Computer Setup Guide

215867-001

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Computer Setup Guide

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Writer: Martha Rockecharlie Part Number: 215867-001 File Name: a-Intro_cs.doc
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 Notice
Compaq Computer Corporation shall not be liable for technical or
editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information in this
guide is subject to change without notice.
© 2000 Compaq Computer Corporation. Except for use in connection with the accompanying
Compaq product, no part of this guide may be photocopied or reproduced in any form without
prior written consent from Compaq Computer Corporation.
COMPAQ, the Compaq logo, Armada and Deskpro Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and other names of Microsoft products referenced herein
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Celeron and MMX are
trademarks of Intel Corporation.
All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies. Printed in U.S.A.
The following words and symbols mark special messages throughout this guide:

WARNING: Text set off in this manner indicates that failure

to follow directions could result in bodily harm or loss of life.

CAUTION: Text set off in this manner indicates that failure

to follow directions could result in damage to equipment or
loss of information.

Computer Setup Guide

First Edition (October 2000)
Part Number 215867-001

Compaq Computer Corporation

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 C OMPUTER S ETUP
Computer Setup Utilities (F10)
Use Computer Setup to do the following:
Change factory default settings.
Set the system date and time.
Set, view, change, or verify the system configuration, including
settings for processor, graphics, memory, audio, storage,
communications, and input devices.
Modify the boot order of bootable devices such as hard drives,
diskette drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, or LS-120
drives.
Configure the boot priority of IDE and SCSI hard drives
controllers.
Configure Quiet Drive options (for drives that support this
feature).
Enable Quick Boot, which is faster than Full Boot but does not run
all of the diagnostic tests run during a Full Boot. You can set your
system to:
always Quick Boot (default);
periodically Full Boot (from every 1 to 30 days); or
always Full Boot.
Enable or disable Network Server Mode, which allows the
computer to boot the operating system when the power-on
password is enabled, with or without a keyboard or mouse
attached. When attached to the system, the keyboard and mouse
remain locked until the power-on password is entered.
Select Post Messages Enabled or Disabled to change the display
status of Power-On Self-Test (POST) messages. Post Messages
Disabled suppresses most POST messages, such as memory count,
product name, and other non-error text messages. If a POST error
occurs, the error is displayed regardless of the mode selected. To
manually switch to Post Messages Enabled during POST, press
any key (except F1 through F12).
Establish an Ownership Tag, the text of which is displayed each
time the system is turned on or restarted.

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 Enter the Asset Tag or property identification number assigned by
your company to this computer.
Enable power-on password prompt during system restarts (warm
boots) as well as during power-on.
Establish a setup password that controls access to Computer Setup
(F10) and the settings described in this section.
To secure integrated I/O functionality, including the serial, USB,
or parallel ports, audio, or embedded NIC, so that they cannot be
used until they are unsecured.
Enable or disable Master Boot Record (MBR) Security. This
feature is not supported on theCompaq Professional Workstation
AP550 or SP750.
Enable or disable removable media boot ability.
Enable or disable removable media write ability.
Solve system configuration errors detected but not automatically
fixed during the Power-On Self-Test (POST).
Replicate your system setup by saving system configuration
information on diskette and restoring it on one or more computers.
Execute self-tests on a specified IDE hard drive.
Configure various energy-saving features including energy saver
mode, system and hard drive timeouts, power button mode, and
power LED behavior.

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 Using Computer Setup Utilities
To access the Computer Setup Utilities menu, complete the following
steps:
1. Turn on or restart the computer. If you are in Windows, click
Start Æ Shut Down Æ Restart the Computer.
2. When the F10=Setup message appears in the lower-right corner of
the screen, press the F10 key.

✎ If you do not press the F10 key while the message is

displayed, you must restart the computer again to
access the utility.

3. Select your language from the list and press the Enter key.
4. A choice of five headings appears in the Computer Setup Utilities
menu: File, Storage, Security, Power, and Advanced.
5. Use the Tab key to select the appropriate heading and the arrow
keys to select the option you want, then press the Enter key. To
return to the Computer Setup Utilities menu, press the Esc key.
6. To apply and save changes, select File Æ Save Changes and Exit.
If you selected an option that automatically restarted the
computer, changes were applied at that time.
If you have made changes that you do not want applied, select
Ignore Changes and Exit.
If you have already applied changes you now want to
eliminate, select Set Defaults and Exit. This option will restore
the original factory system defaults.

