User guide

EQ100 Motherboard User Guide V2.0
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Chapter 4: System BIOS
What is the BIOS?
The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is an important piece of software which is
stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) chip inside the computer. It consists of the
basic instructions for controlling the disk drives, hard disk, keyboard and
serial/parallel ports. The BIOS also keeps a list of the specifications of the computer
in battery-backed RAM (also known as the CMOS RAM) and provides a special
Setup program to change this information.
The BIOS in your Viglen computer is guaranteed to be fully compatible with the IBM
BIOS. It has been written by American MegaTrends Inc. (AMI), an industry leader in
the field of BIOS software.
The Power-On sequence
When the computer is first switched on, certain instructions in the BIOS are executed
to test various parts of the machine. This is known as the POST (Power-On Self
Test) routine. When you switch the computer on (or when you press the Reset
button or press <Ctrl> + <Alt>+ <Delete> keys, which has the same effect), you can
see on the monitor that it counts through the memory, testing it. The floppy disk
drives are then accessed and tested, and the various interfaces are checked. If there
are any errors, a message is displayed on the screen.
Managing and Updating your BIOS
The following utility allows you to manage and update the motherboard Basic
Input/Output System (BIOS) setup.
• ASUS AFUDOS (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a bootable floppy disk)
Note: Save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS file to a bootable floppy disk/
USB Key in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. Copy the original
motherboard BIOS using the ASUS Update or AFUDOS utilities.
Creating a Bootable Floppy Disk
1. Do either one of the following to create a bootable floppy disk.
DOS environment
a. Insert a 1.44MB floppy disk into the drive.
b. At the DOS prompt, type format A: /S then press <Enter>.