BIOS Features Setup (Part 2)
First Boot Device
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the first device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set using this feature, it naturally won't load another OS, if you have another on a different device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device, the BIOS would boot the DOS 3.3 OS which you have placed in the floppy disk but won't bother loading Win2k even though it may be residing on your hard disk drive C. As such, this is useful for troubleshooting purposes and for installing an OS off a CD.
The default setting is Floppy. But unless you boot often from the floppy drive or need to install an OS from a CD, it's better to set your hard disk (usually HDD-0) as the First Boot Device. That will shorten the booting process.
Second Boot Device
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the second device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set as the First_Boot_Device, any setting toggled by this feature will have no effect. Only if the BIOS fails to find an OS on the First_Boot_Device, will it then attempt to find and load one on the Second Boot Device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device but left the floppy disk out of the drive, the BIOS will then load Win2k which you have installed on your hard disk drive C (set as Second Boot Device).
The default setting is HDD-0, which is first detected hard disk, usually the one attached to the Primary Master IDE channel. Unless you have a removable drive set as the First Boot Device, this feature has very little use. HDD-0 is a perfectly fine choice although you can set an different device to serve as an alternative boot drive.
Third Boot Device
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the third device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set as the First_Boot_Device or the Second_Boot_Device, any setting toggled by this feature will have no effect. Only if the BIOS fails to find an OS on the First_Boot_Device and Second_Boot_Device, will it then attempt to find and load one on the Third Boot Device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device and the LS-120 drive as the Second Boot Device but left both drives empty, the BIOS will then load Win2k which you have installed on your hard disk drive C (set as Third Boot Device).
The default setting is LS/ZIP. Unless you have a removable drives set as the First and Second Boot Devices, this feature has very little use. LS/ZIP is a perfectly fine choice although you can set an different device to serve as an alternative boot drive.
Boot Other Device
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature determines whether the BIOS will attempt to load an OS from the Second or Third Boot Device if it fails to load one from the First_Boot_Device.
The default is Enabled and it's recommended that you leave it as such. Otherwise, if the BIOS cannot find an OS in the First Boot Device, it will then halt the booting process with the error message "No Operating System Found" even though there's an OS on the Second or Third Boot Device.
Swap Floppy Drive
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature is useful if you want to swap the logical arrangement of the floppy drives. Instead of opening up the casing to do it physically, you can just set this feature to Enabled. Then, the first drive will be mapped as drive B: and the second drive, mapped as drive A:; which is the opposite of the usual convention.
This feature is also useful if both the floppy drives in your system are of different formats and you want to boot from the second drive. That's because the BIOS will only boot from floppy drive A:.
Boot Up Floppy Seek
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature controls whether the BIOS checks for a floppy drive while booting up. If it cannot detect one (either due to improper configuration or physical inavailability), it will flash an error message. It will also detect if the floppy drive has 40 or 80 tracks but since all floppy drives in use today have 80 tracks, this check is redundant. This feature should be set as Disabled for a faster booting process.
Boot Up NumLock Status
Options : On, Off
This feature controls the functionality of the Numeric Keyboard at boot up. If set to On, the Numeric Keyboard will function in the numeric mode (for typing out numbers) but if set to Off, it will function in the cursor control mode (for controlling the cursor). The setting of this feature is entirely up to your preference.
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the first device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set using this feature, it naturally won't load another OS, if you have another on a different device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device, the BIOS would boot the DOS 3.3 OS which you have placed in the floppy disk but won't bother loading Win2k even though it may be residing on your hard disk drive C. As such, this is useful for troubleshooting purposes and for installing an OS off a CD.
The default setting is Floppy. But unless you boot often from the floppy drive or need to install an OS from a CD, it's better to set your hard disk (usually HDD-0) as the First Boot Device. That will shorten the booting process.
Second Boot Device
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the second device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set as the First_Boot_Device, any setting toggled by this feature will have no effect. Only if the BIOS fails to find an OS on the First_Boot_Device, will it then attempt to find and load one on the Second Boot Device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device but left the floppy disk out of the drive, the BIOS will then load Win2k which you have installed on your hard disk drive C (set as Second Boot Device).
The default setting is HDD-0, which is first detected hard disk, usually the one attached to the Primary Master IDE channel. Unless you have a removable drive set as the First Boot Device, this feature has very little use. HDD-0 is a perfectly fine choice although you can set an different device to serve as an alternative boot drive.
Third Boot Device
Options : Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD-0, SCSI, CDROM, HDD-1, HDD-2, HDD-3, LAN, Disabled
This feature allows you to set the third device from which the BIOS will attempt to load the operating system (OS) from. Note that if the BIOS is able to load the OS from the device set as the First_Boot_Device or the Second_Boot_Device, any setting toggled by this feature will have no effect. Only if the BIOS fails to find an OS on the First_Boot_Device and Second_Boot_Device, will it then attempt to find and load one on the Third Boot Device.
For example, if you set Floppy as the First Boot Device and the LS-120 drive as the Second Boot Device but left both drives empty, the BIOS will then load Win2k which you have installed on your hard disk drive C (set as Third Boot Device).
The default setting is LS/ZIP. Unless you have a removable drives set as the First and Second Boot Devices, this feature has very little use. LS/ZIP is a perfectly fine choice although you can set an different device to serve as an alternative boot drive.
Boot Other Device
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature determines whether the BIOS will attempt to load an OS from the Second or Third Boot Device if it fails to load one from the First_Boot_Device.
The default is Enabled and it's recommended that you leave it as such. Otherwise, if the BIOS cannot find an OS in the First Boot Device, it will then halt the booting process with the error message "No Operating System Found" even though there's an OS on the Second or Third Boot Device.
Swap Floppy Drive
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature is useful if you want to swap the logical arrangement of the floppy drives. Instead of opening up the casing to do it physically, you can just set this feature to Enabled. Then, the first drive will be mapped as drive B: and the second drive, mapped as drive A:; which is the opposite of the usual convention.
This feature is also useful if both the floppy drives in your system are of different formats and you want to boot from the second drive. That's because the BIOS will only boot from floppy drive A:.
Boot Up Floppy Seek
Options : Enabled, Disabled
This feature controls whether the BIOS checks for a floppy drive while booting up. If it cannot detect one (either due to improper configuration or physical inavailability), it will flash an error message. It will also detect if the floppy drive has 40 or 80 tracks but since all floppy drives in use today have 80 tracks, this check is redundant. This feature should be set as Disabled for a faster booting process.
Boot Up NumLock Status
Options : On, Off
This feature controls the functionality of the Numeric Keyboard at boot up. If set to On, the Numeric Keyboard will function in the numeric mode (for typing out numbers) but if set to Off, it will function in the cursor control mode (for controlling the cursor). The setting of this feature is entirely up to your preference.
You have taught us to optimize bios part 2. it has been excellent getting the information about it
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