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 Computer Setup
Heading Option Description
File System Information Lists:
• Product name
• Processor type/speed/stepping
• Cache size (L1/L2)
• Installed memory size
• System ROM (includes family name and
version)
• System board revision
• Chassis serial number
• Asset tracking number
• Integrated MAC for embedded, enabled NIC (if
applicable)
About Displays copyright notice.
Set Time and Date Allows you to set system time and date.
Save to Diskette Saves system configuration, including CMOS, to a
blank, formatted 1.44-MB diskette.
Restore from Diskette Restores system configuration, including CMOS,
from a diskette.
Set Defaults and Exit Restores factory default settings, which includes
clearing any established passwords.
Ignore Changes and Exit Exits Computer Setup without applying or saving any
changes.
Save Changes and Exit Saves changes to system configuration and exits
Computer Setup.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Storage Device Configuration Lists all installed storage devices. When a device is
selected, detailed information and options are
displayed. The following options may be presented:
Diskette Type (For legacy diskette drives only)
Identifies the highest capacity media type accepted
by the diskette drive. Options are 3.5" 1.44 MB, 3.5"
720 KB, 5.25" 1.2 MB, 5.25" 360 KB, and Not
Installed.
Drive Emulation (LS-120 and ATAPI Zip drives only)
Allows you to select a drive emulation type for a
storage device. (For example, a Zip drive can be
made bootable by selecting disk emulation.)
Drive Type Emulation Options
IDE LS-120 None (treated as diskette drive)
Disk (treated as hard drive)
ATAPI Zip None (treated as Other)
drive Diskette (treated as diskette drive)
Disk (treated as hard drive)
Transfer Mode (IDE devices only)
Specifies the active data transfer mode. Options
(subject to device capabilities) are PIO 0, Max PIO,
Enhanced DMA, Ultra DMA 0, and Max UDMA.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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 Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Storage Device Configuration Translation Mode (IDE disks only)
(continued) (continued) Lets you select the translation mode to be used for
the device. This enables the BIOS to access disks
partitioned and formatted on other systems and may
be necessary for users of older versions of UNIX
(e.g., SCO UNIX version 3.2). Options are Bit-Shift,
LBA Assisted, User, and None.
CAUTION: Ordinarily, the translation mode selected
automatically by the BIOS should not be changed. If the
selected translation mode is not compatible with the
translation mode that was active when the disk was
partitioned and formatted, the data on the disk will be
inaccessible.
Translation Parameters (IDE Disks only)
Allows you to specify the parameters (logical
cylinders, heads, and sectors per track) used by the
BIOS to translate disk I/O requests (from the
operating system or an application) into terms the
hard drive can accept. Logical cylinders may not
exceed 1024. The number of heads may not exceed
256. The number of sectors per track may not
exceed 63. These fields are only visible and
changeable when the drive translation mode is set to
User.
Multisector Transfers (IDE ATA devices only)
Specifies how many sectors are transferred per multi-
sector PIO operation. Options (subject to device
capabilities) are Disabled, 8, and 16.
Quiet Drive (available on select drives only)
• Performance
Allows the drive to operate at maximum
performance.
• Quiet
Reduces noise from the drive during operation.
When set to Quiet, the drive will not operate at
maximum performance.
Note: If the drive does not support Quiet mode, the
Quiet Drive option will not be displayed.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Storage Options Removable Media Boot
(continued) Enables/disables ability to boot the system from
removable media.
Note: After saving changes to Removable Media
Boot, the computer will restart. Turn the computer off,
then on, manually.
Removable Media Write
Enables/disables ability to write data to removable
media.
Note: This feature applies only to legacy diskette,
IDE LS-120 Superdisk, and IDE PD-CD drives.
Primary IDE Controller
Allows you to enable or disable the primary IDE
controller.
Secondary IDE Controller
Allows you to enable or disable the secondary IDE
controller.
Diskette MBR Validation
Allows you to enable or disable strict validation of the
diskette Master Boot Record (MBR).
Note: If you use a bootable diskette image that you
know to be valid, and it does not boot with Diskette
MBR Validation enabled, you may need to disable
this option in order to use the diskette.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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 Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Storage IDE DPS Self-Test Allows you to execute self-tests on IDE hard drives
(continued) capable of performing the Drive Protection System
(DPS) self-tests.
Note: This selection will only appear when at least
one drive capable of performing the IDE DPS self-
tests is attached to the system.
Hard Drive Order Allows you to specify the order of attached hard drive
(supported on select controllers. The first hard drive controller in the order
models only) will have priority in the boot sequence and will be
recognized as drive C (if any devices are attached).
SCSI Narrow Termination Allows you to configure SCSI termination on the
(supported on select external SCSI connector for narrow SCSI drives. This
models only) feature should only be enabled if you are using a
narrow SCSI drive to terminate the external SCSI
channel.
Boot Order Allows you to specify the order in which attached
peripheral devices (such as diskette drive, hard drive,
CD-ROM, or network interface card) are checked for
a bootable operating system image. Each device on
the list may be individually excluded from or included
for consideration as a bootable operating system
source. For systems with more than one attached
diskette or disk drive, a submenu allows you to
specify the order in which the devices are assigned
drive letters.
Note: MS-DOS drive lettering assignments may not
apply after a non-MS-DOS operating system has
started.
To boot one time from a device other than the
default device specified in Boot Order, restart the
computer and press F9 when the F10=Setup
message appears on the screen. When POST is
completed, a list of bootable devices is displayed.
Use the arrow keys to select a device and press the
