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Breaking Through the BIOS Barrier: The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide for PCs
- By Adrian Wong
- Published Aug 27, 2004 by Pearson.
Book
- This product currently is not for sale.
Description
- Copyright 2005
- Dimensions: 7x9-1/4
- Pages: 384
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-145536-2
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-145536-8
The first authoritative guide to optimizing your PC's BIOS
Your PC's BIOS enables your software and hardware to work together. But they can work together better—way better. If you want the best possible PC performance and stability, this book shows you exactly what to tweak, and how to tweak it.
Until now, most BIOS information was terse, incomprehensible...practically useless. Not anymore! Breaking Through the BIOS Barrier: The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide for PCs reveals the secrets behind 200 of today's most important BIOS settings. You won't just learn what they're for: You'll learn exactly how to use them in both optimization and troubleshooting.
Author Adrian Wong created the Web's #1 BIOS resource: the BIOS Optimization Guide at Adrian's Rojak Pot. Nobody knows more about your PC's BIOS... and no other book delivers this much accurate, usable information!
Learn about:
- The BIOS—what it really is, what it does, and how to optimize it safely
- All the different BIOS features and how to optimize them
- Optimizing your system memory, CPU, PCI bus, AGP port, USB ports, hard disks, and more
- Customizing the boot sequence and accelerating the bootup process
- Maximizing system security and stability
- Restoring your BIOS in any emergency, step by step
- Myths and misconceptions surrounding the BIOS—and the truth
If you're a gamer, PC enthusiast, or tech support professional... if you care about PC performance and reliability... if you're passionate about what goes on under the hood... this is the book you've been searching for!
Sample Content
Online Sample Chapter
Table of Contents
Foreword by Lewis Keller, Mushkin.
Introduction.
1. What Is The Bios.
How Does The BIOS Work?.
The Motherboard BIOS.
The BIOS Chip.
What Does It Do?.
Why Optimize the BIOS?.
How Do I Optimize the BIOS?.
BIOS Updates.
How Do I Update the BIOS?.
Determining the BIOS Version.
Obtaining the BIOS Update.
Preparing a BIOS Flash Disk.
Flashing the Motherboard BIOS.
Accessing the BIOS Setup Utility.
The BIOS Setup Utility.
Optimizing the BIOS.
2. Special Topics.
BIOS Emergencies.
Unbootable System.
Power Off-Power On.
Keyboard Reset.
CMOS Discharge Jumper.
CMOS Battery Removal.
Corrupted BIOS.
Hot Flashing.
What Do I Need To Hot Flash a BIOS Chip?.
Step 1: Create a DOS Boot Disk.
Step 2: Prepare a Hot-Flash Capable Computer.
Step 3: Booting Up with the Boot Disk.
Step 4: Swap the BIOS Chips.
Step 5: Flash the Corrupted BIOS Chip.
Step 6: Swap the BIOS Chips Again.
What If You Don’t Have a Similar Motherboard?.
Flashing With a Different Motherboard.
The Universal BIOS Flash Utility.
Summary.
3. Quick Reviews.
Introduction.
#.
8-bit I/O Recovery Time.
16-bit I/O Recovery Time.
32-bit Disk Access.
32-bit Transfer Mode.
A.
Act Bank A to B CMD Delay.
AGP 2X Mode.
AGP 4X Drive Strength.
AGP 4X Mode.
AGP 8X Mode.
AGP Always Compensate.
AGP Aperture Size.
AGP Capability.
AGP Clock / CPU FSB Clock.
AGP Drive Strength.
AGP Drive Strength N Ctrl.
AGP Drive Strength P Ctrl.
AGP Driving Control.
AGP Driving Value .
AGP Fast Write.
AGP ISA Aliasing.
AGP Master 1WS Read.
AGP Master 1WS Write.
AGP Prefetch.
AGP Secondary Lat Timer.
AGP Spread Spectrum.
AGP to DRAM Prefetch.
AGPCLK / CPUCLK.
Anti-Virus Protection.
APIC Function.
Assign IRQ For USB.
Assign IRQ For VGA.
AT Bus Clock.
ATA100RAID IDE Controller.
Athlon 4 SSED Instruction.
Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk.
Auto Turn Off PCI Clock Pin.
B.
Boot Other Device.
Boot Sequence.
Boot Sequence EXT Means.
Boot To OS/2.
Boot Up Floppy Seek.
Boot Up NumLock Status.
Byte Merge.
C.
Clock Throttle.
Compatible FPU OPCODE.
CPU/DRAM CLK Synch CTL.
CPU Drive Strength.
CPU Fast String.
CPU Hyper-Threading.
CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking.
CPU Latency Timer.
CPU Level 1 Cache.
CPU Level 2 Cache.
