Introducing the BIOS

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Chapter 3. Introducing the BIOS

The BIOS is a program located on a Flash Memory chip on the motherboard. This program will not be lost when you turn the computer off. This program is also referred to as the boot program. It is the only channel the hardware circuit has to communicate with the operating system. Its main function is to manage the setup of the motherboard and interface card parameters, including simple parameters such as time, date, hard disk drive, as well as more complex parameters such as hardware synchronization, device operating mode, SoftMenu III features and and setup of CPU speed. The computer will operate normally, or will operate at its best, only if all of these parameters are correctly configured through the BIOS.

∋Don’t change the parameters inside the BIOS unless you fully understand the meanings and consequences

The parameters inside the BIOS are used to setup the hardware synchronization or the device-operating mode. If the parameters are not correct, they will produce errors, the computer will crash, and sometimes you will even not be able to boot the computer after it has crashed. We recommend that you do not change the parameters inside the BIOS unless you are very familiar with them. If you are not able to boot your computer anymore, please refer to the section “CCMOS1 Header” in Chapter 2 to see how to discharge the CMOS date.

When you start the computer, the BIOS program controls it. The BIOS first operates an auto-diagnostic test called POST (Power On Self Test) for all of the necessary hardware. It then configures the parameters of the hardware synchronization, and detects all of the hardware. Only when these tasks are completed does it give up control of the computer to the program to the next level, which is the operating system (OS). Since the BIOS is the only channel for hardware and software to communicate, it is the key factor for system stability, and in insuring that your system performs at its best. After the BIOS has achieved the auto-diagnostic and auto-detection operations, it will display the following message:

PRESS DEL TO ENTER SETUP

The message will be displayed for three to five seconds, if you press the Del key, you will access the BIOS Setup menu. At that moment, the BIOS will display the following message:

Figure 3-1. CMOS Setup Utility

User’s Manual