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Overview of BIOS Features
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3.3.2 PCI IDE Support
If you select Auto in the BIOS Setup program, the BIOS automatically sets up the
PCI IDE connector with independent I/O channel support. The IDE interface supports
hard drives up to ATA-66/100/133 and recognizes any ATAPI compliant devices,
including CD-ROM drives, tape drives, and Ultra DMA drives. The BIOS determines the
capabilities of each drive and configures them to optimize capacity and performance.
To take advantage of the high capacities typically available today, hard drives are
automatically configured for Logical Block Addressing (LBA) and to PIO Mode 3 or 4,
depending on the capability of the drive. You can override the auto-configuration
options by specifying manual configuration in the BIOS Setup program.
To use ATA-66/100/133 features the following items are required:
• An ATA-66/100/133 peripheral device
• An ATA-66/100/133 compatible cable
• ATA-66/100/133 operating system device drivers
NOTE
Do not connect an ATA device as a slave on the same IDE cable as an ATAPI master
device. For example, do not connect an ATA hard drive as a slave to an ATAPI
CD-ROM drive.
3.4 System Management BIOS (SMBIOS)
SMBIOS is a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) compliant method for managing
computers in a managed network.
The main component of SMBIOS is the Management Information Format (MIF)
database, which contains information about the computing system and its
components. Using SMBIOS, a system administrator can obtain the system types,
capabilities, operational status, and installation dates for system components. The
MIF database defines the data and provides the method for accessing this information.
The BIOS enables applications such as third-party management software to use
SMBIOS. The BIOS stores and reports the following SMBIOS information:
• BIOS data, such as the BIOS revision level
• Fixed-system data, such as peripherals, serial numbers, and asset tags
• Resource data, such as memory size, cache size, and processor speed
• Dynamic data, such as event detection and error logging
Non-Plug and Play operating systems require an additional interface for obtaining the
SMBIOS information. The BIOS supports an SMBIOS table interface for such operating
systems. Using this support, an SMBIOS service-level application running on a
non-Plug and Play operating system can obtain the SMBIOS information. Additional
board information can be found in the BIOS under the Additional Information header
under the Main BIOS page.