Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
access the system. This is why some computer cases (chassis) come equipped with locks
and chassis intrusion switches that connect to the motherboard, setting a flag in the BIOS
Setup indicating that the system has been opened.
Main Menu
The standard CMOS Setup menu dates back to the 286 days, when the complete BIOS
Setup consisted of only one menu. In the standard menu, you can set the system clock
and record hard disk and floppy drive parameters and the basic video type. Newer BIOSs
havemorecomplicated setupswithmoremenusandsubmenus,sothemainmenuoftenis
fairly sparse compared to older systems.
The main menu in a modern system reports system information such as the BIOS version,
theprocessortypeandspeed,theamountofmemory,andwhetherthememoryorcacheis
configured for ECC functionality. The main menu also can set the system date and time.
Table 5.5 shows a typical main menu.
Table 5.5 Main Menu Settings
 
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