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BIOS
The motherboard's system BIOS is contained in a flash memory device on the motherboard. The
BIOS provides the power-on self test (POST), the BIOS Setup program, and the PCI and IDE auto-
configuration utilities.
The BIOS is always shadowed. Shadowing allows BIOS routines to be executed from fast 64-bit
onboard DRAM instead of from the slower 8-bit flash memory device.
BIOS Upgrades
Because the BIOS is stored in a flash memory device, you can upgrade the BIOS by using a
software utility on a diskette or hard disk, or over a network. For information on upgrading the
BIOS, see Chapter 4.
PCI Auto Configuration
If you install a PCI add-in board in your computer, the PCI auto-configuration utility in the BIOS
automatically detects and configures the resources (IRQs, DMA channels, and I/O space) for that
add-in board. You do not need to run the BIOS Setup program after you install a PCI add-in
board.
However, PCI add-in boards use the same IRQ resources as ISA add-in boards. If you install both
a PCI and an ISA add-in board, you must specify the IRQ used by the ISA card. The PCI auto
configuration program complies with version 2.1 of the PCI BIOS specification.
IDE Auto Configuration
If you install an IDE device (e.g., a hard drive) in your computer, the IDE auto-configuration
utility in the BIOS automatically detects and configures the device for your computer. You do not
need to run the BIOS Setup program after installing an IDE device.
ISA Plug and Play Capability
The motherboard provides auto configuration of Plug and Play ISA cards and resource
management for legacy (non-Plug and Play) ISA cards when used with the ISA Configuration
Utility (ICU) or a Plug and Play compatible operating system like Windows 95 and Windows 98.
To obtain the ICU, contact your computer supplier.
Security Passwords
The BIOS includes security features that restrict whether the BIOS Setup program can be accessed
and who can boot the computer. A supervisor password and a user password can be set for the
Setup program and for booting the computer, with the following restrictions:
The supervisor password gives unrestricted access to view and change all the Setup options in
the Setup program. This is supervisor mode.
The user password gives restricted access to view and change Setup options in the Setup
program. This is user mode.
SE440BX-2 Motherboard Product Guide
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