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220-1201 Practice Question: A customer complains that their computer takes a…
A customer complains that their computer takes a long time to switch between open applications and frequently shows the 'low memory' warning. The system has 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. Task Manager shows that 7.5 GB is in use when only a few applications are open. What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The system has a memory leak in one of the running applications.
A memory leak occurs when an application does not release memory after it is done using it, causing RAM usage to steadily increase. This is a common software issue that can be identified by checking which process is consuming memory in Task Manager.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The hard drive is failing and causing the system to use excessive virtual memory.
Why it's wrong here
A failing hard drive primarily impacts disk I/O operations, leading to extreme slowness, freezes, and potential data corruption due to read/write errors. While a severely slow system might eventually cause more data to be swapped to the page file, a failing drive itself does not directly cause physical RAM to become nearly full with only a few applications running. The symptom of high physical RAM usage points away from a primary storage device issue and towards a memory management problem.
- ✓
The system has a memory leak in one of the running applications.
Why this is correct
A memory leak occurs when an application fails to release memory that it no longer needs, leading to a gradual but continuous increase in its RAM consumption over time. This unreleased memory accumulates, eventually depleting the system's available physical RAM and forcing the operating system to rely heavily on the page file (virtual memory). This constant swapping results in severe performance degradation and 'low memory' warnings, even with few applications initially running, perfectly matching the described symptoms.
- ✗
The RAM modules are not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel mode.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect RAM slot placement, such as failing to enable dual-channel mode, primarily impacts memory bandwidth and overall system performance, making operations slower due to less efficient data transfer. While this configuration error reduces the speed at which memory can be accessed, it does not inherently cause the physical RAM to become nearly full or exhausted. The total amount of RAM available to applications remains unchanged; only the speed of access is reduced.
- ✗
The page file is set too small.
Why it's wrong here
The page file (or swap file) is an extension of RAM on the hard drive, used by the operating system to store data that doesn't fit in physical RAM or is infrequently accessed. If the page file is set too small, the system might struggle to offload data from physical RAM when it becomes full, leading to 'out of memory' errors or crashes. However, a small page file itself does not *cause* physical RAM to be fully utilized; rather, it limits the system's ability to *manage* an already high physical RAM usage by preventing data from being swapped out effectively.
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Key term
RAM
RAM (Random Access Memory) is your computer's short-term memory, temporarily holding data the CPU needs right now or very soon.
Key term
Dual In-line Memory Module
A Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) is a small circuit board that holds memory chips and plugs into a computer's motherboard to provide Random Access Memory (RAM).
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.