220-1201 Practice Question: That their computer will not boot and displays an…

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 SATA cable is faulty.

  Why it's wrong here

  If the SATA data cable connecting the SSD to the motherboard is faulty, the most common outcome is that the BIOS/UEFI will not detect the SSD at all. Without detection, the drive cannot be listed as a boot option, nor can the system attempt to load an operating system from it. While a faulty cable could also lead to intermittent read errors, complete non-detection is a more direct and frequent consequence, preventing any boot attempt from that specific drive.

• ✗

  The SSD is not compatible with the motherboard.

  Why it's wrong here

  Modern SATA SSDs adhere to widely accepted industry standards (e.g., SATA III) and are designed for broad compatibility with motherboards equipped with standard SATA ports. True hardware incompatibility between a standard SATA SSD and a contemporary motherboard is exceedingly rare, especially if the drive is physically connected and powered. The system would typically still detect the drive, even if specific advanced features might not be fully utilized, making fundamental incompatibility an unlikely cause for a complete boot failure.

• ✓

  The boot order in BIOS is not set to the new SSD.

  Why this is correct

  When a new SSD containing the operating system is installed, the BIOS/UEFI must be explicitly configured to prioritize booting from this specific drive. If the boot order remains set to an old drive, a non-existent device, or attempts to boot from a network, the system will fail to locate the operating system's bootloader on the new SSD. This common oversight results in errors such as 'No boot device found' or 'Operating System not found,' despite the OS being correctly installed on the new drive.

• ✗

  The SSD needs to be formatted before use.

  Why it's wrong here

  An unformatted SSD would still be detected by the BIOS/UEFI as a physical storage device, appearing in the system's hardware list. However, without a file system and an installed operating system, the drive lacks the necessary bootloader and OS files to initiate the boot process. While the computer cannot boot from an unformatted drive, the issue isn't the formatting itself, but rather the absence of a bootable operating system, which is a separate step after formatting.