Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
(autodetect).TheBIOSsendsaspecialIdentifyDrivecommandtoallthedevicesconnec-
ted during the system startup sequence, and the drives are intelligent enough to respond
with the correct parameters. The BIOS then automatically enters the parameter informa-
tion returned by the drive. This procedure eliminates errors or confusion in parameter se-
lection:
1. Start the computer and press the appropriate key to access the BIOS Setup screens
to configure the drive. If your BIOS has an autodetect or auto-type setting, I recom-
mend you use it because it will configure the parameters automatically using optimal
settings. With SATA drives, you may also have options to configure Advanced Host
Controller Interface (AHCI) support or set multiple drives in a RAID configuration.
Once the settings are made, save the BIOS Setup settings and exit the BIOS Setup to
continue.Ifthedriveisnotdetected,checkthedrivepoweranddatacables,andmake
sure the host adapter used by the drive has been enabled in the BIOS setup.
See Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) , p. 392 ( Chapter 7 ) .
2. Restart the system. If the drive you are installing was not the boot drive, the existing
OS should automatically detect the new drive upon loading and install the necessary
drivers. Note that the drive will not be visible to the OS as a volume (that is, a drive
letter) until it is partitioned and formatted. If the drive is the boot drive, you can con-
tinue by booting from an OS installation disc or bootable USB flash drive to parti-
tion, format, and install the OS to the boot drive. If the motherboard supports SATA
in AHCI mode or features such as SATA RAID, and you are running Windows XP or
earlier, in most cases you will either need to supply host adapter drivers via a floppy
disk at the start of the installation or have them preloaded on your Windows install
disc. Note that these drivers are built in to the Windows 7/Vista installation media; if
not, they can be supplied via optical disc or USB flash drive.
Installing a Video Card
Follow these steps to install a video card into a system:
1. If necessary, remove the screw and slot cover behind the expansion slot you want to
useforthenewvideocard.Ifthecardusesacoolingfanthatrequiresasecondexpan-
sion slot for air exhaust, remove the adjacent slot cover (see Figure 19.31 ).
Figure 19.31 Installing a PCIe x16 video card that uses two slots and a PCIe x16 power lead.
 
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