220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A technician is upgrading a Windows 10 Pro workstation to Windows 11. The computer meets all hardware requirements except that Secure Boot was disabled. The technician enables Secure Boot in the UEFI firmware settings. After the change, the computer fails to boot and displays an error. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume Secure Boot only requires a firmware toggle, overlooking the underlying partition table requirement that is critical for UEFI booting.
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 disk is using the MBR partition table instead of GPT
Enabling Secure Boot requires the boot disk to use a GPT partition table because Secure Boot verifies the integrity of the bootloader using UEFI, which only supports GPT. An MBR disk lacks the necessary UEFI-compatible boot structure, causing the boot process to fail with an error after Secure Boot is enabled.
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 disk is using the MBR partition table instead of GPT
Why this is correct
The disk is using the MBR partition table instead of GPT. Secure Boot and UEFI mode require a GUID Partition Table (GPT) because the boot loader is validated against firmware signatures stored in the EFI System Partition. An MBR disk is designed for legacy BIOS boot, so when Secure Boot is switched on, the UEFI firmware cannot find a compatible ESP, resulting in a boot failure. Since Windows 10 was previously booting with Secure Boot disabled, converting the disk to GPT and enabling UEFI is the necessary fix.
- ✗
The firmware needs a BIOS update to support Windows 11
Why it's wrong here
The firmware needs a BIOS update to support Windows 11. The system already ran Windows 10 with Secure Boot off, which proves the firmware has UEFI capability and can run a 64-bit OS. Updating the BIOS would not enable Secure Boot support that isn't already present; Secure Boot is a UEFI feature that is available but disabled. Windows 11's requirement is for Secure Boot capability, which this board already has; the failure stems from the disk's partition style, not the firmware revision.
- ✗
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is disabled
Why it's wrong here
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is disabled. TPM 2.0 is a security coprocessor used for BitLocker encryption, Windows Hello, and device health attestation, but it does not directly participate in the Secure Boot chain validation. Secure Boot operates at the UEFI firmware level, verifying boot loaders against an allowlist before the OS loads, so a disabled TPM would not prevent the system from starting the boot process. A TPM absence typically generates a separate incompatibility warning during Windows 11 installation, not a boot-time Secure Boot failure.
- ✗
The boot order is not configured correctly
Why it's wrong here
The boot order is not configured correctly. Boot order only dictates which storage device the firmware tries first (e.g., USB, optical, NVMe, SATA); it does not alter how the firmware validates the selected disk. If the boot order were wrong, the machine might try to boot from a non-bootable device and produce a 'no bootable device' error, but that is unrelated to the MBR/GPT incompatibility that appears when Secure Boot is enabled. The correct fix is to change the disk layout to GPT and re-enable Secure Boot, not to reorder the boot devices.
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Related to this question
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Disk Imaging and OS Deployment
Key term
Windows
Windows is a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft that manages computer hardware and software, providing a graphical user interface for users to interact with their devices.
Key term
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft that combines the familiarity of Windows 7 with the modern features of Windows 8, designed to run on a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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