Tyan Computer Q35T, S5520 warranty Bios Setup, About the Bios, Starting Setup

Chapter 3: BIOS Setup

3.1 About the BIOS

The BIOS is the basic input/output system, the firmware on the motherboard that enables your hardware to interface with your software. This chapter describes different settings for the BIOS that can be used to configure your system.

The BIOS section of this manual is subject to change without notice and is provided for reference purposes only. The settings and configurations of the BIOS are current at the time of print, and therefore may not match exactly what is displayed on screen.

This section describes the BIOS setup program. The setup program lets you modify basic configuration settings. The settings are then stored in a dedicated, battery- backed memory (called NVRAM) that retains the information when the power is turned off.

This motherboard’s BIOS is a customized version of the industry-standard BIOS for IBM PC AT-compatible personal computers. The BIOS provides critical, low-level support for the system’s central processing unit (CPU), memory, and I/O subsystems.

This BIOS has been customized by adding important features such as virus and password protection, power management, and chipset “tuning” features that control the system. This section will guide you through the process of configuring the BIOS for your system setup.

Starting Setup

The BIOS is immediately activated when you turn on the computer. The BIOS reads system configuration in CMOS RAM and begins the process of checking out the system and configuring it through the Power-On-Self-Test (POST).

When these preliminary tests are complete, the BIOS searches for an operating system on one of the system’s data storage devices (hard drive, CD-ROM, etc). If one is found, the BIOS will launch that operating system and hand control over to it. You can enter the BIOS setup by pressing the [Delete] key when the machine boots up and begins to show the memory count.

Setup Basics

The table below shows how to use the setup program with the keyboard.

Key	Function
Tab	Moves from one selection to the next
Left/Right Arrow Keys	Changes from one menu to the next
Up/Down Arrow Keys	Moves between selections
Enter	Opens highlighted section
PgUp/PgDn Keys	Changes settings.

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