CompTIA A+ Prep: How to Configure BIOS Settings on Your Computer

Understanding and learning different methods of programming computer devices is an important aspect of computer science. If a person wishes to excel in their professional career, they would require training and a handful of certifications which would ensure their excellence in a certain course. However, more than just merely acquiring a certificate would not do the job unless a person has a firm grasp of the complexities and developed a concrete understanding. Learning how to configure the BIOS settings on your computer is a fundamental step, to begin with. It is a part of computer science basics which are needed to be fully understood as well as practiced. This is a guide for all students who are on their way of acquiring CompTIA A+ Certification Training. Understanding the concept fully and successfully performing in practice would give a person a competitive edge.

In a simple understanding, a BIOS comprises of built-in options that allow a user to modify system aspects, such as time and date. A BIOS is always present on a computer’s motherboard. Its appearance on every hardware component would be different than the other since it depends on the manufacturer. Most manufacturers tend to keep this aspect distinctive in their devices.

Configuring BIOS: Here is a step-to-step guide:

Getting access to BIOS

Restarting a computer

The first and foremost step is to restart a computer just as a user would usually do from the start menu by clicking the power option and then Restart. If in case the computer is in locked mode, then click the screen, click the power icon and then Restart. These different ways of restarting a computer should always be known. Lastly, if the computer is already switched off, just simply power on.

Start-up screen

Next step is to hold for a moment to allow the startup screen to appear on the screen. Once the screen is prompted, a user would require to hit the setup key. It would only be some seconds before the system proceeds to the next process, so it is necessary to immediately press the setup key. It is advisable not to delay more than 2 seconds. A user would normally see a message continuously flashing at the bottom of their screen, which would say “Press (key) to enter setup”. If it disappears then a user would have to restart the computer and try again the process.

Entering setup

In this step, a user has to press and hold Del or F2 key on their keyboard in order to enter the setup mode. In some cases, the computer would rather ask a user to press a different key, so they should always press the key option prompted on the screen. Normally, computers are programmed to have one of the Functions (F) keys to perform this function. However, a user can always look up in their user manual in order to confirm the BIOS key. Now a user is required to hold on for a moment and let the BIOS load. It usually takes up to a few minutes and once it is done, a user would be directed to the BIOS settings menu.

Adjusting the BIOS settings

Learning the BIOS controls

In the BIOS menu, a user cannot use the mouse since the mode this not support it. Arrow keys, as well as other specific keys, would be required in order to navigate through the BIOS menu. A list of controls is available on the homepage of the BIOS menu, on the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Changing settings

It is necessary to keep in mind what effect a particular setting would bring when adjusting BIOS settings. It is highly important to be careful in this case because incorrectly changing settings could lead to hardware failure on the computer. If a user does not have proper knowledge of changing BIOS settings then they should not proceed at all with changing settings.

Boot order

A user wishes to have a different device that they want to boot from, the Boot menu should be entered. From there, one can assign which device the system would use to boot from in the first place. This process is useful for booting via a flash drive in order to repair or install an operating system on a computer. Arrow keys are used to reach the Boot tab and begin the process.

Setting up a BIOS password

It will be necessary to form a BIOS password to lock the system from booting until the password is entered.