Enter key.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Security Setup Password Allows you to set and enable setup (administrator)
password.
Note: If the setup password is set, it is required to
change Computer Setup options, flash the ROM, and
make changes to certain plug and play settings
under Windows. Also, this password must be set in
order to use some Compaq remote security tools.
See the Troubleshooting Guide for more information.
Power-On Password Allows you to set and enable power-on password.
See the Troubleshooting Guide for more information.
Password Options Allows you to:
• Enable/disable network server mode.
Note: This selection will appear only if a power-
on password is set.
• Specify whether password is required for warm
boot (CTRL+ALT+DEL).
Note: This selection is available only when
Network Server Mode is disabled.
See the Desktop Management Guide for more
information.
Smart Cover Allows you to:
• Enable/disable the Smart Cover Lock
• Enable/disable Smart Cover Sensor
Note: Notify User alerts the user that the sensor
has detected that the cover has been removed.
Setup Password requires that the setup
password be entered to boot the computer if the
sensor detects that the cover has been
removed.
Feature supported on select models only. See the
Desktop Management Guide for more information.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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 Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Security Master Boot Record Allows you to enable or disable Master Boot Record
(continued) Security (MBR) Security.
When enabled, the BIOS rejects all requests to write
to the MBR on the current bootable disk. Each time
the computer is powered on or rebooted, the BIOS
compares the MBR of the current bootable disk to the
previously-saved MBR. If changes are detected, you
are given the option of saving the MBR on the current
bootable disk, restoring the previously-saved MBR,
or disabling MBR Security. You must know the setup
password, if one is set.
Note: Disable MBR Security before intentionally
changing the formatting or partitioning of the current
bootable disk. Several disk utilities (such as FDISK
and FORMAT) attempt to update the MBR. If MBR
Security is enabled and disk accesses are being
serviced by the BIOS, write requests to the MBR are
rejected, causing the utilities to report errors. If MBR
Security is enabled and disk accesses are being
serviced by the operating system, any MBR change
will be detected by the BIOS during the next reboot,
and an MBR Security warning message will be
displayed.
Feature supported on select models only.
Save Master Boot Record Saves a backup copy of the Master Boot Record of
the current bootable disk.
Note: Only appears if MBR Security is enabled.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Security Restore Master Boot Restores the backup Master Boot Record to the
(continued) Record current bootable disk.
Note: Only appears if all of the following conditions
are true:
• MBR Security is enabled
• A backup copy of the MBR has been previously
saved
• The current bootable disk is the same disk from
which the backup copy of the MBR was saved.
CAUTION: Restoring a previously saved MBR after a
disk utility or the operating system has modified the
MBR may cause the data on the disk to become
inaccessible. Only restore a previously saved MBR if
you are confident that the current bootable disk's MBR
has been corrupted or infected with a virus.
Device Security Enables/disables serial, parallel, and USB ports and
audio security.
Network Service Boot Enables/disables the computer’s ability to boot from
an operating system installed on a network server.
(Feature available on NIC models only; the network
controller must reside on the PCI bus or be
embedded on the system board.)
System IDs Allows you to set:
• Asset tag (16-byte identifier) and ownership Tag
(80-byte identifier displayed during POST)
See the Desktop Management Guide for more
information
• Chassis serial number or Universal Unique
Identifier (UUID) number if current number is
invalid (these ID numbers are normally set in the
factory and are used to uniquely identify the
system)
• Keyboard locale setting (e.g., English or
German) for System ID entry
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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 Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Power Energy Saver Allows you to set the energy saver mode (advanced,
disable, or minimal).
Note: In the minimal energy saver mode setting, the
hard drive and system do not go into energy saver
mode, but the setting allows you to press the power
button to suspend the system.
This option does not affect power management for
the ACPI-enabled operating systems.
Timeouts Allows you to disable or manually select timeout
values for the system and/or all attached IDE hard
drives.
Note: This option does not affect power management
for the ACPI-enabled operating systems. This
selection will only appear when energy saver mode is
set to advanced.
Energy Saver Options Allows you to set:
• Power button configuration (on/off or
sleep/wake) under APM-enabled operating
systems
• Power LED blink in suspend mode
(enable/disable). This option does not affect
power management for the ACPI-enabled
operating systems.
Note: Energy Saver Options will not appear if the
energy saver mode is disabled.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Advanced* Power-On Options Allows you to set:
• POST mode (QuickBoot, FullBoot, or FullBoot
every 1-30 days)
• POST messages (enable/disable)
• Safe POST (enable/disable)
• F9 prompt (enable/disable)
• F10 prompt (enable/disable)
• F12 prompt (enable/disable)
• Option ROM prompt (enable/disable)
• Remote wakeup boot sequence (remote
server/local hard drive)
• After power loss (off/on)
If you connect your computer to an electric
power strip, and would like to turn on power to
the computer using the switch on the power
strip, set this option to on.
Note: If you turn off power to your computer
using the switch on a power strip, you will not be
able to use the suspend/sleep feature or the
Remote Management features.
• UUID (Universal Unique Identifier)
(enable/disable)
Onboard Devices Allows you to set resources for or disable onboard
system devices (diskette controller, serial port,
parallel port).
PCI Devices • Lists currently installed PCI devices and their
IRQ settings.
• Allows you to reconfigure IRQ settings for these
devices or to disable them entirely.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
* These options should be used by advanced users only.
Continued

