Configure BIOS

Now that you have confirmed that critical components are properly installed and functioning, you should enter the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) by pressing whatever key is indicated onscreen (often the key is delete or function key two [F2] but it can vary). Usually you can only press the key during a specific time early during bootup so reset your computer if you miss it. If your keyboard isn't working, there's not much you can do except make sure it's plugged in properly or try another keyboard. If you are using USB try the PS2 port if you have one; you can buy USB to PS2 adapters at Radio Shack.

The BIOS is usually a non-graphical I/O system navigated by keyboard, but fancy graphics aren't needed at this stage; all you really want to do here is confirm that the system is properly detecting your hardware. Upon first entering the BIOS, you should see a menu of categories of settings; in most cases they correspond roughly to the following headings.

Standard CMOS Setup

This section should display the current time and date as well as your floppy drive setup. If your floppy drive isn't properly detected, make sure the ribbon cable is properly connected and that the drive is receiving power. Often you will also see your IDE drives displayed here, or they will be in a separate menu item of their own. Regardless, make sure your drives are all being properly detected and if not check the cables as with the floppy drive. It's quite rare that you actually have to manually enter the drives' information yourself.

Advanced BIOS Features

For the most part, you should leave these settings at their defaults until you have tested your system. Always check your motherboard's manual for specifics on these settings. One notable setting is the boot priority of your IDE devices, which sets the order in which the system will look at each drive to determine whether there is bootable information on that drive. It's important to set this properly because if you have your hard-drive set as your first boot device and you have a bootable partition on that hard drive, you will never be able to boot from floppy or CD. I usually set my first boot device to floppy, second to CD and third to hard drive since I usually don't have any disks in my drives when I boot my computer.

Advanced Chipset Features

It's probably not wise to play with these settings unless you really know what you're doing; with modern versions of BIOS these settings are detected automatically. If you must know what each setting does, consult your motherboard's manual.