CPU Level 3 Cache.
CPU Thermal-Throttling.
CPU to PCI Post Write.
CPU to PCI Write Buffer.
CPU VCore Voltage.
D.
DBI Output for AGP Trans..
Delay DRAM Read Latch.
Delay IDE Initial.
Delay Prior To Thermal.
Delayed Transaction.
Differential Current.
Disable Unused PCI Clock.
DOS Flat Mode.
DRAM Act to PreChrg CMD.
DRAM Burst Length 8QW.
DRAM Data Integrity Mode.
DRAM Idle Timer.
DRAM Interleave Time.
DRAM Page-Mode.
DRAM PreChrg to Act CMD.
DRAM Ratio (CPU:DRAM).
DRAM Ratio H/W Strap.
DRAM Read Latch Delay.
DRAM Refresh Rate.
Duplex Select.
E.
ECP Mode Use DMA.
EPP Mode Select.
F.
Fast R-W Turn Around.
Fast Write to Read Turnaround.
First Boot Device.
Flash BIOS Protection.
Floppy 3 Mode Support.
Floppy Disk Access Control.
Force 4-Way Interleave.
Force Update ESCD.
FPU OPCODE Compatible Mode.
Frame Buffer Size.
FSB Spread Spectrum.
Full Screen Logo.
G.
Gate A20 Option.
Graphic Win Size.
Graphic Window WR Combin.
Graphics Aperture Size.
H.
Hardware Reset Protect.
HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability.
Host Bus In-Order Queue Depth.
Hyper-Threading Technology.
I.
IDE Bus Master Support.
IDE HDD Block Mode.
Init Display First.
In-Order Queue Depth.
Interrupt Mode.
IOQD.
ISA 14.318MHz Clock.
ISA Enable Bit.
K.
K7 CLK_CTL Select.
KBC Input Clock Select.
Keyboard Auto-Repeat Delay.
Keyboard Auto-Repeat Rate.
L.
L3 Cache.
LD-Off Dram RD/WR Cycles.
Level 2 Cache Latency.
M.
Master Drive PIO Mode.
Master Drive UltraDMA.
Master Priority Rotation.
MD Driving Strength.
Memory Hole At 15M-16M.
MP Capable Bit Identify.
MPS Control Version For OS.
MPS Revision.
Multi-Sector Transfers.
N.
N/B Strap CPU As.
No Mask of SBA FE.
O.
Onboard FDC Swap A & B.
Onboard FDD Controller.
Onboard IDE-1 Controller.
Onboard IDE-2 Controller.
Onboard IR Function.
Onboard Parallel Port.
Onboard Serial Port 1.
Onboard Serial Port 2.
Onboard USB Controller.
OnChip VGA Mode Select.
OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M.
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB.
P.
P2C/C2P Concurrency.
Parallel Port Mode.
Passive Release.
PCI#2 Access #1 Retry.
PCI 2.1 Compliance.
PCI Chaining.
PCI Clock / CPU FSB Clock.
PCI Delay Transaction.
PCI Dynamic Bursting.
PCI IDE Busmaster.
PCI IRQ Activated By.
PCI Latency Timer.
PCI Master 0 WS Read.
PCI Master 0 WS Write.
PCI Master Read Caching.
PCI Pipelining.
PCI Prefetch.
PCI Target Latency.
PCI to DRAM Prefetch.
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop.
PIO Mode.
PIRQ x Use IRQ No..
PNP OS Installed.
Post Write Combine.
Power On Function.
Primary Graphics Adapter.
Primary VGA BIOS.
Processor Number Feature.
PS/2 Mouse Function Control.
Q.
Quick Boot.
Quick Power On Self Test.
R.
Rank Interleave.
Read-Around-Write.
Read Wait State.
Refresh Interval.
Refresh Mode Select.
Report No FDD For Win95.
Reset Configuration Data.
Resource Controlled By.
RxD, TxD Active.
S.
S2K Bus Driving Strength.
S2K Strobe N Control.
S2K Strobe P Control.
SDRAM 1T Command.
SDRAM 1T Command Control.
SDRAM Active to Precharge Delay.
SDRAM Bank Interleave.
SDRAM Bank-to-Bank Delay.
SDRAM Burst Len.
SDRAM Burst Length.
SDRAM CAS Latency Time.
SDRAM Command Leadoff Time.
SDRAM Command Rate.
SDRAM Cycle Length.
SDRAM Cycle Time Tras/Trc.
SDRAM ECC Setting.
SDRAM Idle Limit.
SDRAM Leadoff Command.
SDRAM Page Closing Policy.
SDRAM Page Hit Limit.
SDRAM PH Limit.
SDRAM Precharge Control.
SDRAM RAS Precharge Delay.
