5.4 - Troubleshooting drives, boot order and display
CompTIA A+ Core 1 objective 5.4 covers drive detection, boot and display problems. A newly installed SSD that appears in BIOS/UEFI but not in the OS simply needs to be initialised and formatted in Disk Management. A PC that suddenly reports 'No operating system found', though it worked yesterday, usually needs its boot order and drive detection checked. For displays, a screen that flickers only at certain refresh rates should be set to a supported rate and the video cable reseated. After a Windows update that leaves the desktop stuck at a low, stretched resolution, install or roll back the GPU driver and set the native resolution. Expect scenario questions that describe a missing drive, a boot failure or a display glitch and ask for the correct fix.
New SSD in BIOS but not OS = initialise/format in Disk Management. 'No OS found' but worked yesterday = check boot order/detection. Flicker at some refresh rates = set supported rate, reseat cable. Stuck low res after update = GPU driver + native res.
Practice questions
1. A newly installed SSD is not detected in the OS, but it appears in BIOS/UEFI. What is the BEST next step?
- Replace the newly installed SSD
- Initialize and format it in Disk Management (correct answer)
- Reinstall the graphics card display driver
- Update the motherboard system BIOS
A new drive seen in BIOS but not in the OS usually just needs initializing/partitioning/formatting in Disk Management.
2. A PC displays 'No operating system found' at boot, though it worked yesterday. What is a likely first check?
- Replace the system processor
- Check boot order and drive detection (correct answer)
- Reinstall the graphics card driver
- Add more system memory (RAM)
'No OS found' often means a changed boot order, a disconnected/failed boot drive, or a non-bootable device first.
3. A screen flickers only at certain refresh rates. What should you try?
- Physically replace the whole system CPU
- Set a supported rate, reseat the video cable (correct answer)
- Add more installed system memory (RAM)
- Reformat the entire system boot disk
Flicker often comes from an unsupported refresh rate or a marginal cable — set a supported rate and check the cable/connector.
4. After a Windows update, the desktop is stuck at a low resolution and looks stretched. What is the fix?
- Replace the whole external display monitor
- Install/roll back the GPU driver, set native res (correct answer)
- Add more system memory (RAM) modules
- Reinstall the Microsoft Office application suite
Stuck low/stretched resolution usually means a generic/missing GPU driver — install the proper driver and set the native resolution.
5. A display shows faint 'ghost' remnants of a static taskbar after long use. This is:
- Dead display pixels
- Burn-in / image persistence (correct answer)
- A no-signal condition
- An incorrect resolution
Persistent ghost images of static content are burn-in/image persistence (more on OLED) — vary content, use screen savers.
6. An external monitor shows nothing, but Windows detects a second display. What should you check?
- The main system processor
- The monitor input and projection mode (correct answer)
- The installed memory modules
- The connected external keyboard
If Windows sees the display but it's blank, verify the monitor's input source and Windows' projection mode (Win+P: extend/duplicate).