Computer Assembly - How To Assemble A PC
Configure The BIOS Parameter Settings
At this point the computer is sitting at the "Main" menu of the "CMOS Setup Utility". We're ready to setup the rest of the BIOS parameters. By now you're somewhat familiar with navigating around the CMOS Utility Menu with the arrow keys and using the keypad plus "+" and minus "-" keys to change values, so I'll simply list the values I use.
The table below shows the BIOS settings and values that I am using on the Gigabyte P55A-UD4P motherboard. Italics indicate settings and values that are not updateable, although they might be under different BIOS settings.
MIB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)
The settings in this menu are for overclockers and other advanced users, allowing clocks, frequencies and voltages to be adjusted and tweaked. It is not necessary to modify them at all. In many cases, adjusting a setting within this menu can cause the computer to be unstable or fail to boot. It's handy they have been grouped like this so they can be more easily ignored.
Standard CMOS Features
- Date
- Time
- The date and time, with the time expressed in military hours.
- IDE Channel 2 Master WDC WD1001FALS-007B
- Shows the device connected to the SATA 1 connector on the motherboard. The Western Digital 1000GB SATA hard drive is on SATA 1. Press Enter on the device entry to bring up the sub-menu for the device.
- Extended IDE Drive Auto
- Access Mode Auto
- Set to Auto to allow the BIOS to automatically detect the SATA drive. If a drive is detected then the physical characteristics of the drive are filled in.
- Capacity, Cylinder, Head, Precomp, Landing Zone, Sector
- Shows the physical characteristics of the Western Digital 1000GB SATA hard drive.
- IDE Channel 1 Master Optiarc DVD RW AD-72
- Shows the device connected to the SATA 2 connector on the motherboard. The Sony Optiarc dual format DVD RW optical drive is on SATA 2. Press Enter on the device entry to bring up the sub-menu for the device.
- PIO Mode Auto
- UDMA Mode Auto
- When the interface has a drive then set the value to Auto and let the BIOS determine if each drive is capable of DMA support, and its respective PIO mode.
- Primary IDE Master/Slave Auto
- Access Mode Auto
- Set to Auto to allow the BIOS to automatically detect devices on the IDE. If a device is detected then the physical characteristics of the drive are filled in.
- Capacity, Cylinder, Head, Precomp, Sector, Transfer Mode
- Shows the physical characteristics of the Sony DVD RW drive, but don't be concerned if most values simply show as zero.
- Drive A None
- Use a value of 1.44M, 3.5" if you have a floppy drive installed.
- Halt On All, But Keyboard
- Halt on all errors except Keyboard Absent error. This enables the computer to boot without the keyboard plugged in.
- Base Memory 640K
- Standard.
- Extended Memory 8187MB
- The BIOS reserves 5MB.
- Installed Memory 8192MB
- A total of 8GB of system memory is installed in My Super PC.
Advanced BIOS Features
- Hard Disk Boot Priority
- Specifies in what order the computer try hard drive type devices in order to boot. Many computers, like My Super PC, typically have just the one hard drive actively available.
- Quick Boot Enabled
- Skip Power On Self-Tests (POST) for faster boot.
- First Boot Device
- Second Boot Device
- Third Boot Device
- Specifies in what order the computer try devices in order to boot. Normally I have the first boot device set to the Hard Disk and the others don't matter, they may be set to Disabled or also set to Hard Disk. At times it's necessary to boot from a CD or DVD, so in that case the first boot device gets set to CDROM.
- Password Check Setup
- Values are Setup and System.
- HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability Disabled
- It's no use having it set to Enabled unless you're also running software that monitors the S.M.A.R.T. status, and who does? Setting to Disabled will give best performance.
- Limit CPUID Max. to 3 Disabled
- Should be set to Disabled for modern operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
- No-Execute Memory Protect Enabled
- Provides protection by controlling whether or not the processor is allowed to execute instructions that reside in data areas. Should always be set to Enabled to activate the protection.
- Delay For HDD (Secs) 0
- Certain hard disk drives require some extra time to spin up in a cold boot. If the system does not start after the memory test, try adding time in this field.
- Full Screen LOGO Show Disabled
- Splash screen.
