220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A technician needs to dual-boot Windows 10 and a Linux distribution on a UEFI-based system. Which partition style is required for the boot drive?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse partition style (MBR vs. GPT) with file systems (FAT32, NTFS), leading them to select FAT32 or NTFS because they know UEFI requires FAT32 for the ESP, but the question specifically asks for the partition style of the boot drive.
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
✓
GPT
GPT (GUID Partition Table) is required for UEFI-based systems because UEFI firmware mandates GPT for booting in native mode, as it supports the EFI System Partition (ESP) and provides features like Secure Boot. MBR (Master Boot Record) is limited to legacy BIOS boot and cannot be used with UEFI boot without a Compatibility Support Module (CSM), which is often disabled in modern systems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
MBR
Why it's wrong here
MBR is a legacy partition table that predates UEFI. It uses 32-bit partition entries, supports only four primary partitions, and has no dedicated EFI System Partition (ESP). While some UEFI motherboards can boot MBR disks via Compatibility Support Module (CSM), native UEFI boot requires GPT, so MBR is not the correct partition style for a modern dual-boot setup.
- ✓
GPT
Why this is correct
GPT is the standard partition table for UEFI systems. It uses 64-bit logical block addressing, supports disks larger than 2 TiB, and includes a dedicated EFI System Partition (ESP) formatted as FAT32 where UEFI firmware locates bootloaders. Both Windows 10 and Linux distributions support installing to GPT disks, and Secure Boot relies on GPT-based UEFI firmware, making GPT the required choice here.
- ✗
FAT32
Why it's wrong here
FAT32 is a file system, not a partition table style. Although the EFI System Partition (ESP) is always formatted as FAT32 so UEFI firmware can read it, the underlying disk partition scheme is still GPT. Choosing FAT32 as the answer conflates a volume format with the disk-level partitioning scheme; it cannot replace the role of GPT in enabling UEFI boot.
- ✗
NTFS
Why it's wrong here
NTFS is a proprietary file system used by Windows for data and system volumes, and it can be accessed by Linux through drivers, but it is not a partition table. UEFI firmware does not natively read NTFS for bootloaders; the ESP must be FAT32, and the disk must be divided using GPT. Therefore, NTFS is irrelevant to defining the partition style required for UEFI dual-boot.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
macOS System Preferences and Settings
Key term
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
UEFI is the modern replacement for BIOS that controls how a computer starts up and loads the operating system.
Key term
ESP
ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload) provides confidentiality, data origin authentication, connectionless integrity, and anti-replay protection for IP packets.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on 220-1102
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A technician is installing Windows 10 on a new SSD. The motherboard supports UEFI and Secure Boot. Which partition style must be used on the disk to support these features?
easy- A.MBR
- ✓ B.GPT
- C.FAT32
- D.NTFS
Why B: GPT (GUID Partition Table) is required for UEFI-based systems because UEFI firmware reads the partition table to locate the EFI System Partition (ESP), which stores boot loaders. MBR cannot be used with UEFI Secure Boot because it lacks the necessary partition structure and relies on legacy BIOS booting. GPT supports up to 128 primary partitions and uses a protective MBR for backward compatibility, making it the only choice for UEFI with Secure Boot.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 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 220-1102 exam.