Template:Laptop Build Guide BIOS
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☐ Boot into BIOS.
☐ 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.
☐ 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.
☐ 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 very new systems. Functionally, it will appear very similar to BIOS.