A drive is prepared so that Windows Setup will only install in UEFI mode. Which partition style is it given?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, Use preformatted hard drives, and use a method that doesn't automatically format the drive
A PC has to start from a network supporting only BIOS. Which mode does it boot in?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, introduction
A technician must start a PC from a USB installer instead of its hard drive. Which firmware setting decides the device that is tried first?Wikipedia, BIOS, Boot priority
An older PC supports UEFI but makes you browse to the boot file. Which file starts Windows Setup media?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, To boot to UEFI or BIOS
The boot menu lists "UEFI: USB Drive" and "BIOS: USB Drive" for one flash drive. What differs between the two entries?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, To boot to UEFI or BIOS
Show all 74 questions (69 more)
Boot options, continued
From a running copy of Windows, how do you restart straight into the firmware menus?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, To boot to UEFI or BIOS
When a PC is switched on, which software runs first on the CPU?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, section 2.1, System BIOS
Where is the system BIOS typically stored?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, section 2.1, System BIOS
Which boot device entry starts a PC from a server instead of a local drive?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Boot configuration page
Which firmware mode does Microsoft advise for installing Windows, in general?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, introduction
Which keys commonly open the firmware menus while a PC starts?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, To boot to UEFI or BIOS
Which UEFI feature lets a PC start an operating system written for the old BIOS?Wikipedia, UEFI, lead section
Windows was installed in legacy BIOS mode. Which tool prepares the disk before the firmware is switched to UEFI?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, Why TPM 2.0?
Secure Boot 11
A boot image has its hash in both the signature database (db) and the revoked database (dbx). What happens?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Signature Databases and Keys
How must firmware components be signed to meet the Secure Boot requirements?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Secure boot requirements
Some PCs refuse to boot in BIOS mode until a UEFI security feature is disabled. Which feature?Microsoft Learn, Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode, To boot to UEFI or BIOS
What can the Secure Boot platform key (PK) be used to do?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Signature Databases and Keys
What does Secure Boot check before a PC is allowed to start?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, introduction
What does the Key Enrollment Key database (KEK) hold?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Signature Databases and Keys
Where are the Secure Boot databases stored?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Signature Databases and Keys
Which kinds of malware does Secure Boot protect against?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Security page
Which Secure Boot database lists signatures that are no longer trusted?Microsoft Learn, Secure boot, Signature Databases and Keys
Which system firmware does Windows 11 require?Microsoft Learn, Windows 11 requirements, Hardware requirements
Why would a technician turn Secure Boot off?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Security page
Boot password, BIOS password and USB permissions 9
A kiosk PC must never start from a flash drive. Which firmware change does that?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Boot configuration page
A PC asks for a password before any operating system starts to load. Which firmware password is that?Wikipedia, BIOS, Setup utility
A PC is being retired from an organization. What should be done with its firmware passwords?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, section 3.2, Recommended Practices for BIOS Management
BitLocker on a PC without a TPM keeps its startup key on a flash drive. What must the firmware be able to do?Microsoft Learn, BitLocker overview, System requirements
What can firmware settings do to a built-in component such as a docking USB port, a camera or on-board audio?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Devices page
What does a password set on the firmware setup (a BIOS password) protect?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Security page
What is one purpose of a password on the BIOS setup interface?Wikipedia, BIOS, Setup utility
What may firmware require before it allows a BIOS update from someone at the keyboard?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, section 3.1.2, Secure Local Update
Which two firmware policies does NIST say an organization's configuration baseline should enforce?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, section 3.2, Recommended Practices for BIOS Management
TPM security features and encryption 17
A key has been sealed to the TPM. When can it be unsealed?Microsoft Learn, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) fundamentals, introduction
A newly built PC fails the Windows 11 TPM check although its parts are recent. What is the likely cause?Microsoft Support, Enable TPM 2.0 on your PC, How to know if my PC can run TPM 2.0
A PC with TPM 2.0 is set to Legacy or CSM mode. What does Microsoft say about that?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, Why TPM 2.0?