SDRAM RAS Precharge Time.
SDRAM RAS Pulse Width.
SDRAM RAS-to-CAS Delay.
SDRAM Row Active Time.
SDRAM Row Cycle Time.
SDRAM Tras Timing Value.
SDRAM Trc Timing Value.
SDRAM Trcd Timing Value.
SDRAM Trp Timing Value.
SDRAM Bank-to-Bank Delay.
SDRAM Trrd Timing Value.
SDRAM Write Recovery Time.
SDRAM Write to Read Command Delay.
Second Boot Device.
Security Setup.
Shadowing Address Ranges
Share Memory Size.
Slave Drive PIO Mode.
Slave Drive UltraDMA.
Speed Error Hold.
Split Lock Operations.
Spread Spectrum.
Super Bypass Mode.
Super Bypass Wait State.
SuperStability Mode.
Swap Floppy Drive.
Synchronous Mode Select.
System BIOS Cacheable.
T.
Third Boot Device.
TX, RX Inverting Enable.
Typematic Rate.
Typematic Rate Delay.
Typematic Rate Setting.
U.
Ultra DMA Mode.
UltraDMA-100 IDE Controller.
UltraDMA-133 IDE Controller.
UltraDMA-66 IDE Controller.
USB Controller.
USB Keyboard Support.
USB Mouse Support.
USWC Write Posting.
V.
Video BIOS Cacheable.
Video BIOS Shadowing.
Video Memory Cache Mode.
Video RAM Cacheable.
Virus Warning.
VLink 8X Support.
W.
Watchdog Timer.
Write Data In to Read Delay.
Write Recovery Time.
4. Detailed Descriptions.
Introduction.
#.
8-bit I/O Recovery Time.
16-bit I/O Recovery Time.
32-bit Disk Access.
32-bit Transfer Mode.
A.
Act Bank A to B CMD Delay.
AGP 2X Mode.
AGP 4X Drive Strength.
AGP 4X Mode.
AGP 8X Mode.
AGP Always Compensate.
AGP Aperture Size.
AGP Capability.
AGP Clock / CPU FSB Clock.
AGP Drive Strength.
AGP Drive Strength N Ctrl.
AGP Drive Strength P Ctrl.
AGP Driving Control.
AGP Driving Value.
AGP Fast Write.
AGP ISA Aliasing.
AGP Master 1WS Read.
AGP Master 1WS Write.
AGP Prefetch.
AGP Secondary Lat Timer.
AGP Spread Spectrum.
AGP to DRAM Prefetch.
AGPCLK / CPUCLK.
Anti-Virus Protection.
APIC Function.
Assign IRQ For USB.
Assign IRQ For VGA.
AT Bus Clock.
ATA100RAID IDE Controller.
Athlon 4 SSED Instruction.
Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk.
Auto Turn Off PCI Clock Pin.
B.
Boot Other Device.
Boot Sequence.
Boot Sequence EXT Means.
Boot To OS/2.
Boot Up Floppy Seek.
Boot Up NumLock Status.
Byte Merge.
C.
Clock Throttle.
Compatible FPU OPCODE.
CPU Drive Strength.
CPU Fast String.
CPU Hyper-Threading.
CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking.
CPU Level 1 Cache.
CPU Level 2 Cache.
CPU Level 3 Cache.
CPU Thermal-Throttling.
CPU to PCI Post Write.
CPU to PCI Write Buffer.
CPU VCore Voltage.
D.
DBI Output for AGP Trans..
Delay DRAM Read Latch.
Delay IDE Initial.
Delay Prior To Thermal.
Delayed Transaction.
Disable Unused PCI Clock.
DRAM Act to PreChrg CMD.
DRAM Burst Length 8QW.
DRAM Data Integrity Mode.
DRAM Idle Timer.
DRAM Interleave Time.
DRAM PreChrg to Act CMD.
DRAM Ratio (CPU:DRAM).
DRAM Ratio H/W Strap.
DRAM Read Latch Delay.
DRAM Refresh Rate.
Duplex Select.
E.
ECP Mode Use DMA.
EPP Mode Select.
F.
Fast R-W Turn Around.
Fast Write to Read Turnaround.
First Boot Device.
Flash BIOS Protection.
Floppy 3 Mode Support.
Floppy Disk Access Control.
Force 4-Way Interleave.
Force Update ESCD.
FPU OPCODE Compatible Mode.
FSB Spread Spectrum.
Full Screen Logo.
G.
Gate A20 Option.
Graphic Win Size.
Graphic Window WR Combin.
Graphics Aperture Size.
H.
Hardware Reset Protect.
HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability.
Host Bus In-Order Queue Depth.
Hyper-Threading Technology.
I.
IDE Bus Master Support.
IDE HDD Block Mode.
