UPGRADING REPAIRING PCs

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Chapter 3—BIOS Configurations and Upgrades
Identifying Motherboards with Phoenix or Microid
Research BIOS
Unfortunately, neither Phoenix nor Microid Research (MR BIOS)
use any type of a standardized motherboard ID number system.
For systems using a Phoenix BIOS, see whether your motherboard
or system is listed on the Micro Firmware BIOS upgrades page.
Links from this page for Intel and Micronics motherboards list the
codes that show up onscreen during boot. Match these codes to
your system and you might be able to use a Micro Firmware
upgrade. Most MR BIOS (Microid Research BIOS) installations are
done as upgrades rather than in original equipment. See the list of
supported chipsets (identified by chipset brand and model, not
motherboard vendor) and motherboards using Intel’s Triton-series
chipsets to see whether your system can use an MR BIOS, or contact
Microid Research directly for system-specific information.
Accessing the BIOS Setup Programs
The BIOS is configured in one of several ways. Early computers,
such as the IBM PC and PC/XT, used DIP switches on the motherboard
to set a limited range of BIOS options, including memory
size and the number of floppy disk drives. The IBM PC/AT introduced
a disk-based configuration utility to cope with the many
additional options on 286-based CPUs. Since the late 1980s, most
computers have had their BIOS Setup programs incorporated into
the BIOS chip itself. The Setup program is accessed on these systems
by pressing a key or key combination early in the system
startup procedure. Most recent computers display the correct keystroke(s)
to use during the system startup. If not, use Table 3.8 to
learn the keystrokes used to start common BIOS types.
Table 3.8
Program
Common Keystrokes Used to Access the BIOS Setup
BIOS Keystrokes Notes
Phoenix BIOS Ctrl+Alt+Esc
Ctrl+Alt+F1
Ctrl+Alt+S
Ctrl+Alt+Enter
Ctrl+Alt+F11
Ctrl+Alt+Ins
Award BIOS Ctrl+Alt+Esc
Esc
AMI BIOS Del