BitLocker is switched on for a PC that has no TPM. What is then mandatory?Microsoft Learn, BitLocker overview, System requirements
By NIST's definition, what is a hardware security module (HSM)?NIST Computer Security Resource Center glossary, hardware security module (HSM)
In what form does a hardware security module traditionally come?Wikipedia, Hardware security module, lead section
On a PC with an Intel processor, which firmware option switches on the built-in TPM?Microsoft Support, Enable TPM 2.0 on your PC, How to enable TPM
On an AMD motherboard, which label may the TPM option carry in the firmware menus?Microsoft Support, Enable TPM 2.0 on your PC, How to enable TPM
Running tpm.msc reports "Compatible TPM cannot be found". What may that mean?Microsoft Support, Enable TPM 2.0 on your PC, How to know if my PC can run TPM 2.0
Someone guesses a TPM authorization value wrong too many times. What does the TPM do?Microsoft Learn, Trusted Platform Module Technology Overview, Feature description
What is a TPM?Microsoft Learn, Trusted Platform Module Technology Overview, Feature description
Which algorithms does the TPM 1.2 specification allow?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, Why TPM 2.0?
Which drive encryption feature of Windows does the TPM authenticate?Microsoft Learn, Manage Surface UEFI settings, UEFI Security page
Which kind of TPM runs in firmware inside a general purpose processor and has no chip of its own?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, Discrete, Integrated, or Firmware TPM?
Which organization publishes the TPM specification?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, TPM design and implementation
Which TPM version does Windows 11 require?Microsoft Learn, Windows 11 requirements, Hardware requirements
Windows is about to be reinstalled on a PC. What may need to be done to the TPM first?Microsoft Learn, TPM recommendations, TPM design and implementation
Virtualization support 8
A virtual machine program reports that hardware virtualization is switched off. Where is it turned on?Microsoft Support, Enable virtualization on Windows, 2. Make changes in the UEFI (or BIOS)
Besides hardware-assisted virtualization, what must be available and enabled in the firmware for Hyper-V?Microsoft Learn, System requirements for Hyper-V on Windows and Windows Server, General requirements
On an Intel system, which setting provides hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention?Microsoft Learn, System requirements for Hyper-V on Windows and Windows Server, General requirements
On which of these Windows editions can the Hyper-V role not be installed?Microsoft Learn, Install Hyper-V, Check requirements for Windows
Virtualization is now enabled in the firmware. Which Windows feature may still need turning on?Microsoft Support, Enable virtualization on Windows, 3. Turn on Virtual Machine Platform in Windows
What does Microsoft advise while you are in the firmware menus to enable virtualization?Microsoft Support, Enable virtualization on Windows, 2. Make changes in the UEFI (or BIOS)
Which command shows whether a PC meets the Hyper-V requirements?Microsoft Learn, System requirements for Hyper-V on Windows and Windows Server, How to check for Hyper-V requirements
Which processor feature must be present to install the Hyper-V hypervisor?Microsoft Learn, System requirements for Hyper-V on Windows and Windows Server, General requirements
Fan considerations and temperature monitoring 7
How is the speed of a fan on a 2-pin or 3-pin connector usually changed?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, Fan connectors
What are the four pins of a PWM fan connector?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, Pulse-width modulation
What do fan control settings trade against cooling capacity?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, lead section
What does a hardware monitoring screen in the BIOS setup show?Wikipedia, BIOS, Hardware monitoring
What does the sense (tachometer) wire of a fan report?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, Fan connectors
Which fan connector lets the motherboard set the fan speed by pulse-width modulation (PWM)?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, Pulse-width modulation
Which motherboard part carries out fan control and can be configured through the BIOS?Wikipedia, Computer fan control, Hardware
