Specifications

3 - 4
3.2.3 Two Special Files
Before reading about the various options available for customizing your system, you should
understand the use of two special DOS files: CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. These are
discussed in detail in the DOS reference manuals, but will now be discussed briefly as an
introduction to this chapter.
n CONFIG.SYS -- "CONFIG.SYS" is a text file, which you must create. It is used to set
certain system parameters and to instruct the operating system to install one or more drivers
or system extensions. Each driver is a program which will be loaded by DOS from your boot
device. For each driver program that you want included in your system's operating system
configuration, you simply include its name in a text file called "CONFIG.SYS" which must
be in the root directory on your boot drive (floppy, hard disk, or SSD). Refer to your DOS
technical reference for details on the structure, creation, and use of the CONFIG.SYS file.
Note that is not enough to simply create the CONFIG.SYS file. You must reboot your
system from a drive containing the new CONFIG.SYS file in its root directory to have DOS
actually install the desired drivers and functions as part of your system's operating
environment.
n AUTOEXEC.BAT -- The second special file is called "AUTOEXEC.BAT". This is a file of
commands that you would like to have your system run automatically on powerup or reset.
As with the CONFIG.SYS file, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file must be located in the root
directory on your boot drive, and you must reboot your system from a drive containing the
new AUTOEXEC.BAT file in its root directory, to have DOS actually execute the programs
and functions specified.
In this chapter, you will see that there are a number of Ampro utility commands which you might
wish to include in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
3.2.4 The Ampro SETUP Function
The Ampro SETUP function is used to initialize or modify the contents of the board's nonvolatile
Configuration Memory, i.e. the NOVRAM in the battery-backed clock chip, and the configuration
EEPROM device. The effect of SETUP occurs at system boot time.
The SETUP function is contained directly within the ROM-BIOS. This allows access to all
configuration parameters without the use of the SETUP utility, by using the "Ctrl-Alt-Esc"
keyboard sequence at powerup or reset time. As a convenience, the SETUP utility provides entry
into the ROM-BIOS SETUP function at any time during system operation. The SETUP utility also
allows you to save or restore Configuration Memory contents to or from disk files. Refer to
Appendix A for a list of the system parameters controlled by SETUP and a description of its use.