3: Motherboard Configuration

Firmware Configuration: The CMOS Setup Utility

The BIOS CMOS Setup Utility a configuration record of system settings. This record is based on the “Optimized Defaults that are stored with the utility in Flash memory and can be reloaded at any time.

Many of these settings are either recommended or required for the motherboard to operate properly. Other settings are customizable and can be changed to suit your specific system configuration and operation requirements.

A number of the variable settings, such as CPU and IDE device settings are set to be automatically detected in the default configuration. While these settings can also be established manually, automatic detection is more con- venient, safe and reliable. We strongly recommend that you leave all auto-detection settings undisturbed unless you have a specific reason not to and you are certain of what you are doing. Incorrect configuration of the CMOS Setup Utility can result in unreliable operation or a failure of the motherboard to work at all.

Using the CMOS Setup Utility

Please refer to the “Configuring the CMOS Setup Utility” section in Chapter 5 for information on using the utility and some settings you might want to customize. The utility does not run under an Operating System. You must load it during the Power On Self Test (POST) while the computer is starting up by press the Delete key or the Del key on the system keyboard’s numeric keypad.

User’s Manual

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