CompTIA^® A+^™ Core 1 Exam Notes :Configure And Apply Bios Settings

1. The following are some of the things that you can do with BIOS settings:

1. a) Change the Boot Order – You may configure the computer to boot from CDROM, Harddisk, or USB drive.

   b) Create a BIOS Password – This feature is useful to prevent un-authorized access to BIOS configuration menu.

   c) Change the Date and Time

   d) Change Floppy Drive, Hard Drive, or CD/DVD/BD Drive Settings.

   e) View Amount of Memory Installed

   f) Enable or Disable the Quick Power On Self Test (POST)

   g) Enable or Disable the CPU Internal Cache

   h) Enable or Disable the Caching of BIOS

   i) Change CPU Settings

   j) Change Memory Settings

   k) Change System Voltages

   l) Enable or Disable RAID

   m) Enable or Disable Onboard USB

   n) Enable or Disable Onboard IEEE1394

   o) Enable or Disable Onboard Audio

   p) Enable or Disable Onboard Floppy Controller

   q) Enable or Disable Onboard Serial/Parallel Ports

   r) Enable or Disable ACPI

   s) Change the Power Button Function

   t) Change Power-on Settings

   u) Change Fan Speed Settings

2. The computer power-on self-test (POST) tests the computer to make sure it meets the necessary system requirements and that all hardware is working properly before starting the remainder of the boot process. The causes for an error message like: ‘NTLDR is Missing, Press any key to restart’, may be due to any of the following reasons:

1. a. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.

   b. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.

   c. Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file.

   d. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.

   e. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.

   f. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.