Phoenix Technologies Award BIOS Setup Utility User Guide

AWARDBIOS CMOS SETUP UTILITY

Version 4.51G

(C) Copyright 1999 Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.

All Rights Reserved

Documentation Revision 1.2H

Notice

The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
The software described in this guide is furnished under a license agreement and may be used or

copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
Phoenix Technologies, Ltd. shall not be liable for technical or editorial omissions made herein; nor

for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the furnishing, performance, or use of this
material.

This guide contains information protected by copyright. No part of this guide may be photocopied
or reproduced in any form without prior written consent from Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.

January 4, 1999

1

Table of Contents

Introduction - 3

Section 1 -- Main Menu - 6

Section 2 -- Standard CMOS Setup - 8

Section 3 -- BIOS Features Setup - 12

Section 4 -- Password Setting - 18

Appendix A -- POST Messages - 19

Appendix B -- POST Codes - 24

Appendix C -- BIOS Default Drive Table - 29

Appendix D -- Low-Level Format Utility - 32

2

Introduction

This manual discusses Phoenix Technologies's Setup program built into the ROM BIOS. The
Setup program allows users to modify the basic system configuration. This special information is
then stored in battery-backed RAM so that it retains the Setup information when the power is
turned off.

The Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS installed in your computer system's ROM (Read Only
Memory) is a custom version of an industry standard BIOS. This means that it supports
Intel/Cyrix/AMD processors in a standard IBM-AT compatible input/output system. The BIOS
provides critical low-level support for standard devices such as disk drives and serial and parallel
ports.

The Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS has been customized by adding important, but non­standard, features such as virus and password protection as well as special support for detailed
fine-tuning of the chipset controlling the entire system.

The rest of this manual is intended to guide you through the process of configuring your system
using Setup.

Starting Setup

The Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS is immediately activated when you first power on the
computer. The BIOS reads the system information contained in the CMOS and begins the process
of checking out the system and configuring it. When it finishes, the BIOS will seek an operating
system on one of the disks and then launch and turn control over to the operating system.

While the BIOS is in control, the Setup program can be activated in one of two ways:

1. By pressing <Del> immediately after switching the system on, or

2. by pressing the <Del> key or by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl>, <Alt>, and <Esc> keys
when the following message appears briefly at the bottom of the screen during the POST
(Power On Self Test).

TO ENTER SETUP BEFORE BOOT PRESS CTRL-ALT-ESC OR DEL KEY

If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup, restart the
system to try again by turning it OFF then ON or pressing the "RESET" button on the
system case. You may also restart by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl>, <Alt>, and <Delete>
keys. If you do not press the keys at the correct time and the system does not boot, an
error message will be displayed and you will again be asked to...

PRESS F1 TO CONTINUE, CTRL-ALT-ESC OR DEL TO ENTER SETUP

3

Using Setup

In general, you use the arrow keys to highlight items, press <Enter> to select, use the PageUp and
PageDown keys to change entries, press <F1> for help and press <Esc> to quit. The following
table provides more detail about how to navigate in the Setup program using the keyboard.

Up arrow Move to previous item
Down arrow Move to next item
Left arrow Move to the item in the left hand
Right arrow Move to the item in the right hand
Esc key Main Menu -- Quit and not save changes into CMOS

Status Page Setup Menu and Option Page Setup Menu

-- Exit current page and return to Main Menu
PgUp key Increase the numeric value or make changes
PgDn key Decrease the numeric value or make changes
+ key Increase the numberic value or make changes

- key Decrease the numberic value or make changes
F1 key General help, only for Status Page Setup Menu and

Option Page Setup Menu
(Shift)F2 Change color from total 16 colors. F2 to select

key color forward, (Shift) F2 to select color backward
F3 key Calendar, only for Status Page Setup Menu
F4 key Reserved
F5 key Restore the previous CMOS value from CMOS, only

for Option Page Setup Menu
F6 key Load the default CMOS value from BIOS default

table, only for Option Page Setup Menu
F7 key Load the default
F8 key Reserved
F9 key Reserved
F10 key Save all the CMOS changes, only for Main Menu

4

Getting Help

Press F1 to pop up 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.

In Case of Problems

If, after making and saving system changes with Setup, you discover that your computer no
longer is able to boot, the Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS supports an override to the CMOS
settings which resets your system to its defaults.

You can invoke this override by immediately pressing <Insert> when you restart your computer.
You can restart by either using the ON/OFF switch, the RESET button or by pressing <Ctrl>,
<Alt> and <Delete> at the same time.

The best advice is to only alter settings which you thoroughly understand. To this end, we
strongly recommend that you avoid making any changes to the chipset defaults. These defaults
have been carefully chosen by both Phoenix Technologies and your systems manufacturer to
provide the absolute maximum performance and reliability. Even a seemingly small change to the
chipset setup has the potential for causing you to use the override.

A Final Note About Setup

Not all systems have the same Setup. While the basic look and function of the Setup program
remains the same for all systems, individual motherboard and chipset combinations require custom
configurations. For example, you may find that your Setup main menu has a different number of
entries from the main menu displayed in this manual. These are simply features not supported (or
not user configurable) on your system.

