A technician is building a new desktop computer with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and a B450 chipset motherboard. The system powers on, case fans spin, and the CPU fan spins, but there is no display output and no POST beeps. The motherboard's CPU debug LED remains lit. The technician has already reseated the CPU (no bent pins), verified the RAM is compatible and seated correctly, and tested the power supply with a multimeter (voltages within spec). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
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
The CPU is not receiving sufficient voltage from the power supply.
The power supply voltages were verified with a multimeter and are within specifications. Additionally, the CPU fan spins, indicating the motherboard is delivering power to the CPU socket.
Best answer
The B450 motherboard requires a BIOS update to be compatible with the Ryzen 5 5600X.
B450 motherboards lack native support for Zen 3 CPUs. A BIOS update (often labeled 'Ryzen 3000/5000 ready') is needed to add the microcode for the 5600X. Without it, the CPU will not be recognized, causing a no-POST condition with a CPU LED error.
Distractor review
The CPU is defective and needs to be replaced.
A defective CPU is possible, but a BIOS incompatibility is a much more common and likely issue given the known need for updates on B450 boards. The technician should rule out the BIOS first before concluding the CPU is faulty.
Distractor review
The RAM is not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel memory.
Incorrect RAM slot placement could cause a no-boot, but the debug LED is a CPU LED, not a DRAM LED. The technician already verified RAM compatibility and seating, and a slot issue would typically show a DRAM LED.
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.
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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: The B450 motherboard requires a BIOS update to be compatible with the Ryzen 5 5600X. — The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a Zen 3 processor. B450 motherboards often require a BIOS update to support Zen 3 CPUs because they were originally released for Zen+ and Zen 2 processors. Without the update, the motherboard cannot initialize the CPU, resulting in a POST failure with the CPU debug LED lit. The RAM and power supply have been checked, and the CPU is properly installed, so the BIOS version is the most probable cause.
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.
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