- Backup BIOS Image to HDD Disabled
- Allows a backup copy of the BIOS to be made to the hard drive.
- Init Display First PEG
- Usually this is set to PEG to indicate the video card in the PCI Express x16 slot is being used for the monitor. Other values are PEG2 if the PCI Express x8 slot contains the video card, or PCI for a video card in a PCI slot.
Integrated Peripherals
- eXtreme Hard Drive Disabled
- A form of RAID.
- PCH SATA Control Mode AHCI
- Other values are IDE and RAID. A value of IDE operates the SATA hard drive using IDE legacy mode, which is fine and less troublesome under Windows XP. Under an operating system that supports SATA without installing additional drivers, such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, a setting of AHCI allows the full capabilities of the SATA hard drive to be used, such as Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and hot-plugging. However, don't expect a noticeable performance difference. The RAID setting is for hard drives configured in a RAID configuration.
- SATA Port0-3 Native Mode Enabled
- With the Disabled setting, the SATA devices operate like legacy IDE devices, which is fine and even best under Windows XP. Operating systems with native SATA support, such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, are fine to use a setting of Enabled.
- USB Controllers Enabled
- Enables the integrated USB capabilities.
- USB Legacy Function Enabled
- Allows USB devices, such as a USB keyboard, to work in non-USB environments, such as MS-DOS.
- USB Storage Function Enabled
- Indicates whether or not USB storage devices such as thumb drives should be detected on boot.
- Turbo SATA3 / USB 3.0 Disabled
- If using SATA3 or USB 3.0 devices then set appropriately to Auto, Turbo SATA3 or Turbo USB3.0. Doing so reduces the maximum possible bandwidth to the video card, but practically speaking there will be no decrease in video card performance.
- Azalia Codec Auto
- This is for the on-board audio. Values are Disabled and Auto. Use a value of Auto if you're using the sound capabilities built into the motherboard. Use Disabled if you're using an add-on sound card.
- Onboard H/W 1394 Enabled
- Enables the built-in support for FireWire (IEEE 1394).
- Onboard H/W LAN1 Enabled
- Onboard H/W LAN2 Enabled
- Enables the built-in LAN support to connect to the Internet.
- Green LAN Disabled
- When the Enabled setting is used, the LAN connections are automatically disabled when there is no cable connected.
- SMART LAN1
- SMART LAN2
- Press enter on this setting to perform a diagnostic on the connection.
- Onboard LAN1 Boot ROM Disabled
- Onboard LAN2 Boot ROM Disabled
- When set to Enabled, the computer can boot without a hard drive by loading the operating system over the network.
- Onboard USB 3.0 Controller Enabled
- Applies to the USB 3.0 capability.
- Onboard IDE Controller Enabled
- Applies to the IDE connector.
- Onboard eSATA Controller Enabled
- Applies to the six 3 Gb/s SATA connectors.
- eSATA Ctrl Mode AHCI
- Other values are IDE and RAID. A value of IDE operates the SATA hard drive using IDE legacy mode, which is fine and less troublesome under Windows XP. Under an operating system that supports SATA without installing additional drivers, such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, a setting of AHCI allows the full capabilities of the SATA hard drive to be used, such as Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and hot-plugging. However, don't expect a noticeable performance difference. The RAID setting is for hard drives configured in a RAID configuration.
- GSATA Controller Enabled
- Applies to the two 6 Gb/s SATA connectors.
- GSATA Ctrl Mode AHCI
- The other value is IDE. Ditto the comments for the eSATA Ctrl Mode setting.
- GSATA RAID Configuration
- For RAID support.
- Onboard Serial Port 1 3F8/IRQ4
- Standard.
- Onboard Parallel Port 378/IRQ7
- Standard.
- Parallel Port Mode SPP
- Set this to SPP unless you have a device or printer that specifically requires use of ECP/EPP modes such as a parallel port scanner, zip drive, etc.
Power Management Setup
- ACPI Suspend Type S1(POS)
- This setting controls how the PC goes into power saving mode (standby mode). S1(POS) is the safest setting. Other settings, such as S3(STR) and S1&S3 will save substantially more power, but may not work with older hardware and operating systems. If you don't let your PC go into standby mode that often then you may just want to stick with the safe setting. But if you do then another setting is worth a try.
