This lesson will introduce how to set up the computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). The BIOS setup allows users to customize their computer to function optimally based on its hardware and software profiles. Setting up the BIOS is the final step for configuring a new computer.
Pressing the delete key during the opening boot sequence provides access to the BIOS on some systems (BIOS access can differ between manufacturers). Any motherboard manual will contain specific information for properly setting up their BIOS. The pages are likely to resemble this lesson's examples.
BIOS Main Menu
The BIOS Main Menu provides basic information about the system's date and time, memory, processor, and buses.
Bios Main Menu
Instructions on the keys that allow you to manipulate the BIOS are located on the bottom right portion of the screen. BIOS is not GUI based; instructions are given with the Enter, Escape, Function and Arrow keys.
- BIOS Version
- Processor and Buses
- Memory
- Date and Time
The first item presented is the BIOS version. This, along with the motherboard name, is helpful for obtaining BIOS updates and information.
The processor's speed, cache, and type are listed along with the speeds of the system bus and data bus. If any of the information on the processor is incorrect, the BIOS may need to be updated. An outdated BIOS that doesn't recognize a processor can result in processor features not being enabled and the processor may run at slower speeds than it is capable of.
One other feature that effects the processor is AW Single Processor Mode. This deals with dual-core processors. If enabled, only one of the processors on the dual-core will be used, which will reduce the overall processing power. Be sure to disable this feature on motherboards that contain a dual-core processor.
The BIOS Main screen lists each memory slot and the amount of memory. In the example above, there are four slots, and two of them contain 512MB each. This information is useful for troubleshooting memory that is not recognized by the system.
Be sure to correctly set the date and time. This information is passed to the operating system upon startup and is used for dating and time stamping files, email programs and other applications, cookies, and to record transactions that take place. There are online shareware utilities that synchronize the operating system clock with the accurate time.
Flashing the BIOS
BIOS software is, in some regards, like other computer software. There are newer versions available that contain updates, enhanced features, new features, and bug fixes. To erase the BIOS and reprogram it, a special program called a flash utility is used. On systems with a non-flashable BIOS, the entire CMOS chip must be replaced to perform an upgrade.
BIOS upgrades are often found on the manufacturer's Web site. To get the right BIOS, it is essential to know the model number of the motherboard.
Important!
Before flashing the BIOS, make sure to write down the BIOS settings. The settings must be reentered after flashing.
Warning!
Do not turn off the PC while flashing the BIOS. The motherboard will be rendered inoperable.
The Advanced Menu
The BIOS Advanced Menu provides configuration options for peripherals, drives, video, the chipset, and USB along with hardware monitoring options. As the screen warns, do not change these settings unless you are certain that you know what you are doing. Otherwise, your system may malfunction.
Bios Advanced Menu
- Boot Configuration
- Numblock Numblock determines whether the number lock will be enabled or disabled by default after the system boots up.
- CPU Fan Control and System Fan Control The BIOS Main screen lists each memory slot and the amount of memory. In the example above, there are four slots, and two of them contain 512MB each. This information is useful for troubleshooting memory that is not recognized by the system.
- Max CPUID Value Limit The Max CPUID Value Limit is used for older operating systems with newer processors. When the system boots up, CPUID instructions identify the processor's capabilities. For example, if an operating system such as Windows ME or 9x is used with a Pentium 4 (which was created after those operating systems were designed), the system will not be able to use Pentium 4 extra functions such as Hyper-Threading.
- Display Setup Prompt The last option in the Boot Configuration menu is the Display Setup Prompt, which sets whether the prompt "BIOS Settings
- Peripheral Configuration
The Boot Configuration has options that control settings that occur during bootup.
In this example, the Max CPUID Value Limit should be enabled so that the processor can be used with the older operating system; however, the processor's advanced functions such as Hyper-Threading will not work. In most cases, the Max CPUID Value Limit should be disabled.
- Drive Configuration
The Peripheral Configuration menu simply allows the enabling or disabling of peripherals such as the serial port, parallel port, integrated audio ports, onboard LAN port, and onboard 1394, which are FireWire ports.
- Use Automatic Mode The Use Automatic Mode setting allows manual or automatic configuration of IDE controllers. Set to enable to allow automatic configuration and disable to allow manual configuration.
- ATA / IDE Mode ATA/IDE Mode set on legacy mode will force the IDE controller to use dedicated IRQs that cannot be shared and should be used if the operating system is Windows Dos, ME, 98, or NT. This setting should be set to native, which would allow the IDE controllers IRQs to be shared with other devices and would enable all SATA and PATA resources.
- Configure SATA As The Configure SATA As setting can be either IDE, AHCI (sometimes called SATA), or RAID. IDE mode uses a different driver for the SATA controller and does not allow RAID. This setting is not recommended. AHCI mode enables SATA to operate normally but does not allow a RAID configuration. RAID mode is the most flexible since it allows normal SATA operation and RAID configuration.
