Booting the System for the First Time

05.48 Hasyim Asyari 0 Comments

Booting the System for the First Time.

What is BIOS?

• BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System.
• It contains the program code required to control all the basic operating components of the computer system.
• BIOS contains the software required to test hardware at boot up, load the operating system, and support the transfer of data between hardware components.

• The BIOS function runs basic device test programs and then seeks to configure these devices.
• The system BIOS and the information required to configure it is stored on a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) chip.
• CMOS is a battery-powered storage chip located on the system board.
• The CMOS chip has rewritable memory since the configuration data can be changed or updated as the components or devices in the computer are changed.

Entering the BIOS Configuration.

• When setting up the computer for the first time, it is necessary to run the CMOS Configuration Setup utility.
• Simply pressing the delete key during the opening boot sequence provides access to the BIOS on some computers.

Standard CMOS Setup Screen.

• Standard CMOS setup screen includes the basic operating parameters that need to be set for the system to work correctly.
• These BIOS features are typically universal for all PCs.
• The fields available for entering configuration data that are commonly find in this screen are: Date, Time, Hard Disks, Drive A, Drive B, Video, and Halt On.

BIOS Features and Chipset Features Setup Screens.

• The BIOS Features Setup screen provides advanced features that control the behavior of the system.
• This screen is where the system hardware can be fine-tuned for optimal performance.
• The Chipset Features Setup screen allows the fine-tuning of the control parameters for the main system chipset.

Power Management and Plug and Play screens.

• The Power Management Setup screen controls the optional power management for devices on the computer.
• The PnP/PCI Configuration screen contains the feature settings used to control the system I/O bus and Interrupt Request (IRQ) and Direct Memory Access (DMA) allocation for ISA and PCI Plug and Play (PnP) devices.
• The “Resource Controlled By” setting when set by default to Automatic Configuration, the BIOS will automatically manage the interrupts and direct memory access channels on the I/O bus for the PnP devices to avoid conflicts with any legacy (non-PnP) ISA devices.
• In general, the default settings should be used for this section of the BIOS setup when working on newer systems, because any manual configurations require a good knowledge of the bus devices installed.

Integrated Peripherals and Fixed Disk Detection Screens.


Used to configure the control of integrated peripheral support on the motherboard.
Integrated peripherals typically include such devices as the onboard floppy and hard drive controllers, USB controller, serial ports, parallel ports, and the sound card chip.









Password Screens and the Load Setup Defaults Screen.

• There are two password screens that will be encountered in the BIOS setup:
• Supervisor Password
• User Password
• The Load Setup Defaults screen resets the BIOS setup to default settings.

BIOS Exit Options.

• There are two BIOS exit options:

1. Save and Exit Setup
2. Exit Without Saving Setup

• When exiting and saving settings, the computer will restart according to the new configuration.

Startup Sequence.

• Whenever a computer starts up, a series of tests are automatically performed to check the primary components in the system, such as the CPU, ROM, memory, and motherboard support circuitry.
• The routine that carries out this function is referred to as Power-on self-test (POST).
• The POST routine provides error or warning messages whenever it encounters a faulty component.
• The POST routine provides error or warning messages whenever it encounters a faulty component.
• Post error codes take the form of a series of beeps that identify a faulty hardware component.
• If a problem is detected, a different number of beeps will be heard, sometimes in a combination of short and long tones.
• These are mainly BIOS-dependent codes. They vary according to BIOS manufacturer and even between different versions of BIOS.
• Problems that occur during the POST are usually caused by incorrect hardware configuration or installation. Actual hardware failure is rare.