Init Display First.
In-Order Queue Depth.
Interrupt Mode.
IOQD.
ISA 14.318MHz Clock.
ISA Enable Bit.
K.
K7 CLK_CTL Select.
KBC Input Clock Select.
Keyboard Auto-Repeat Delay.
Keyboard Auto-Repeat Rate.
L.
L3 Cache.
Level 2 Cache Latency.
M.
Master Drive PIO Mode.
Master Drive UltraDMA.
Master Priority Rotation.
MD Driving Strength.
Memory Hole At 15M-16M.
MP Capable Bit Identify.
MPS Control Version For OS.
MPS Revision.
Multi-Sector Transfers.
N.
N/B Strap CPU As.
No Mask of SBA FE.
O.
Onboard FDC Swap A & B.
Onboard FDD Controller.
Onboard IDE-1 Controller.
Onboard IDE-2 Controller.
Onboard IR Function.
Onboard Parallel Port.
Onboard Serial Port 1.
Onboard Serial Port 2.
Onboard USB Controller.
OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M.
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB.
P.
P2C/C2P Concurrency.
Parallel Port Mode.
Passive Release.
PCI#2 Access #1 Retry.
PCI 2.1 Compliance.
PCI Chaining.
PCI Clock / CPU FSB Clock.
PCI Delay Transaction.
PCI Dynamic Bursting.
PCI IDE Busmaster.
PCI IRQ Activated By.
PCI Latency Timer.
PCI Master 0 WS Read.
PCI Master 0 WS Write.
PCI Master Read Caching.
PCI Pipelining.
PCI Prefetch.
PCI Target Latency.
PCI to DRAM Prefetch.
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop.
PIO Mode.
PIRQ x Use IRQ No..
PNP OS Installed.
Post Write Combine.
Power On Function.
Primary Graphics Adapter.
Primary VGA BIOS.
Processor Number Feature.
PS/2 Mouse Function Control.
Q.
Quick Boot.
Quick Power On Self Test.
R.
Rank Interleave.
Read-Around-Write.
Read Wait State.
Refresh Interval.
Refresh Mode Select.
Report No FDD For Win95.
Reset Configuration Data.
Resource Controlled By.
RxD, TxD Active.
S.
S2K Bus Driving Strength.
S2K Strobe N Control.
S2K Strobe P Control.
SDRAM 1T Command.
SDRAM 1T Command Control.
SDRAM Active to Precharge Delay.
SDRAM Bank Interleave.
SDRAM Bank-to-Bank Delay.
SDRAM Burst Len.
SDRAM Burst Length.
SDRAM CAS Latency Time.
SDRAM Command Leadoff Time.
SDRAM Command Rate.
SDRAM Cycle Length.
SDRAM Cycle Time Tras/Trc.
SDRAM ECC Setting.
SDRAM Idle Limit.
SDRAM Leadoff Command.
SDRAM Page Closing Policy.
SDRAM Page Hit Limit.
SDRAM PH Limit.
SDRAM Precharge Control.
SDRAM RAS Precharge Delay.
SDRAM RAS Precharge Time.
SDRAM RAS Pulse Width.
SDRAM RAS-to-CAS Delay.
SDRAM Row Active Time.
SDRAM Row Cycle Time.
SDRAM Tras Timing Value.
SDRAM Trc Timing Value.
SDRAM Trcd Timing Value.
SDRAM Trp Timing Value.
SDRAM Trrd Timing Value.
SDRAM Write Recovery Time.
SDRAM Write to Read Command Delay.
Second Boot Device.
Security Setup.
Shadowing Address Ranges.
Share Memory Size.
Slave Drive PIO Mode.
Slave Drive UltraDMA.
Speed Error Hold.
Split Lock Operations.
Spread Spectrum.
Super Bypass Mode.
Super Bypass Wait State.
SuperStability Mode.
Swap Floppy Drive.
Synchronous Mode Select.
System BIOS Cacheable.
T.
Third Boot Device.
TX, RX Inverting Enable.
Typematic Rate.
Typematic Rate Delay.
Typematic Rate Setting.
U.
Ultra DMA Mode.
UltraDMA-100 IDE Controller.
UltraDMA-133 IDE Controller.
UltraDMA-66 IDE Controller.
USB Controller.
USB Keyboard Support.
USB Mouse Support.
USWC Write Posting.
V.
Video BIOS Cacheable.
Video BIOS Shadowing.
Video Memory Cache Mode.
Video RAM Cacheable.
Virus Warning.
VLink 8X Support.
W.
Watchdog Timer.
Write Data In to Read Delay.
Write Recovery Time.
Acronym List.
Index.
About the Author.
About Adrian's Rojak Pot.
About the BIOS Optimization Guide.
Index
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