CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the project work titled BIOS & CMOS is a bonafide work of P.Naresh Kumar bearing I.D.No: AP-1314-0143 submitted in the Module-1 of the SMART GRAD Course.
FACULTY CENTRE MANAGER EXAMINER
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude to the valuable suggestion, guidance and encouragement imported to me by Mr. RAVI, Associate Lecturer of SMART GRAD-246, Jetking, Ameerpet leading to successful completion of this project work. I am also thankful to the member who co-operated in one way or the other for the completion of this project.
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Table of Contents
S.NO Title Page No 1. Introduction 3 2. Motherboard BIOS Functions 4 3. CMOS Setup Utility 5 4. BIOS Manufacturers 7 5. Setting the Standard CMOS 7 6. Setting the Advanced BIOS Features 8 7. Setting the Advanced Chipset Feature 9 8. Setting Integrated peripherals 10 9. Setting the Power Management 11 10. Setting the PNP/PCI Configuration 12 11. Checking PC Health Status 13 12. Setting the Supervisor Password 14 13. Clearing the CMOS 15 14. Upgrading the BIOS 17
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Introduction: The BIOS is a software or firmware that enables you to start the system. It performs the basic maintenance of the system by checking all the hardware connected to the system and loads the Operating System (OS). You can modify the BIOS settings to improve the performance of the system or to troubleshoot the system when it malfunctions. The BIOS running in memory consists of all the various drivers that provides interface of hardware to the OS. The BIOS is unique and preloaded into memory chips (ROM) installed in the system. The BIOS governs the inner complexities arising out of the odd mixing of hardware and software. It acts as a link between the material hardware of the PC and its circuits, and the transcendent realm of software ideas and instructions. More than a link, the BIOS is both hardware and software. Like software, the BIOS is a set of instructions to the computers microprocessor. Like hardware, however, these instructions are not evanescent; rather they are coded into the hard, worldly silicon of PROM, EPROM chips. Due to the twilight state of programs like the BIOS, existing in the netherworld between hardware and software, such PROM-based programs are often termed firmware. The personality comes from the firmware code. This code determines how the computer will carry out the basic functions needed to make a working computer- how quickly they are carried out and how smoothly. In many PCs, this firmware also governs how the system board components interact, the chipset features that are used, even the amount of the microprocessors time devoted to keeping memory working. The setup procedures in most new PCs are also held in the BIOS.
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Motherboard BIOS Functions: The BIOS is a collection of programs embedded in one or more chips, depending on the design of your computer. This collection of programs is loaded first even before the OS is loaded. The BIOS in most PCs have four main factors.
POST: Tests computers processor, memory, chipset, video, adapter, disk controllers, disk drives, keyboard and other components.
Setup: Enables you to configure the motherboard and chipset settings. The system configuration and setup program is usually a menu-driven program which is activated by pressing a special key during the POST.
BIOS: Collection of actual drivers which act as basic interface between the OS and your hardware when the system is booted and running.
Bootstrap Loader: Reads the hard disk drives boot sector o load the OS. It is a program which resides in the computer ROM or EPROM that is automatically executed by the processor when the computer is turned on. It is the job of this program to load the OS from the floppy disk or the hard disk in to the computers main memory (RAM). Unless the boot process is successfully completed i.e. the OS is copied to the main memory, user cannot use the computer. A successful transfer of OS into the RAM or the boot process is indicated by displaying the DOS prompt such as A:\ or C:\> on the computer monitor or it will directly go to the windows or linux screen if you have windows or Linux OS installed in your system.
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CMOS Setup Utility: The CMOS Setup Utility enables you to modify the settings and store them in CMOS. This utility enables you to control the boost sequence. You can also use this utility to change the BIOS settings to correct any hardware problems such as enabling ports that are disabled.
Figure 1.1 Main Menu Page The Main Menu Page displays the different BIOS options which can be changed. It also displays the different keys, called as the navigation keys, which can be used 9
to browse the different options. To display the option page, you must browse to highlight the required option and press Enter. To return to the Main menu, use the ESC key.
Standard CMOS Feature: It enables the user to set basic information such as date, time, IDE devices and diskette drivers.
Advanced BIOS Feature: Sets advanced information such as Boot Devices, S.M.A.R.T for hard disk, Boot up Num-Lock, Floppy Drive Swap about the system.
Advanced Chipset Feature: Sets the contents of the chipset buffers which are almost related to the hardware components.
Integrated peripherals: Enables you to change Input/Output devices, such as IDE Controllers, Serial and Parallel ports
Power Management Setup: Sets the parameters such as Standby Time Out, Suspend Time Out, Ring On Power On for the system power management operation.
PnP/PCI Configurations: Sets the parameters for the devices installed on the PCI bus and devices which uses the system plug and play capability.
PC Health Status: Displays the current CPU temperature, fan speeds, voltages etc.
Load Default Settings: Loads a set of fail-safe default values in the setup utility.
Set Supervisor Password: Sets the password to protect the BIOS.
Set User Password: Sets the password for user who access the system.
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Save & Exit Setup: Saves the changes made in the setup utility configuration and exits the BIOS Setup.
Exit Without Saving: Exit the Setup utility configuration without saving any changes.
