| Bringing a machine to life - setting up the BIOS, operating system, and drivers: When all of the parts have been secured in a case, and all of the cables have been connected to the motherboard, a new computer is still far from being ready for use. Turn it on, and it will be unable to do much more than count the memory it contains. In order to bring this collection of parts to life, the system "BIOS" needs to be configured, the hard drive needs to be partitioned and formatted, and the operating system ("OS") needs to be copied to the HD, installed, and loaded with drivers to run the particular pieces of hardware that make up your machine. The BIOS is a program built into a chip on the motherboard, the memory of which is maintained by a battery that is also attached to the motherboard. VIDEO: BIOS chip and battery (You may want to view the videos on this page in full screen mode, so that the text can be read). The BIOS is the first program that runs when a computer is turned on. It runs a series of "POST" tests to count and test the memory, to check that the video card and monitor are plugged in, to check that the hard drive is working, etc… During startup, the BIOS also gives you the option to configure and save information about the time, date, and system components plugged into the motherboard, with the BIOS SETUP program. The BIOS setup program is typically run by pressing the [Delete], [F1], or [F2] keys immediately after startup. The BIOS will display a message upon startup (usually right after counting the RAM memory) to indicate that a certain key may be pressed to enter SETUP. Watch for a message such as "Press DEL to enter SETUP". Press the selected key, and computer will prompt you with the main menu of the BIOS setup program. PHOTO: delete to enter BIOS VIDEO: Entering BIOS The BIOS setup program is typically a simple text based environment in which you highlight the menu option you want to set up, then use cursor keys and text input to configure basic system parameters. The essential sections of the BIOS program you will deal with include time and date settings, IDE device settings, and boot sequence: PHOTO: Bios closeup Note the directions on the bottom of the BIOS screen that tell you which keys to use to navigate the BIOS menus. Time and Date: Set the time and date, using the keys specified on the BIOS screen. These settings are typically found in the "Standard Configuration" menu. VIDEO: BIOS time and date IDE device settings (HD configuration): Most modern BIOS's will automatically detect all hard drives which can be installed on the motherboard IDE cables. When working with older systems, however, you may be prompted to enter the "cylinder, head, and sector" values printed on the outside of the hard drive. PHOTO: hard drive cylinder head sector markings VIDEOS: BIOS IDE detection, BIOS IDE manual setup BIOS floppy setup: Most modern computers have one 3.5 inch, 1.44 Meg floppy drive installed. All modern BIOSes are set with this configuration by default. If you want to add or remove floppy drives, you will need to let the BIOS know of the changes. VIDEO: BIOS floppy setup Boot sequence: The order of drives the computer will search to find an operating system. The OS (i.e., Windows) is typically installed on drive C (the hard drive installed as PRIMARY MASTER), but the computer is often set up to check for inserted bootable floppy and CD-ROM disks (usually used to bypass the normal system start for diagnostic, setup, or repair purposes). VIDEO: Bios boot order BIOS power settings: Most BIOSes include a section of settings which allow your computer to automacially suspend system, HD, and video function after a specfied amount of time, in order to save power and wear/tear on the system. You can, for example, set the BIOS to turn the monitor signal off if the machine hasn’t been used for 20 minutes. VIDEO: Bios power management BIOS passwords: Most modern BIOSes allow you to password protect the computer system from use and alteration. The “User” password setting requires a password to be entered every time the computer is turned on. The “Supervisor” password setting requires a password to be entered whenever the BIOS setup program is accessed. (NOTE: BIOS passwords, and all other BIOS settings can be deleted and set to the original factory settings by removing the battery which maintains those settings. This trick is useful when BIOS passwords have been lost or forgotten). VIDEO: BIOS passwords, BIOS chip and battery Peripheral device settings: Very often, devices contained on the motherboard, such as printer ports, serial and USB connectors, mouse ports, internal IDE connectors and other parts of the motherboard may need to be shut off or changed to bypass hardware conflicts and software/operating system problems. These settings, as well as the majority of the other settings found in the BIOS should only be tampered with when specifically directed by a knowledgeable technician, such as a software or hardware vendor. Your computer has a limited number of resources (memory addresses, IRQ, or “interupt” requests, DMA, or “direct memory access” resources, etc.). If you can’t get a piece of plug and play hardware to be found, for example, you may have to change one of these settings in the BIOS in order for the machine to find the new hardware. Hardware manuals that come with your new hardware, and technical support staff of the manufacturer will provide directions for making these changes, if they are needed. VIDEO: Bios peripheral settings BIOS plug ‘n play/resource configuration: As with peripheral settings, some unique ISA and PCI cards may need to have changes made to the “plug and play” settings in the BIOS. If you can’t get a piece of plug and play hardware to be found, you may have to change one of these settings in the BIOS in order for the machine to find the new hardware. These settings should only be adjutsed when specifically directed by a knowledgeable technician, such as a hardware vendor. VIDEO: BIOS plug n play/resource configuration BIOS CPU setup: In the earlier hardware lesson outlining CPU setup, the CPU jumper setup process was described. Many new motherboards and BIOS's eliminate the need to touch physical jumpers on the motherboard. Instead, they allow you to set the CPU parameters within a menu in the BIOS: Bus frequency (i.e., 66, 75,83, 100, 133 MHz), multiplier (1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, 3.0x, …), and voltage (2.4V, 2.9V, 3.3V, …) can be found on the CPU and entered directly into the BIOS via keystrokes. Many modern boards, in fact, will automatically detect and enter these settings for you.
Saving and Exiting the BIOS: When you are done configuring hardware settings in the BIOS, you must save the settings (which are maintained by a small battery even when the computer is off). If you are not sure about the settings, you can exit without saving changes. In both cases, the computer will need to restart, run POST tests again, and then begin to load the operating system. VIDEO: BIOS save and exit Other settings: BIOS configuration is unique to every motherboard. Regarless of the appearance or interface, all BIOS setup programs provide the same basic options. All BIOS options are described in detail in the manual that comes with your motherboard. You may see other advanced settings such as the following (very rarely with you ever deal with these settings - do so only if directed by a knowledgable third party). VIDEO: Advanced chipset features setup Some BIOS screens make use of a mouse and a graphical screen (this format is NOT so popular). The following video shows all of the BIOS settings described and illustrated in the above sections, in a graphical BIOS environment: VIDEO: graphic BIOS |
