A technician is upgrading a desktop PC by adding two additional 8GB DDR4-3200 RAM sticks to an existing pair of 8GB DDR4-3200 sticks. After installation, the system powers on but does not POST; the fans spin and the power LED is on, but no display appears. The technician has reseated all four sticks and verified they are fully clicked into place. The original two sticks alone allow the system to boot normally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

The new RAM sticks are of a different DDR generation (e.g., DDR3) and are not compatible with the motherboard.

While incompatible generations would cause a no-POST condition, the technician verified they are DDR4-3200 as specified. Motherboards that support DDR4 cannot accept DDR3 physically or electrically, so this is unlikely.

The motherboard does not support running four memory modules simultaneously; it only supports two modules in dual-channel mode.

Most consumer motherboards support four memory modules, though some budget boards may have limitations. However, the specification often allows four modules, but the system may fail to POST if the memory controller cannot handle the combined load. The more precise issue is not about the number of modules but about the memory rank and timing compatibility.

The new RAM sticks are defective, as they do not match the speed of the original sticks.

The technician verified they are the same speed (DDR4-3200). While defective sticks are possible, the fact that the system fails only with all four sticks and works with either pair alone suggests a compatibility issue rather than a single defective component. Swapping the sticks would likely show the same symptom.

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 memory controller cannot handle the combined load of four dual-rank modules, causing memory training failure during POST. — The motherboard likely supports a maximum of 32GB of RAM, which is already reached with 4x8GB sticks, but the question states that only the original two sticks work. A common cause when adding RAM to an existing configuration is that the new sticks are not identical to the old ones in terms of timings or voltage requirements, causing the system to fail to train the memory. However, the scenario says they are the same model and speed. Another likely issue is that the motherboard's memory controller (or chipset) may not support four ranks or two dual-rank sticks populating all slots, especially on older platforms. In many consumer motherboards, populating all four DIMM slots forces the memory controller to run at a lower speed or can cause instability if the memory modules are double-rank. The BIOS may be unable to train at the specified timings with four modules. Reseating and swapping slots (A2/B2 vs A1/B1) often resolves this, but if not, the system may need BIOS settings downgraded or the new sticks may be incompatible with the motherboard's dual-channel configuration. The technician should verify the motherboard manual for memory population rules and try using only two sticks in the correct slots for dual-channel operation.

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.