220-801 · Question #316
A manufacturer claims that a certain board supports DDR2 800, but the computer will only post with DDR2 667. Which of the following needs to be performed?
The correct answer is A. Flash BIOS. When a motherboard fails to POST with memory at its advertised speed, flashing the BIOS to the latest version adds the microcode and memory profiles needed to properly support that RAM speed.
Question
A manufacturer claims that a certain board supports DDR2 800, but the computer will only post with DDR2 667. Which of the following needs to be performed?
Options
- AFlash BIOS
- BChange boot order
- CChange multiplier
- DSet date/time
How the community answered
(39 responses)- A79% (31)
- B10% (4)
- C3% (1)
- D8% (3)
Why each option
When a motherboard fails to POST with memory at its advertised speed, flashing the BIOS to the latest version adds the microcode and memory profiles needed to properly support that RAM speed.
The BIOS (firmware) contains the memory compatibility tables and XMP/JEDEC timing data; a BIOS update can add official support for DDR2 800 speeds that the original firmware version did not include, resolving the POST failure with faster RAM.
Changing the boot order controls which device the system attempts to boot from first and has no effect on RAM speed compatibility or POST behavior.
Changing the CPU multiplier adjusts processor clock speed, not memory bus speed or RAM compatibility with the memory controller.
Setting the date and time is a CMOS configuration task that is entirely unrelated to memory speed support or POST issues.
Concept tested: BIOS flash to resolve RAM speed compatibility
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/update-firmware
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