secure Boot enabled for Windows 11 compatibility.

Answer

Update the UEFI firmware to the latest version from the manufacturer.

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Disable the integrated graphics to free up resources for TPM.

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Set the SATA controller to RAID mode.

Question 15

A technician is deploying a new server that requires RAID 10 for data redundancy and performance. The motherboard has an onboard RAID controller. After configuring the RAID array in the UEFI RAID utility, the technician installs the OS, but the RAID volume is not visible in the OS installer. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SATA mode is set to AHCI instead of RAID in the UEFI.. When using a hardware RAID controller, the OS installer needs the appropriate driver to recognize the RAID volume. Without the driver, the installer sees individual drives instead of the array. The technician must load the RAID driver during installation, typically by pressing a key (e.g., F6) or browsing for the driver.

Answer

The RAID array was not properly initialized in the UEFI RAID utility.

Answer

The UEFI boot mode is set to Legacy, which does not support RAID.