RouterBOARD 200 Series User's Manual
option marked with '*'.
Configurable Options
boot delay
- how much time to wait for a key stroke while booting (0..10 seconds; 1 second by
default).
boot key
- which key will cause the BIOS to enter configuration mode during
boot delay
(any key |
<Delete> key only; any key by default). Note that in some serial terminal programs, it is impossible to
use the [Delete] key to enter the setup – in this case it might be possible to do this with the [Backspace]
key.
serial console
– to configure initial serial console bitrate (1200 | 2400 | 4800 | 9600 | 19200 | 38400 |
57600 | 115200; 9600 bps by default).
debug level
– BIOS debug level (none | low | high; low by default). If set to
high
, the BIOS displays
much information about the boot process, that may be used for debugging.
boot device
– initial boot device(s) (IDE | Etherboot | Etherboot (timeout 15s), IDE | Etherboot (timeout
1m), IDE | Etherboot (timeout 5m), IDE | Etherboot (timeout 15s), IDE | Etherboot (timeout 30m), IDE |
IDE, try Etherboot first on next boot (15s) | IDE, try Etherboot first on next boot (1m) | IDE, try
Etherboot first on next boot (5m) | IDE, try Etherboot first on next boot (30m); IDE default).
beep on boot
– whether to beep during boot procedure (yes | no; yes by default).
vga to serial
– whether to map VGA output to the serial console (yes | no; yes by default). Should be
enabled if working via serial terminal.
ata translation
– configures ATA block translation mode (auto | none | lba | large; auto by default).
Should be left by default in most cases. Only if the installed OS is configured to use other translation
methods, you may have to adjust this parameter manually.
memory settings
– SDRAM memory speed (optimal | fail-safe; auto by default). When set to
optimal
,
the BIOS tries to determine the correct memory settings by itself. Set to
fail-safe
if you are experiencing
memory-related errors (generally random, not reproducible errors and freezes). In this case, minimal
timing parameters are used, so most memory modules will work reliably.
memory test
– whether to test all the RAM during boot procedure (yes | no; no by default). If set to
no
then the first megabyte of RAM is tested anyway. Enabling this option may cause longer boot process.
cpu mode
– whether to enter CPU suspend mode on HTL instruction (power save | regular; power save
by default). Most OSs use HLT instruction during CPU idle cycle. When CPU is in suspend mode, it
consumes less power, but in low-temperature conditions (below 0°C) it is recommended to choose
regular
mode, so that overall system temperature would be higher.
pci back-off
– When enabled, external PCI masters can access system memory even when a CPU cycle
has been retried (enabled | disabled; enabled by default). If you are experiencing uncommon problems
with PCI/PCMCIA/CardBUS interfaces (including RouterBOARD is rebooting or hanging up once in a
while), try to disable this.
reset configuration
– whether to reset all the BIOS settings to their respective default values (yes | no;
no by default).
bios upgrade through serial port
– receive a new BIOS image using XModem protocol
bios license information
– prints the BIOS license agreement.
How to choose PCI Back-off value
Common practice, how to choose the
pci back-off
parameter value:
●
Keep enabled if you are using Atheros PCMCIA cards
●
Enable on newer RouterBOARD 200 boards (with 266MHz CPU clock) with Atheros MiniPCI cards in
RouterBOARD 14 (4-port MiniPCI-PCI) adapter
●
Disable on older RouterBOARD 200 boards (with 233MHz CPU clock) with Atheros MiniPCI cards in
RouterBOARD 14 (4-port MiniPCI-PCI) adapter
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