4. BIOS Configuration
After the hardware configuration of the mainboard is finished, and the
system hardware has been assembled, the system may be pow-ered up. At
this point, CMOS setup should be run to ensure that system information is
correct.
The mainboard employs the latest Award BIOS CMOS chip with support
for Windows Plug and Play. This CMOS chip contains the ROM Setup in-
structions for configuring the mainboard’s BIOS. The BIOS (Basic Input
and Output System) Setup program is a menu driven utility that enables you
to make changes to the system configuration and tailor your system to suit
your individual work needs. It is a ROM-based configuration utility that
displays the system’s configuration status and provides you with a tool to
set system pa-rameters. These parameters are stored in non-volatile battery-
backed-up CMOS RAM that saves this information even when the power is
turned off. When the system is turned back on, the system is config-ured
with the values found in CMOS.
Using easy-to-use pull down menus, you can configure such items as:
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Hard drives, diskette drives, and peripherals
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Video display type and display options
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Password protection from unauthorized use
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Power management features
The settings made in the Setup program intimately affect how the com-
puter performs. It is important, therefore, first to try to under-stand all the
Setup’s options, and second, to make settings appropriate for the way you
use the computer. This chapter provides clear explanations for all Setup
options.