The final appearance of the Setup program also depends on the Original Equipment Manufacturer
(OEM) who built your system. If your OEM has decided that certain items should only be
available to their technicians, those items may very well be removed from the Setup program.

5

Section 1

Main Menu

Once you enter the Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will

appear on the screen. The Main Menu allows you to select from several setup functions and two

exit choices. Use the arrow keys to select among the items and press <Enter> to accept and enter

the sub-menu.

Note that a brief description of each highlighted selection appears at the bottom of the screen.

Setup Items

The main menu includes the following main setup categories. Recall that some systems may not
include all entries.

Standard CMOS Setup

This setup page includes all the items in a standard, AT-compatible BIOS. See Section 2 for
details.

BIOS Features Setup

This setup page includes all the items of Phoenix Technologies special enhanced features. See
Section 3 for details.

Password Setting

Change, set, or disable password. It allows you to limit access to the system and Setup, or just to
Setup. See Section 4.

Load BIOS Defaults

The BIOS defaults have been set by the manufacturer and represent settings which provide the
minimum requirements for your system to operate.

Load Setup Defaults

The chipset defaults are settings which provide for maximum system performance. While Phoenix
Technologies has designed the custom BIOS to maximize performance, the manufacturer has the
right to change these defaults to meet their needs.

6

IDE HDD Auto Detection

Automatically detect and configure hard disk parameters. The Phoenix Technologies AwardBIOS
includes this ability in the event you are uncertain of your hard disk's paramenters. See also
Section 2, "Standard CMOS Setup".

HDD Low Level Format

If supported by your system, this provides a hard disk low level format utility. See Appendix D
for details.

Save & Exit Setup

Save CMOS value changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Save

Abandon all CMOS value changes and exit setup.

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Section 2

Standard CMOS Setup

The items in Standard CMOS Setup Menu are divided into 10 categories. Each category includes

no, one or more than one setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the

<PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to select the value you want in each item.

Date

The date format is <day>, <date> <month> <year>. Press <F3> to show the calendar.

day The day, from Sun to Sat, determined by the BIOS and
is display-only

date The date, from 1 to 31 (or the maximum allowed in the
month)

month The month, Jan through Dec
year The year, from 1900 through 2099

Time

The time format is <hour> <minute> <second>. The time is calculated based on the 24-hour
military-time clock. For example, 1 p.m. is 13:00:00.

Daylight saving

The category adds one hour to the clock when daylight-saving time begins. It also subtracts one
hour when standard time returns.

Enabled Enable daylight-saving
Disabled Disable daylight-saving

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Drive C Type/Drive D Type

The categories identify the types of hard disk drive C or drive D that have been installed in the
computer. There are 46 predefined types and a user definable type. Type 1 to Type 46 are
predefined. Type "User" is user-definable.

Press PgUp or PgDn to select a numbered hard disk type or type the number and press <Enter>.
Note that the specifications of your drive must match with the drive table. The hard disk will not
work properly if you enter improper information for this category. If your hard disk drive type is
not matched or listed, you can use Type "User" to define your own drive type manually.

If you select Type "User", you will need to know the information listed below. Enter the
information directly from the keyboard and press <Enter>. This information should be included in
the documentation from your hard disk vendor or the system manufacturer.

CYLS. number of cylinders
HEADS number of heads
PRECOMP write precom
LANDZONE landing zone
SECTORS number of sectors

If a hard disk has not been installed select NONE and press <Enter>.

Drive A Type / Drive B Type

The category identifies the types of floppy disk drive A or drive B that have been installed in the
computer.

None No floppy drive installed
360K, 5.25 in 5-1/4 inch PC-type standard drive; 360 kilobyte

capacity

1.2M, 5.25 in 5-1/4 inch AT-type high-density drive; 1.2
megabyte capacity

720K, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 720 kilobyte
capacity

1.44M, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 1.44 megabyte
capacity

2.88M, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 2.88 megabyte
capacity

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Video

The category selects the type of video adapter used for the primary system monitor. Although
secondary monitors are supported, you do not have to select the type in Setup.

EGA/VGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter/Video Graphics Array.
For EGA, VGA, SEGA, SVGA or PGA monitor adapters.

CGA 40 Color Graphics Adapter, power up in 40 column mode
CGA 80 Color Graphics Adapter, power up in 80 column mode
MONO Monochrome adapter, includes high resolution

monochrome adapters

Error Halt

The category determines whether the computer will stop if an error is detected during power up.

No errors Whenever the BIOS detects a non-fatal error the
system will be stopped and you will be
prompted.

All errors The system boot will not be stopped for any
error that may be detected.

All, The system boot will not stop for a keyboard
But Keyboard error; it will stop for all other errors.

All, But The system boot will not stop for a disk error;
Diskette it will stop for all other errors.

All, But The system boot will not stop for a keyboard or
Disk/Key disk error; it will stop for all other errors.

Memory

The category is display-only which is determined by POST (Power On Self Test) of the BIOS.

Base Memory

The POST will determine the amount of base (or conventional) memory installed in the system.
The value of the base memory is typically 512K for systems with 512K memory installed on the
motherboard, or 640K for systems with 640K or more memory installed on the motherboard.

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