Chapter 4: AMIBIOS
4-1
Chapter 4
AMIBIOS
4-1 Introduction
This chapter describes the AMIBIOS for the Intel 440BX Pentium II 233/266/
300/333/350/400/450 MHz and Pentium III MHz processors. The AMI ROM
BIOS is stored in the Flash EEPROM and can be easily upgraded using a
floppy disk-based program.
System BIOS
The BIOS is the Basic Input Output System used in all IBM
®
PC, XT™, AT
®
,
and PS/2
®
compatible computers. WinBIOS is a high-quality example of a
system BIOS.
Configuration Data
AT-compatible systems, also called ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
must have a place to store system information when the computer is turned
off. The original IBM AT had 64 kbytes of non-volatile memory storage in
CMOS RAM. All AT-compatible systems have at least 64 kbytes of CMOS
RAM, which is usually part of the Real Time Clock. Many systems have 128
kbytes of CMOS RAM.
How Data Is Configured
AMIBIOS provides a Setup utility in ROM that is accessed by pressing <Del>
at the appropriate time during system boot. Setup configures data in CMOS
RAM.
POST Memory Test
Normally, the only visible POST routine is the memory test. The screen that
appears when the system is powered on is shown on the next page.
An AMIBIOS identification string is displayed at the left bottom corner of the
screen, below the copyright message.
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