Difference between revisions of "Template:Laptop Build Guide BIOS"
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☐ Verify that BIOS recognizes about the same amount of RAM as is marked on the Keeper label. | ☐ 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 more than a couple hundred megabytes. The 'missing' RAM is being reserved by the system.<br> | *BIOS may report slightly less RAM than the total amount installed. It should not be more than a couple hundred megabytes. The 'missing' RAM is being reserved by the system.<br> | ||
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☐ '''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. | ||
Latest revision as of 12:45, 19 September 2013
☐ Boot into BIOS.
☐ Find the section for setting boot options. Set the following boot order:
First: Optical Drive Second: Hard Drive Third: Network Device (also called LAN, Onboard NIC, or PXE)
- Disable or ignore other devices.
☐ 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 more than a couple hundred megabytes. The 'missing' RAM is being reserved by the system.
☐ 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.