IBM PCM-5896 Computer Hardware User Manual


 
Chapter 3 Award BIOS Setup 57
The displayed configuration is based on the manufacturer's SETUP
DEFAULTS settings.
Virus Warning
When enabled, you receive a warning message if a program
(specifically, a virus) attempts to write to the boot sector or the
partition table of the hard disk drive. You should then run an anti-
virus program. Keep in mind that this feature protects only the boot
sector, not the entire hard drive.
NOTE: Many disk diagnostic programs that access the boot
sector table can trigger the virus warning message. If you plan to
run such a program, we recommend that you first disable the virus
warning.
CPU Internal Cache/External Cache
Cache memory is additional memory that is much faster than
conventional DRAM (system memory). CPUs from 486-type on up
contain internal cache memory, and 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.
Quick Power On Self Test
Select Enabled to reduce the amount of time required to run the
power-on-self-test (POST). A quick POST skips certain steps. We
recommend that you normally disable quick POST. Better to find a
problem during POST than lose data during your work.
Boot Sequence
The original IBM PCs loaded 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 now offers many boot sequence
options.