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BIOS
One of the most important parts of every computer is the BIOS (Basic Input Output System). It contains instructions that tell the CPU how to deal with input and output. The PC reads the BIOS before it even loads the OS and most PC's test their own hardware and report serious errors during start time through POST (Power ON Self Test) written in BIOS. The BIOS reports POST errors through the use of "beep codes" as well as through hexadecimal codes written to established I/O addresses (called POST codes). Error codes vary depending on the system.
Before you make any changes in the BIOS don't forget to print out the BIOS Setup or to write it down. To enter the BIOS you usually need to press DEL during Setup, but this also depends on the manufacturer (for IBM it's F1). Once you are inside, you can move between the menupoints using the keyboard arrows, select a menupoint by pressing ENTER, press F1 to get some help and leave the Setup by pressing ESC.
The BIOS Setup menu-names differ between manufacturers. Here are some AMI-BIOS options: Hardware Monitor Setup (information about the CPU temperature etc), Standard CMOS Setup (time, date, floppy, hard drive parameter), Advanced CMOS Setup (Shadow-RAM, Cache, Keyboard repeat rate, Boot sequence etc), Power Management BIOS Setup, Autoconfiguration with Optimal Settings (here are the values the Mainboard manufacturer has set as optimal) and so on.
For example, the First- and Second-Level-Cache can be activated and deactivated. If only one of them is disabled, you can have considerable performance loss.Disclaimer: Changes made inside the BIOS can produce serious problems if you make a mistake. Use the information at this page at your own risk.
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