- Soft-Off by PWR-BTTN Instant-Off
- It is standard operation for a computer that if you hold the power button on the computer down for more than 4 seconds it will power off. This setting controls what the computer should do if the power button is held down for less than 4 seconds. The other option is Suspend.
- PME Event Wake UP Disabled
- I've seen this setting called "Power Up On PCI/PCIE Devices" on other motherboards. Can be used to allow the computer to wake up via add-on cards or the built-in LAN support.
- Power Up On Ring Disabled
- I've seen this setting called "Power On By External Modems" on other motherboards. Can be used to allow the computer to wake up via the modem.
- Resume by Alarm Disabled
- Date (of Month) Alarm 0
- Alarm Time (hh:mm:ss) 0 : 0 : 0
- I've seen this setting called "Power On By RTC Alarm" on other motherboards. Wake up due to a real time clock event, specified by date and time.
- HPET Support Enabled
- For best performance. Microsoft describes this setting, the High Precision Event Timer, here.
- HPET Mode 32-bit mode
- The other possible value is 64-bit mode. Use the 32-bit mode value unless you're using 64-bit Windows Vista.
- Power On By Mouse Disabled
- Power On By Keyboard Disabled
- KB Power ON Password
- I don't use the keyboard to power on the PC.
- AC Back Function Soft-Off
- I've seen this setting called "Restore on AC Power Loss" on other motherboards. I don't want the computer re-booting on its own when I'm not there after power has been restored from a power loss.
- EuP Support Disabled
- A power saving function.
PC Health Status
- Reset Case Open Status Disabled
- I'm not concerned about case intrusions.
- CPU Warning Temperature Disabled
- Can be used to set a temperature at which the BIOS will beep if exceeded by the CPU.
- CPU FAN Fail Warning Disabled
- SYSTEM FAN2 Fail Warning Disabled
- POWER FAN Fail Warning Disabled
- SYSTEM FAN1 Fail Warning Disabled
- When enabled, the BIOS will emit a beep if the fan is not detected or is not spinning.
- CPU Smart FAN Control Enabled
- A value of Enabled allows the CPU fan speed to vary depending on the temperature of the CPU. A value of Disabled means the fan always spins at full speed.
- CPU Smart FAN Mode Auto
- A value of Auto allows the BIOS to automatically detect how the CPU fan is connected.
Ok, that's done. In a moment we'll be saving the changes, exiting the BIOS and re-booting the computer. But first, insert the CD containing the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics into the optical drive. The First Boot Device under the Advanced BIOS Features menu should be set to CDROM, so the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics utility will be executed when we get that far if all goes well.
Save all changes and exit the BIOS. This is done with the "F10" key on the Gigabyte P55A-UD4P motherboard. The computer reboots after saving the changes. The computer will boot from the optical drive, starting the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics utility.
Common Problems
A problem with the BIOS configuration can manifest itself in many ways and not always right away. That's one reason I make it a point to itemize the BIOS settings I'm using so you'll have a "known good" reference.
After pressing "F10" to save the BIOS parameter values, the computer should reset and re-boot just as when it was first turned on. If it instead powers itself off then you know there's a problem with the BIOS configuration. Or if on re-booting you get a strange message that says something like "Overclocking attempt failed" then you know there's a problem with the BIOS configuration.
In such cases when the problem is immediate and obvious the solution is to undo the offending BIOS setting. If it's not clear which setting is (or might be) causing the problem then use the Load Setup Default option in the CMOS Setup Utility to load safe values for the BIOS. If the computer no longer boots to the BIOS then you can clear the CMOS manually using a jumper or screwdriver on the jumper pins, or by removing the battery on the motherboard.
But BIOS settings can cause problems later, too, and these can be more difficult to trace to the BIOS. Fortunately as you'll see on the Windows installation page, installing the operating system is actually a good stress test for the BIOS settings. Diagnostics and benchmarks that are run as a final check-out of the built computer should also shake-out any instabilities in the BIOS settings. For example, if a graphics benchmarks locks up then it may be due to a BIOS setting. But with these later tests the failure may also be due to other factors, so re-running the benchmark or diagnostic with the Setup Defaults loaded to see if that eliminates the problem may be just the first thing you try.
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