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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is tasked with upgrading the RAM in…
A technician is tasked with upgrading the RAM in a laptop that uses SO-DIMM modules. The laptop currently has 4 GB of RAM soldered on the motherboard and one empty SO-DIMM slot. The technician installs an 8 GB SO-DIMM, but the system only reports 8 GB total. What is the most likely reason?
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 laptop's BIOS is configured to use only the SO-DIMM slot when populated.
Some laptops with soldered RAM have a limitation where the SO-DIMM slot cannot be used simultaneously with the onboard memory, or the system may disable the onboard RAM when a module is installed. This is a design constraint, not a hardware failure.
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 SO-DIMM module is incompatible with the laptop's chipset.
Why it's wrong here
If the SO-DIMM module were truly incompatible with the laptop's chipset, the system would likely fail to boot entirely or produce specific diagnostic beep codes indicating a memory initialization error. Chipset incompatibility typically prevents the memory controller from properly addressing or configuring the RAM, leading to a complete system halt rather than selectively ignoring one memory type while fully utilizing another.
- ✗
The soldered RAM is faulty and has been disabled.
Why it's wrong here
If the soldered RAM were faulty, the system would exhibit critical instability, frequent crashes, or fail to boot at all, often displaying memory-related error messages or diagnostic lights. It is highly improbable for a system to gracefully detect faulty soldered RAM, disable it without any user intervention or error indication, and then seamlessly operate solely on the SO-DIMM module.
- ✓
The laptop's BIOS is configured to use only the SO-DIMM slot when populated.
Why this is correct
Many laptop manufacturers design their BIOS/UEFI firmware to automatically disable or bypass the soldered onboard RAM when a SO-DIMM module is installed in the expansion slot. This configuration is often implemented to prevent potential compatibility issues, timing conflicts, or to simplify memory management, ensuring optimal performance by utilizing only the installed SO-DIMM's capacity. Consequently, the system only reports the memory from the SO-DIMM.
- ✗
The SO-DIMM is not seated properly in the slot.
Why it's wrong here
An improperly seated SO-DIMM module would prevent the electrical contacts from fully engaging, rendering the module completely unrecognized by the system. In such a scenario, the laptop would either report only the original 4 GB of soldered RAM, or it might fail to boot entirely, potentially issuing memory-related error codes, rather than recognizing the 8 GB SO-DIMM while ignoring the soldered RAM.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
SO-DIMM
SO-DIMM is a compact memory module used in laptops, small form factor PCs, and other space-constrained devices to provide system RAM.
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.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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