BIOS Manufacturers: AMI Award Phoenix MR BIOS Setting the Standard CMOS: The Standard CMOS Setting page enables you to set the basic settings of the system, such as the date and time. You can enter the setting for the hard disk using the options on the page. The standard CMOS setup page is displayed in Figure 1.2.
Figure 2 Standard CMOS Setup Page
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Setting the Advanced BIOS Features: The Advance BIOS Feature page enables you to access the advanced functions of the BIOS. You can also specify the order of the device that the OS must search for the system files while booting the system. To protect the system from the Viruses, you should enable the ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION option. The Advanced BIOS Feature page is displayed in Figure 1.3.
Figure 1.3- Advanced BIOS Setup Page 12
Setting the Advanced Chipset Feature: The Advanced Chipset Setup Page enables you to access the advanced chipset features of BIOS. You can set the hardware settings using the page setting. It is always recommended to use the default settings as an incorrect setting may damage your system. The Advanced Chipset Features page is shown in Figure 1.4.
Figure 1.4 Advanced Chipset Features Page 13
Setting Integrated peripherals: The Integrated Peripherals Setup page enables you to access the integrated peripherals feature of BIOS. This page allows you to change various input/output devices, such as SATA modes, USB controller, LAN etc. The Integrated Peripherals Setup page is shown in Figure 1.5.
Figure 1.5 Integrated Peripherals Setup Page 14
Setting the Power Management: The power Management page enables you to control the power setup of the system. It also enables you to automatically switch off the power supply to the devices such as the hard disk of the monitor, when it is not used. This saves power and also increases the life of the system. To return the system to the normal working state you may have to press a key on the keyboard or move the mouse. However , you must first check that the software that you are using support the different power management modes such as the stand by and the suspend mode, otherwise the software may not function properly. The power management setup page is displayed in figure 1.6.
Figure 1.6 Power Management Setup Page
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Setting the PNP/PCI Configuration: The PNP/PCI Configuration feature is available on newer system. It enables the system to automatically search for new hardware connected to the system. When the system finds a new hardware attached to the system, It will automatically search for the drivers to use the device. The PNP/PCI configuration setup page is show in figure 1.7.
Figure 1.7 PNP/PCI Configuration Setup Page 16
Checking PC Health Status: The PC Health Status displays the system hardware details. Such as the voltage used by system, Shutdown temperature setting, the system and the CPU temperature. These options enable you to monitor the system and check that the system does not get overheated. This values must be monitor especially when you over clock the system. The PC Health Status is shown the figure 1.8.
Figure 1.8 PC Health Status 17
Setting the Supervisor Password: The Supervisor Password also known as BIOS password is used to protect the settings stored in the CMOS. You must enable the password option from the advanced setup page. When this option enabled, the system prompts you to enter the password before accessing setup utility.
Figure 1.9 BIOS Main Menu
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Clearing the CMOS: Sometimes we set the password for the BIOS and forget the password. In that case we can clear the CMOS using two ways. Using CMOS jumpers Removing and reinserting the CMOS battery The easiest way to clear CMOS is with the help of jumper. The jumper has Two setting has shown in figure 1.10. Normal Clear CMOS
Figure 1.10 Clear CMOS Jumpers Settings
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Removing and Reinserting the CMOS battery: The other method is to remove the CMOS battery from the system. 1. Remove the CMOS battery from the system. 2. Switch on the system. In some cases you can access the BIOS without the password as it has cleared the settings. Set the difficult settings and save and restart the machine in some cases you will get the blank screen. 3. Replace the battery and switch on the system again. Now you can able to access the BIOS without the password. Figure 1.11 shows removing CMOS battery.
Figure 1.11 Removing CMOS battery
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Upgrading the BIOS: The BIOS upgrade the needed if the computer is not capable of using all the feature of new software or hardware. Updating the BIOS adds additional functions and can also fix all the errors and bugs. You can download the BIOs update from motherboard manufacturers website or contact the motherboard manufacturer by phone. There are two different ways available for upgrading a motherboard BIOS: Replacing Physical BIOS Chip: Enables the user to upgrade motherboard BIOS with the new systems. In the new system the original BIOS chip is removed and a new BIOS chip is inserted. The new BIOS should much the old systems motherboard and chipset, using its existing CPU. It provides enhanced features specified by the upgrade BIOS manufacturer however, if the BIOS are of Dip package, which is not permanently soldered on the motherboard, the BIOS chip can be removed and you can install newer version of the chip on the motherboard. Also, you can get the updated BIOS by removing the old motherboard installing a new motherboard in your system. You need to customize the BIOS to much the old motherboard system and chipset. We can use the existing CPU and provide the enhanced feature specified by the upgrade BIOS manufacturer.
Performing a Flash Update: Enables the user to upgrade motherboard BIOS with new systems. In the new system the update software is downloaded and installed onto a disk for the systems which has flash-upgradable BIOS. This disk is then used to boot the computer. The new BIOS code than copied to the BIOS chip. This process of copying takes about 3 to 5 minutes. You can download the BIOS from the companies website. Some motherboards have a flash recovery jumper that is used to restore the system if BIOS upgrade using the BIOS upgrade software files. You can also update your BIOS if your system has an electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) or flash ROM for the BIOS.