Bit challenging question - Comptia A+ (core 1) need help!

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A network administrator is troubleshooting a notebook that is not loading the local Windows 10 operating system.

computers in a company are using UEFI. The message on the screen shows a
failed attempt to connect to a PXE server.

When requested, the end user reported trying to improve the
computer's speed by changing some BIOS configurations randomly.

Which of the following should the network admin first check?

A. C-states should be configured to 2
B. Secure Boot should be enabled
C. Wake-on-LAN should be unchecked
D. The PXE server address should be set

I am guessing if the issue is local windows 10 on notebook is not loading then it could be an answer B.

But I am confused because it is getting an error message from PXE server so in that case I would go with C, but when I went to Wes Bryan's A+ series accelerated I also could not see any of those options in BIOS mode.

So what could be first step in that case is it B or C or D and why please explain.

This is something I personally feel is kind of daily life issue.

This is a tricky question, and understanding the context is a must. Based on the problem (Windows 10 OS not loading) that could be Secure Boot issues however the key here is that this "end user tried to improve the computers speed," now let's look at the answers:

A - C-states when turned on or off effect the CPU
B - Secure Boot when enabled only allows for trusted boot loaders (which Window Boot Manager is trusted), but UEFI Secure Boot over PXE just requires a little extra planning over legacy BIOS.
C - Wake-on-LAN would allow for a zero touch deployment of an OS, so disabling it would require local interaction with the UEFI/BIOS screen.
D - PXE server address needs to be set in the DHCP option, when a PXE client boots, it will use a BOOTP/DHCP discover packet to locate the DHCP server. The DHCP server then responds back to the PXE client with the IP address of the PXE server. The client then communicates directly with the PXE server. PXE boot or Network boot, is the only thing set on the client side. The IP address of the PXE server is set in the DHCP scope option via option 66 and 67.

So I would believe setting the PXE server IP address would be a correct answer but, this will be done on the DHCP server and not the UEFI interface of the notebook. The options that effect performance are C-States. Enabling Secure Boot enforces trusted bootloaders, With all of this I believe this is a very challenging question, did you get this from a Practice exam and if so, what was their reasoning behind the right and wrong answers, I am interested!

Hello Wes,

Thanks for replaying and I really appreciate it. I wanted to know more about this situation because, this is something all of my classmates in A+ would like to know more as, it could be a day to day situation.

This is the explanation that I found: -

end user reported trying to improve the computer's speed by changing some BIOS configurations randomly - is the key for this question so correct answer is B.

Because PXE server sends an OS image to client and if client changed secure boot to off then yes he would have the difficulty booting a device.

I know it is very confusing for students like me but, now I understand thank you Wes!