User`s manual

4. BIOS SETUP
The BIOS can automatically detect the specifications and optimal operating mode of
almost all IDE hard drives. When you select type AUTO for a hard drive, the BIOS
detects its specifications during POST, each time the system boots.
If you do not want to select drive type AUTO, other methods of selecting the drive type
are available:
1) Match the specifications of your installed IDE hard drive(s) with the
preprogrammed values for drive types 1 through 45.
2) Select USER and enter values into each drive parameter field.
3) Use the IDE HDD AUTO DECTECTION function in Setup.
The following is a brief explanation of drive specifications:
• Type: The BIOS contains a table of pre-defined drive types. Each defined drive type
has a specified number of cylinders, number of heads, write precompensation factor,
landing zone, and number of sectors. Drives whose specifications do not
accommodate any pre-defined type are classified as type USER.
• Size: Disk drive capacity (approximate). Note that this size is usually slightly greater
than the size of a formatted disk given by a disk-checking program.
• Cyls: Number of cylinders
• Head: Number of heads
• Precomp: Write precompensation cylinder
• Landz: Landing zone
• Sector: Number of sectors
• Mode: Auto, Normal, large, or LBA
• Auto: The BIOS automatically determines the optimal mode.
• Normal: Maximum number of cylinders, heads, and sectors supported are 1024, 16,
and 63.
• Large: For drives that do not support LBA and have more than 1024 cylinders.
• LBA (Logical Block Addressing): During drive accesses, the IDE controller
transforms the data address described by sector, head, and cylinder number into a
physical block address, significantly improving data transfer rates. For drives with
greater than 1024 cylinders.