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 Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Advanced* Bus Options Allows you to enable or disable:
(continued) • PCI bus mastering, which allows a PCI device to
take control of the PCI bus
• PCI VGA palette snooping, which sets the VGA
palette snooping bit in PCI configuration space;
this is only needed with more than one graphics
controller installed
• PCI SERR# Generation
• ECC support allows hardware based error
correction for ECC capable memories
Device Options Allows you to set:
• Printer mode (bi-directional, EPP & ECP, output
only)
• Num Lock state at power-on (off/on)
• PME (power management event) wakeup
events (enable/disable)
• Processor cache (enable/disable)
• Processor Number (enable/disable) for
Pentium III processors.
• ACPI Thermal model (enable/disable)
• ACPI S3 support (enable/disable). S3 is an
ACPI (advanced configuration and power
interface) sleep state that some add-in hardware
options may not support. Feature supported on
select models only.
• ACPI S3 Video REPOST (enable/disable). This
feature reruns the video option ROM on a boot
from the S3 state.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
* These options should be used by advanced users only.
Continued

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Computer Setup Continued
Heading Option Description
Advanced* Device Options Allows you to set:
(continued) • ACPI S3 Hard Disk Reset (enable/disable).
Resets the hard disk on a boot from the S3
sleep state.
• ACPI S3 PS2 Mouse Wake Up
(enable/disable). Allows the mouse to wake the
system from the S3 sleep state.
• AGP Aperture size (options vary depending on
platform) allows you to specify the amount of
system memory reserved for use by your
graphics controller.
• Monitor Tracking (enable/disable). Allows ROM
to save monitor asset information.
PCI VGA Configuration Appears only if there are multiple PCI video adapters
in the system. Allows users to specify which VGA
controller will be the “boot” or primary VGA controller.
Support for Computer Setup options may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration.
* These options should be used by advanced users only.

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