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Chapter 3: BIOS Setup
3.1. About the BIOS
The BIOS is the basic input/output system, the firmware on the motherboard
that enables your hardware to interface with your software. The BIOS
determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk.
The BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen,
disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.
This chapter describes the various BIOS settings that can be used to configure
your system.
The BIOS section of this manual is subject to change without notice and is
provided for reference purposes only. The settings and configurations of the
BIOS are current at the time of print and are subject to change, and therefore
may not match exactly what is displayed on screen.
This section describes the BIOS setup program. The setup program lets you
modify basic configuration settings. The settings are then stored in a dedicated,
battery-backed memory (called NVRAM) that retains the information even when
the power is turned off.
To start the BIOS setup utility:
1. Turn on or reboot your system.
2. Press <F2> during POST (F4 on remote console) to start the BIOS setup
utility.
3.1.1 Setup Basics
The table below shows how to navigate in the setup program using the
keyboard.
Key Function
Tab Moves from one selection to the next
Left/Right Arrow Keys Changes from one menu to the next
Up/Down Arrow Keys Moves between selections
Enter Opens highlighted section
PgUp/PgDn Keys Changes settings.
3.1.2 Getting Help
Pressing [F1] will display a small help window that describes the appropriate
keys to use and the possible selections for the highlighted item. To exit the Help
Window, press [ESC] or the [F1] key again.