220-1101 Hardware Practice Question
A technician is building a PC for a video editor. The motherboard has one PCIe x16 slot and one PCIe x4 slot. The technician installs a high-end graphics card in the x16 slot. The system powers on but displays no video output. The graphics card's fans spin, and the LED on the card lights up. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates see the fans spinning and LED lit and assume the GPU is fully powered, overlooking the separate power connectors required for high-end cards.
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 graphics card's power connectors
The high-end graphics card's fans spinning and LED lighting up indicate the card is receiving power from the PCIe slot, but many modern GPUs require additional power from the PSU via 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connectors. If these supplemental power cables are not connected, the card will not output video despite appearing powered on. This is the most common cause of no display with a new GPU installation and should be checked first.
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 graphics card's power connectors
Why this is correct
Modern discrete GPUs draw far more than the 75W the PCIe x16 slot can supply; auxiliary 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power cables from the PSU are mandatory. If these connectors are unseated, loose, or missing entirely, the card may power its fans and LEDs via standby voltage but still fail to initialize or output video because the GPU core and memory never receive operating power. Always verify that every required PCIe power connector is latched and that the PSU provides sufficient wattage on the dedicated rails.
- ✗
The BIOS boot order
Why it's wrong here
The BIOS boot order determines which storage device (SSD, HDD, USB) the firmware attempts to load an operating system from—it has absolutely no influence on whether the GPU initializes or produces a POST display. Video output, including the BIOS setup screen, occurs before the boot order is even consulted. With the correct OS installed, a misconfigured boot order would still show the motherboard logo and allow BIOS entry; it would only cause a 'No bootable device' error after POST.
- ✗
The RAM module seating
Why it's wrong here
Improperly seated RAM is a common cause of a completely dead POST—the system typically halts with a beep code or no display at all, and often the board's diagnostic LEDs never get past the memory check. In this scenario, the fans spinning and the GPU's LED lit indicate that the platform is at least receiving power and attempting to boot; a RAM seating fault would prevent the machine from reaching that stage. Additionally, RAM detection happens very early in POST, and a seated-but-loose module would more likely cause memory beeps than a silent no-video condition.
- ✗
The PCIe slot configuration in BIOS
Why it's wrong here
While the BIOS can configure PCIe lane assignments, bifurcation, or link speeds, these settings only become relevant when you're using multiple cards, an M.2 drive sharing lanes, or non-default topologies. With a single graphics card installed in the primary x16 slot, the motherboard's default auto-negotiation will set the correct link width and speed without user intervention. Moreover, a configuration error would not physically cut power to the card—it might reduce bandwidth or cause it to run at x1, but it would still output video, so it cannot explain total lack of display.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
GPUs and Display Technologies
Key term
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PCI Express (PCIe) is a high-speed expansion bus standard that connects internal hardware components like graphics cards, SSDs, and network adapters to a computer's motherboard.
Key term
Light-emitting Diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it, commonly used as an indicator or illumination source in electronic devices.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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