Difference between revisions of "Template:Laptop Build Guide BIOS"
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☐ Boot into BIOS.<br> | ☐ Boot into BIOS.<br> | ||
+ | ☐ Verify that BIOS recognizes about the same amount of RAM as is marked on the Keeper label. | ||
+ | *BIOS may report slightly less RAM than the total amount installed. It should not be less than a couple hundred megabytes. The 'missing' RAM is being actively used by the system.<br> | ||
☐ Find the section for setting boot options. Set the following boot order: | ☐ Find the section for setting boot options. Set the following boot order: | ||
*Optical drive first | *Optical drive first | ||
Line 5: | Line 7: | ||
*Network boot last. You may need to enable this option in another part of BIOS. | *Network boot last. You may need to enable this option in another part of BIOS. | ||
*Disable or ignore other options.<br> | *Disable or ignore other options.<br> | ||
− | |||
− | |||
☐ Make sure that no BIOS or administrative passwords are set. | ☐ Make sure that no BIOS or administrative passwords are set. | ||
*If you encounter a start-up or BIOS password, check with your instructor or visit the Free Geek wiki for further guidance. | *If you encounter a start-up or BIOS password, check with your instructor or visit the Free Geek wiki for further guidance. |
Revision as of 17:00, 28 December 2012
☐ Boot into BIOS.
☐ Verify that BIOS recognizes about the same amount of RAM as is marked on the Keeper label.
- BIOS may report slightly less RAM than the total amount installed. It should not be less than a couple hundred megabytes. The 'missing' RAM is being actively used by the system.
☐ Find the section for setting boot options. Set the following boot order:
- Optical drive first
- Hard Drive second
- Network boot last. You may need to enable this option in another part of BIOS.
- Disable or ignore other options.
☐ Make sure that no BIOS or administrative passwords are set.
- If you encounter a start-up or BIOS password, check with your instructor or visit the Free Geek wiki for further guidance.
Background information
- BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It is made up of software stored on a chip installed on the motherboard, rather than the hard drive.
- Different companies manufacture BIOS firmware chips. This is why different computers can have very different-looking BIOS screens.
- BIOS is being replaced by something called Extensible Firmware Interface, or EFI. You may encounter this on newer systems. Functionally, it will appear very similar to BIOS.