- S.M.A.R.T. S.M.A.R.T. technology enables monitoring of hard drives so that potential hard drive failures can be reported before they happen, thus allowing data to be backed up prior to a fatal drive failure.
- SATA Port X and Primary Master / Slave This setting displays the devices that are connected to the SATA and IDE controllers.
- Floppy Configuration
The Drive Configuration menu configures drive settings for IDE and SATA controllers.
Used in conjunction with a hard drive monitoring utilities such as the free DiskCheckup by PassMark, S.M.A.R.T. reports on the time to spin up, attempts to reread or rewrite due to defective sectors, and head seek failures, along with basic hard drive manufactoring information and other basics (like hard drive temperature). This can be crucial information that gives a warning to save data before a hard drive crashes. A home hard drive that crashes is an annoyance. A company hard drive that crashes may lose that company thousands of dollars or more worth of data work and essential information. S.M.A.R.T. technology can be very useful.
- Diskette Controller Set to automatic to sense whether a floppy drive is installed, or set to enable or disable to turn the controller on or off.
- Diskette Write Protect This option should be set to enable to allow writing to floppy disks. Set to disable to only allow reading of floppy disks.
- Floppy Type This can be set to either 1.44MB or 2.88MB.
- Event Log Configuration
The Floppy Configuration menu enables or disables the floppy drive controller.
- View Event Log This displays all POST errors.
- Clear Event Log This option deletes all errors that were previously logged or retains event log errors when the system restarts.
- Event Logging Enables or disables event logging.
- Mark Events As Read This option sets all unread events as read.
- Video Configuration
All POST errors are logged. The Event Log Configuration menu allows users to look at these logs and configure the event log.
- DVMT Mode DVMT stands for Dynamic Video Memory Technology which sets the maximum amount of needed memory to be used for graphics, but not more than is needed so that system performance is not needlessly effected.
- IGD DVMT Memory This option sets how much system RAM is reserved for graphics. "Max" is the default and recommended setting.
- IGD Aperture Size Aperture memory is used when the video card's memory runs out. Set this to a lower setting if a video card with lots of memory is used or if graphical demands on the system will be low. If the system is used for games that require large amounts of texture memory, use the largest setting.
- Primary Video Adapter This option sets up which video adapter to use during the boot process. Auto allows the system to sense the monitor connection. PCI and PCIE allow a video card slot to be selected while Int Graphics (IGD) uses the integrated monitor port.
- Hardware Monitoring
- Chipset Configuration
This screen allows for the monitoring of critical voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds.
- Memory Configuration Memory configuration can be set to automatic, manual agressive, or manual user defined. Automatic sets all memory timings to be set according to the specifications of the detected memory. Manual aggressive sets all memory timings to their most agressive settings. Manual user defined allows manual setting of all SDRAM settings.
- PCI Express Configuration PCI Express settings such as the negotiated width of the installed PCIe card are displayed. Another option is Compliance Test Pattern, which must be enabled for this PCIe troubleshooting option to work.
- PCI Latency Timer The length of time that a device on a PC bus can hold the bus when another device has requested the bus. If this setting is high, devices may have to wait longer before they get a chance to send data on the PCI bus. If this setting is low, devices will switch control of the bus more often. This prevents large data bursts, which results in larger overheads and reduced performance of attached devices. System stability, however, may improve because devices do not have to wait for the bus. Usually this setting is in the middle which provides balanced system stability and device performance.
- HPET HPET is an improved timer that replaced the legacy 8254 Programmable Interval Timer and Real Time Clock which generate interrupts for hardware requests.This option should be set to enable.
- USB Configuration
- USB Ports This option enables or disables the USB ports.
- USB Legacy This option allows the BIOS to interact with a USB keyboard and mouse.
The Security Menu
The BIOS Security Menu deals with system security issues such as passwords, chassis intrusion, and virus protection.
Bios Security Menu
- Supervisor Password
- User Password
The Supervisor Password screen has one feature: setting up a master password for locking user(s) out of the system BIOS setup screen.
A supervisor password is used in large institutions where BIOS settings are kept standardized by a computer support staff. Once set, BIOS setups are locked with a master password only known to the network administrator or a designee. Password security prevents users from accidentally or experimentally changing the settings and causing system problems requiring intervention. You are not likely to find Supervisor password security outside of large institutions like corporations or large school districts.
When enabled, Password Security prompts you to enter a password, then enter it again for confirmation. Instructions for Supervisor Password are found in your motherboard manual.
If you accidentally engage Supervisor, bypass it easily by pressing the Enter key without entering a password at the prompt. Following the prompt, the message"Password Disabled!!!" will appear. Pressing any key will return you to the main setup screen.