POST beeps, date and time, firmware updates 9
A firmware update is cut off halfway by a power loss. What can result?Wikipedia, BIOS, lead section
A PC loses its firmware settings whenever it is unplugged, and its clock is wrong after each start. Which part has most likely failed?Wikipedia, Nonvolatile BIOS memory, lead section
In the original IBM POST beep codes, what does one short beep mean?Wikipedia, Power-on self-test, Original IBM POST beep codes
What happens when POST completes without an error?Wikipedia, Power-on self-test, lead section
What is the power-on self-test (POST)?Wikipedia, Power-on self-test, lead section
What keeps a BIOS update image that is not authentic from being installed, in NIST's guidelines?NIST SP 800-147, BIOS Protection Guidelines, Executive Summary
What kind of battery generally keeps the CMOS settings and the clock?Wikipedia, Nonvolatile BIOS memory, CMOS battery
Which of these is a main duty of the BIOS during POST?Wikipedia, Power-on self-test, Purposes
Why does POST report some errors as beeps or flashes?Wikipedia, Power-on self-test, lead section
How this list was compiled: Own questions, written to the BIOS/UEFI settings, virtualization support and encryption items of objective 3.5 and the firmware symptoms of objective 5.1 in CompTIA's A+ Core 1 (220-1201, V15) exam objectives, document version 4.0, linked from https://www.comptia.org/en-us/certifications/a/core-1-v15/ (read 2026-10-12). Facts were read on 2026-10-12 in public texts: Microsoft Learn and Microsoft Support pages on UEFI, Secure Boot, the TPM, BitLocker and Hyper-V, NIST SP 800-147 and the NIST glossary, and Wikipedia articles on the BIOS, UEFI, fan control, the power-on self-test and nonvolatile BIOS memory. Each question names the text and section it was written from and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the public texts named in each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a CompTIA exam, a released or sample question, or another practice product.
How it works
This unofficial CompTIA A+ BIOS practice test holds 74 of our own questions on firmware settings. The site is not affiliated with CompTIA, and none of these questions is taken from its exam.
Read the full guide
What the A+ objectives list under BIOS/UEFI settings
CompTIA's objectives for Core 1 (220-1201, V15), read on October 12, 2026, put firmware under objective 3.5. They name boot options, USB permissions, TPM security features, fan considerations, Secure Boot, the boot password, the BIOS password and temperature monitoring, then virtualization support and encryption by TPM or HSM. The questions follow that list, which doubles as a checklist for a study guide.
What this bank leaves out
The exam's performance-based tasks are not here: each question has four choices and one right answer. Setup screens differ from maker to maker, so no question asks where one brand keeps a setting. Nine questions go past the settings: POST beeps and a wrong date or time from objective 5.1, and failed firmware updates.
Windows 11 asks for UEFI firmware that is Secure Boot capable and for a TPM at version 2.0.
TPM 2.0 does not work in Legacy or CSM mode. Convert the disk with MBR2GPT before the firmware is switched to UEFI.
Settings lost and a wrong clock after every unplug point to the CMOS battery, generally a CR2032 coin cell.
Questions and answers
Is BIOS on the CompTIA A+ exam?
Yes. Objective 3.5 of Core 1 (220-1201) lists BIOS/UEFI settings beside motherboards, CPUs and add-on cards, inside the Hardware domain, which is 25% of the exam. Objective 5.1 adds POST beeps and an inaccurate system date and time.
What should an A+ BIOS study guide cover?
The eight settings CompTIA names, virtualization support, and encryption with a TPM or an HSM. Know what each setting does and when a technician changes it: the objective begins "Given a scenario".
How many questions are on the CompTIA A+ Core 1 exam?
A maximum of 90, multiple-choice and performance-based, in 90 minutes, by CompTIA's objectives for 220-1201. This page practices one objective of that exam, so it gives no pass or fail.
What is the difference between BIOS and UEFI?
UEFI is the newer firmware interface that replaces the BIOS. It brings Secure Boot, boots from GPT disks, and can still start an older operating system through CSM booting. Many PCs still call the UEFI setup the BIOS.