Phoenix MicroATX Express, Installation Manual

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Chapter 2: BIOS Configuration
Chapter 2 AMIBIOS8 Setup
Your Phoenix MicroATX Express features American Megatrends AMIBIOS8. The system configuration parameters
are set via the BIOS setup. Since the BIOS Setup resides in the ROM BIOS, it is available each time the computer is
turned on.
American Megatrends’s AMIBIOS8 brand BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) pre-boot firmware is the industry’s
standard product used by most designers of X86 computer equipment in the world today. Its superior combination of
configurability and functionality enables it to satisfy the most demanding ROM BIOS needs for x86 designers. Its
modular architecture and high degree of configurability make it the most flexible BIOS in the world.
When your platform is powered on, AMIBIOS8 tests and initializes the hardware and programs the chipset and
other peripheral components. During this time, Power On Self Test (POST) progress codes are written by the system
BIOS to I/O port 80h, allowing the user to monitor the progress with a special monitor. Appendix B lists the POST
codes and their meanings.
During early POST, no video is available to display error messages should a critical error be encountered; therefore,
POST uses beeps on the speaker to indicate the failure of a critical system component during this time. Consult
Appendix B for a list of Beep codes used by the BIOS.
Starting BIOS Setup
AMIBIOS has been integrated into many motherboards for over a decade. In the past, people often referred to the
AMIBIOS setup menu as BIOS, BIOS setup, or CMOS setup.
American Megatrends refers to this setup as ezPORT. Specifically, it is the name of theAMIBIOS8 BIOS setup
utility. This chapter describes the basic navigation of the ezPORT setup screens.
To enter the ezPORT setup screens, follow the steps below:
1 Power on the motherboard
2 Press the <Delete> key on your keyboard when you see the following text prompt:
Press DEL to run Setup
3 After you press the <Delete> key, the ezPORT main BIOS setup menu displays. You can access the other setup
screens from the main BIOS setup menu, such as the Chipset and PCI/PnP menus.
BIOS Setup Main Menu
The ezPORT main BIOS setup menu is the first screen that you can navigate. Each main BIOS setup menu option is
described in the Chapter 2.
The Main BIOS setup menu screen has two main frames. The left frame displays all the options that can be
configured. “Grayed-out” options cannot be configured. Options in blue can be.
The right frame displays the key legend. Above the key legend is an area reserved for a text message. When an
option is selected in the left frame, it is highlighted in white. Often a text message will accompany it.
The ezPORT BIOS setup/utility uses a key-based navigation system called hot keys. Most of the ezPORT BIOS
setup utility hot keys can be used at any time during the setup navigation process. These keys include <F1>, <F10>,
<Enter>, <ESC>, <Arrow> keys, and so on.
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