LS/VS660 OWNER’S HANDBOOK 7/1
7
SYSTEM BIOS AND SETUP
BIOS (pronounced ‘bye-oss’) stands for basic input/output system.
The BIOS operates at the boundary between the computer’s
hardware (the processor, memory and so on) and its software (the
operating system and your program), and effectively mediates
between the two.
The BIOS is permanently encoded in an area of read-only memory
(ROM), although it can be modified if necessary by an authorised
maintainer. This does require very specialist software.
BIOS Setup is a utility programmed into the computer’s BIOS
ROM. Its main purpose is to allow you to view and alter the
computer’s hardware configuration. It is also used to configure
various security and power-saving options. Configuring the
computer is necessary to ensure that the software you use can
recognise and exploit the hardware’s capabilities.
The current configuration is kept in a special area of memory, called
CMOS memory, and maintained by a small battery so that the
configuration is preserved even while the computer is switched off.
Your computer arrives already configured, but may need to be
configured again after you add or remove add-on options such as
memory modules or expansion cards.
Caution
Caution
The BIOS has been set in our factory for the optimum system
performance and operation. It is not advisable to alter any settings
under normal use.
For your safety, you should make a note of your current BIOS
settings as given on the ‘ System summary’. A space for this is
provided on page 14 of this chapter.
