American Megatrends MegaDual, User Manual

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Chapter 2 AMIBIOS Setup 55
2 AMIBIOS Setup
In ISA and EISA computers, the system parameters (such as amount of memory, type of
disk drives and video displays, and many other elements) are stored in CMOS RAM.
Unlike the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) that is used for standard system
memory, CMOS RAM requires very little power. When the computer is turned off, a back-
up battery provides power to CMOS RAM, which retains the system parameters. Every
time the computer is powered-on, the computer is configured with the values stored in
CMOS RAM by the system BIOS, which gains control when the computer is powered on.
The system parameters are configured by a system BIOS Setup utility. Historically, BIOS
Setup utilities have been character-based, required keyboard input, and have had user
interfaces that were not very intuitive.
Starting AMIBIOS Setup As POST executes, the following appears:
Press Delete to run Setup.
After you press <Delete>, the main menu for the BIOS Setup Utility displays. From the
main menu, you can access the other setup screens, such as the Chipset and Power
menus.