220-1101 Question 291
Single answerCore configurationsA technician is configuring a newly built desktop workstation for a video editing team. The system has a 12-core CPU installed, but Windows reports only 6 cores available for processing. The BIOS/UEFI recognizes the processor correctly, and there are no thermal or hardware fault indicators. The technician needs to restore access to all CPU cores without replacing any hardware. Which of the following is the BEST action to take?
- A
Enable virtualization support in the BIOS/UEFI
- B
Check the operating system boot configuration for a processor core limit
- C
Increase the integrated GPU memory allocation in the BIOS/UEFI
- D
Disable Secure Boot so the operating system can detect all processor cores
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best answer is to check the operating system boot configuration for a processor core limit. In real-world support scenarios, a system may show fewer cores than are physically installed if a startup configuration was manually restricted during diagnostics. In Windows, this is commonly checked in System Configuration under Boot > Advanced options, where the Number of processors setting may have been enabled. If BIOS/UEFI correctly identifies the CPU and there are no signs of hardware failure, software configuration is the most likely cause. This aligns with standard troubleshooting best practices: verify firmware detection first, then review OS-level configuration before considering hardware replacement. Microsoft documentation on System Configuration and advanced boot options supports reviewing startup settings when system resources appear artificially limited.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Virtualization support settings such as Intel VT-x or AMD-V are used to support virtual machines and certain security features. They do not control whether the operating system can use all physical CPU cores in normal operation. A candidate might choose this because CPU-related BIOS settings can affect system behavior, but this setting is unrelated to the reported core count.
- B. Correct.
Correct. In Windows, the System Configuration utility (msconfig) can be used to set an advanced boot option that limits the number of processors used during startup. If this setting was previously configured for troubleshooting or testing, the OS may report and use fewer cores than are actually installed. Verifying and removing that limit is the best next step when the BIOS/UEFI already detects the processor correctly and there is no indication of a hardware failure.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Integrated GPU memory allocation affects how much system RAM is reserved for onboard graphics. It has no impact on how many CPU cores the operating system can detect or use. This is a plausible distractor because it is a common BIOS/UEFI performance-related setting, but it does not apply to CPU core availability.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Secure Boot helps ensure that the system boots trusted software and is not used to control processor core detection. Disabling Secure Boot would not normally restore missing CPU cores. A test taker might select this option due to confusion between boot security features and hardware initialization settings, but they are separate functions.