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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup
Introduction to the BIOS setup
The BIOS is the basic input/output system, required by the computer to perform functions such as
CPU and hard drive support. This chapter describes different settings for the BIOS that can be
used to configure your system.
The BIOS section of the manual is subject to change without notice and is provided here for
reference purposes only. The settings and configurations of the BIOS are current at the time of
print, and therefore they may not be exactly the same as that displayed on your screen.
This manual describes the BIOS setup program. The setup program lets you modify basic
configuration settings. The settings are then stored in a dedicated battery-backed memory, called
NVRAM, that retains the information when the power is turned off.
The BIOS in your motherboard is a customized version of industry-standard BIOS for IBM PC AT-
compatible personal computers. It supports Intel x86 and compatible processors. The BIOS
provides critical low-level support for the system central processing, memory, and I/O subsystems.
The BIOS has been customized by adding important, but non-standard, features such as virus
and password protection, power management, and detailed fine-tuning of the chipset controlling
the system. The rest of this manual is intended to guide you through the process of configuring
your system using this BIOS setup program.
Starting Setup
The BIOS is immediately activated when you first turn on the computer. The BIOS reads system
configuration information in CMOS RAM and begins the process of checking out the system and
configuring it through the Power-On Self Test (POST).
When these preliminaries are finished, the BIOS will seek an operating system on one of the data
storage devices (HDD, floppy drive, etc.) If one is found, the BIOS will launch that operating
system and hand control of system operations to it. You can start the setup program by pressing
the [F2] key while the system is booting up.
Setup Keys
The table below shows how to navigate in the setup program using the keyboard.
Left/Right Arrow Keys
Up/Down Arrow Keys
PgUp/PgDn Keys
Key
Tab
Enter
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Function
Moves from one selection to the
next
Change from one menu to the
next
Move between selections
Opens highlighted selection
Change highlighted selection
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