A technician is assembling a new desktop with a Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and an ASUS B550 motherboard. After installing two 16GB DDR4-3600 sticks in the slots color-coded as 'A1' and 'A2' (both blue slots), the system powers on but shows no display. The motherboard's DRAM_LED remains lit. The technician has reseated the RAM and tested each stick individually in the A2 slot, but the problem persists. The CPU and motherboard are listed as compatible on the manufacturer's website. Which of the following should the technician try NEXT?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
Check the CPU cooler mounting pressure and ensure it is not too tight
While excessive cooler pressure can sometimes cause memory issues, it is less likely than a simple slot misplacement, especially since the technician already tested individual sticks.
Best answer
Install the two RAM sticks in slots A2 and B2 (the second and fourth slots from the CPU)
Most modern motherboards require the two sticks to be installed in the primary channel slots (A2 and B2) for proper dual-channel operation. Putting them both in the same channel (A1 and A2) can prevent POST.
Distractor review
Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version
A BIOS update is generally considered after hardware seating and configuration checks. The Ryzen 5600X is natively supported by B550 chipset, so a BIOS update is unlikely required.
Distractor review
Replace the RAM with a kit that is on the motherboard's Qualified Vendor List (QVL)
The technician already confirmed each stick works individually, so the RAM is compatible. The issue is the slot configuration, not the RAM model itself.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Related practice questions
Related 220-1101 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
CompTIA A+ hardware practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ hardware.
CompTIA A+ mobile devices practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ mobile devices.
CompTIA A+ networking practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ networking.
CompTIA A+ operating systems practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ operating systems.
CompTIA A+ security practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ security.
CompTIA A+ software troubleshooting questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ software troubleshooting questions.
CompTIA A+ operational procedures questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ operational procedures questions.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A user reports intermittent network connectivity on a desktop computer. The technician observes that the Ethernet link light on the NIC turns off for a few seconds and then turns back on. The cable passes a wiremap test, the switch port is verified good with another device, and the NIC driver is updated. The issue occurs more frequently when the computer's case fan runs at high speed. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
Question 2
A workstation is unable to connect to the internet. The technician runs the 'ipconfig' command and sees the IPv4 address is 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. The workstation can ping other devices on the local subnet but cannot ping the default gateway or any external addresses. Which TWO actions should the technician take to resolve this issue? (Select two.)
Question 3
A workstation is connected to a managed switch. It obtains a valid IP address (192.168.10.50) from the DHCP server, but it cannot ping the default gateway (192.168.10.1). The link light on both the workstation NIC and the switch port are solid green. Other workstations on the same switch CAN ping the default gateway successfully. The technician accesses the switch management interface and finds that the workstation's port is configured as an access port on VLAN 10. The default gateway is located on VLAN 20. An inter-VLAN router is configured but not explicitly allowing VLAN 10 access to VLAN 20. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the problem?
Question 4
A company develops a web application that relies on a custom library available only for a specific Linux distribution. They want to deploy the application in the cloud with minimal administrative overhead, but they need full control over the software stack, including the ability to install the custom library and configure the web server. Which cloud service model BEST meets these requirements?
Question 5
A company has a legacy virtual machine running on a deprecated hypervisor (Hyper-V). They want to migrate this VM to a new hypervisor (VMware vSphere) hosted in a private cloud while preserving the VM's configuration, installed applications, and data. The migration must be performed with minimal downtime. Which of the following methods is MOST appropriate?
Question 6
A company hosts a critical database on a virtual machine in a public cloud. The database requires persistent storage that must be retained even if the VM is terminated. The storage must also be accessible from multiple VMs simultaneously for a future high-availability configuration. Which type of cloud storage BEST meets these requirements?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 220-1101 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Install the two RAM sticks in slots A2 and B2 (the second and fourth slots from the CPU) — Many desktop motherboards use a specific slot population order for dual-channel memory. Commonly, the two slots for dual-channel are A2 and B2 (second and fourth slots away from the CPU), not two adjacent slots like A1 and A2. Installing RAM in the wrong slots can prevent POST because the memory controller expects a specific configuration. The fact that both sticks are in the same channel (A1 and A2) is likely the issue. Seating them in the proper slots (A2 and B2) will likely resolve the problem. Option A (checking CPU cooler pressure) is a possibility but less common than slot misplacement. Option C (updating BIOS) is unnecessary for this hardware combo and would not be the first step. Option D (testing with known-good RAM) could help but the technician already tested each stick individually, so the sticks themselves are likely fine.
What should I do if I get this 220-1101 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.