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BIOS SETUP
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CPU Internal Cache / External Cache
Cache memory is additional memory that is much faster than conventional DRAM (system
memory). CPUs from 486-type and higher contain internal cache memory. Most, but not all,
modern PCs have additional (external) cache memory. When the CPU requests data, the
system transfers the requested data from the main DRAM into cache memory for even
faster access by the CPU. The “External Cache” field may not appear if your system does
not have external cache memory.
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CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking
Select “Enabled” to make sure the data is accurate.
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Processor Number Feature
Make the CPU Serial number function active. (Only in PIII CPU)
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Quick Power On Self Test
Select “Enabled” to reduce the amount of time required to run the Power On Self Test
(POST). The Quick POST skips certain steps. We recommend that you normally disable
Quick POST. It’s better to find a problem during POST than to lose data during your work.
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First / Second / Third / Other Boot Device
The original IBM PCs load the DOS operating system from drive A (floppy disk). So, IBM
PC-compatible systems are designed to search for an operating system first on drive A, and
then on drive C (hard disk). However, the BIOS attempts to load the operating system from
the devices in the sequence selected in these fields. In addition to the traditional drives A
(“Floppy”) and C (“HDD-0”), options include “HDD-1”, “HDD-2”, “HDD-3”, and “CD-ROM”;
plus a “SCSI” hard drive, a “LS/ZIP” drive and a “LAN” drive. If your boot device is not
included in the list, you can set the “Boot Other Device” field to “Enabled”, and let the system
detect the drive automatically.
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Swap Floppy Drive
This field is effective only in systems with two floppy drives. Selecting “Enabled” assigns
physical drive B to logical drive A, and physical drive A to logical drive B.
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Boot Up Floppy Seek
When you select “Enabled”, the BIOS tests (seeks) floppy drives to determine whether they
have 40 or 80 tracks. Only 360-KB floppy drives have 40 tracks; drives with 720KB, 1.2MB,
and 1.44MB capacity all have 80 tracks. Because very few modern PCs have 40-track
floppy drives, we recommend that you set this field to “Disabled” to save time.
