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Chapter 3
BIOS Introduction
The BIOS is a program that lives in the flash memory of the
motherboard. This program acts a bridge between the motherboard and
the operating system. When the computer is started, the BIOS performs
a self test called POST (Power On Self Test) and runs through a series
of auto diagnostic tests. These tests are checking the hardware and
configuring the parameters for synchronization. Once the POST has
been completed, the computer will start the Operating System (OS) and
allow the user to start using the computer. Since the BIOS is the only
channel for hardware and software to communicate, it is the key factor
for system stability ensuring that the system performance is at its best.
In the BIOS Setup Main Menu, there are several options to choose from
when configuring the system. These options will be explained step by
step in the following pages of this chapter. Below is a short description
of the function keys that will be used to navigate through the BIOS
menu.
Press the ESC key to quit the BIOS Setup.
Press the ↑↓←→ (up, down, left, right) arrow keys, from the main
menu, to select the categories that need to be modified.
Press the F10 key to Exit and Save the changes that were made to
the BIOS.
Press the Page Up/Page Down keys to modify the BIOS
parameters for the active option.
Entering the BIOS Setup
Enter the BIOS Setup by pressing the DEL key just before the system
starts to POST. In the event the DEL key was not pressed in-time,
restart the system and try again. This can be done by pressing the
Reset button on the front of the system case or by turning the power
OFF and then ON. Pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL keys simultaneously
will also restart the system.
Getting Help Once Inside the BIOS Setup
Once inside the BIOS Setup, the F1 key can be pressed to popup a
small help window that that describes the appropriate keys to use and
the possible selections for the highlighted item. To exit the Help
Window, press ESC.
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