The User Password option allows you to install a password that will keep the system from booting unless the proper password is entered. This option also prevents access to the BIOS.
Troubleshooting Tip
The BIOS password is a nice, basic security feature, but what if the password is forgotten?
The password can be cleared by removing the motherboard’s CMOS battery or by clearing the CMOS with a jumper on the motherboard. The BIOS will not be cleared because it is stored in ROM. The CMOS is actually a small section of the BIOS chip that is cleared with the loss of electricity.
- Expansion Card Text
- Chassis Intrusion
- XD Technology
This option enables or disables add-in BIOS cards (i.e. a SCSI/RAID card) todisplay text on the screen when initializing during system boot.
Chassis Intrusion can be either enabled or disabled. If Chassis Intrusion is enabled and a system's case is opened, this event is logged in the event log and the event is posted on the screen during the next POST. F4 must be pressed in order for POST and booting to continue. This will occur during every POST until Clear Chassis Intrusion Status is selected in the BIOS. Although most cases can be locked, this is a useful tool that can at least report if a case has been accessed by inappropriate persons.
This setting enables Intel's Execute Disable Bit technology, which protects data pages against attacks by malicious worms which attempt to execute large amounts of code that can overwhelm the processor. This option should be set to enable.
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You are attempting to enter a system's BIOS, but realize you've forgotten the password. What can you do? A. Use the generic password of BIOS1234. B. Contact the motherboard manufacturer for the override password. C. The password can be found in the operating system's registry. D. Clear the BIOS by removing the CMOS battery or by using jumpers. E. Buy a new computer or motherboard. There is no way to access the BIOS unless the password is entered. |
The Power Menu
The BIOS Power Menu allows changing the system’s optional device power management features. When device power management features are enabled, you can control if and when some devices in the system will go into sleep or into suspend mode.
Bios Power Menu
- After Power Failure
- Wake On LAN From S5
- Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology
- Wake System From S5
This setting sets the mode of operation if the AC power loss occurs. Stay Off means the power will stay off until the power button is pushed. Last State means that if the system was on it will turn back on once AC power is restored, however if the system was off it will remain off. Power On means that the system will turn on once AC power is restored.
This setting enables the system to turn on for a Wakeup On LAN event, or it disables this function.
Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology (EIST) allows a system to control processor voltage and core frequency in order to decrease power consumption.
This setting enables the system to turn on for a Wakeup event, or it disables this function.
The Boot and Exit Menu
The BIOS Boot Menu section allows boot features and the boot sequence to be set.
Bios Boot Menu
- Boot Device Priority
This option specifies the boot sequence according to device types.
- Hard Drive, CD/DVD-ROM, and Removable Drive Order
- Boot to Optical Devices, Removable Devices, and Network
- USB Boot
- Zip Emulation Type
- Boot USB Devices First
- USB Mass Storage Emulation Type
This option lists the name of the particular device to be used for the Boot Device Priority menu.
This option enables or disables booting through optical devices, removable devices, or through the network.
This option enables or disables booting through USB boot devices.
This option enables booting with a USB zip drive by setting it to emulate either a floppy or hard drive.
This option enables or disables USB devices to boot first.
This option sets the emulation type for USB drives. Auto checks and uses the USB drive's settings. All Removable sets the USB drive to emulate removable drives. All Fixed Disc sets the USB drive to emulate fixed discs. Finally, the Size setting sets the USB drive to emulate based on the media's size.
Troubleshooting Tip
If a computer will not boot up, make sure the proper boot order is set in the BIOS. For example, if you want the PC to boot off of the primary master hard-drive first and the CD-ROM second, set the boot order to C, CD-ROM.
Exiting and Saving Menu
The BIOS Exit menu presents various options to exit with or without saving changes to the BIOS settings and also allows the loading of default and optimal BIOS settings.
Bios Exit Menu
- Exit Saving Changes
- Exit Discarding Changes
- Load Optimal Defaults
- Load Custom Defaults
- Save Custom Defaults
- Discard Changes
Save and Exit Setup is the only setting for exiting the BIOS setup program and saving your changes to the CMOS chip. Although there are shortcuts, it is always best to use the exit feature to keep from accidentally losing all your setup modification entries.
Exit Without Saving discards all modified settings you have made to the BIOS and exits the BIOS.
This option provides a choice of whether to reset the BIOS setup screens to optimal default settings.
The BIOS Load Custom Defaults option provides a choice of whether to reset the BIOS setup screens to custom default settings. The Load Custom Defaults section returns the system to a stable state, helpful when it comes time to troubleshoot the system. Always be sure to document the BIOS settings before making any changes.
This option sets the current values as the custom default.
All changes to BIOS settings are discarded and returned to their previous states without exiting the BIOS setup.
