PCI-6871 User’s Manual 34
Chapter 4 Award BIOS Setup

4.1 System test and initialization

These routines test and initialize board hardware. If the routines encoun-
ter an error during the tests, you will either hear a few short beeps or see
an error message on the screen. There are two kinds of errors: fatal and
non-fatal. The system can usually continue the boot up sequence with
non-fatal errors. Non-fatal error messages usually appear on the screen
along with the following instructions:
press <F1> to RESUME
Write down the message and press the F1 key to continue the bootup
sequence.

4.1.1 System configuration verification

These routines check the current system configuration against the values
stored in the board’s CMOS memory. If they do not match, the program
outputs an error message. You will then need to run the BIOS setup pro-
gram to set the configuration information in memory.
There are three situations in which you will need to change the CMOS
settings:
1. You are starting your system for the first time
2. You have changed the hardware attached to your system
3. The CMOS memory has lost power and the configuration informa-
tion has been erased.
The PCI-6871 Series' CMOS memory has an integral lithium battery
backup. The battery backup should last ten years in normal service, but
when it finally runs down, you will need to replace the complete unit.