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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 sectio n describes th e BIOS setup program . The setup progr am lets you modif y
basic confi guration setti ngs. The settin gs are then stored in a dedicated, ba ttery-
backed memory (called NVRAM) that retains the information when the power is
turned off.
This mother board’s BIOS is a c ustomized versi on of the indust ry-standard BI OS 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 wil l guide you thro ugh the process of c onfiguring th e BIOS
for your system setup.
Starting Setup
The BIOS is imm ediately activ ated when you tur n on the computer. T he 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 pr eliminary test s are complete, t he BIOS searches f or 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.