Each modern computer (286, 386, 486, or Pentium) contains CMOS RAM, which tries to remember the date, time, how many megabytes of RAM you’ve bought, how you want the RAM used, what kind of video you bought, and what kind of disk drives you bought. A battery feeds power to the CMOS RAM, so that the CMOS RAM keeps remembering the answers even while the main power switch is off. If the computer says “Invalid configuration specification: run SETUP” (or a similar error message), your computer’s CMOS RAM contains wrong info — probably because the battery died and needs to be replaced or recharged. In most computers, the battery is rechargeable; it recharges itself automatically if you leave the computer turned on for several hours.
To react to the error message, try running the CMOS SETUP program, which asks you questions and then stores your answers to the CMOS RAM.
If your computer’s CPU is an old 286, the CMOS SETUP program comes on a floppy disk. That disk is not in the set of MS-DOS disks; instead, the CMOS SETUP program comes on a separate utility disk. You probably got that disk when you bought the computer. If you lost that disk, borrow one from a friend that has a similar old computer, or get it from your dealer or at any computer store’s repair department.
If your computer is a newer 286 or a 386 or 486, the CMOS SETUP program does not come on a floppy disk. Instead, the CMOS SETUP program hides in a ROM chip inside your computer and is run when you hit a “special key” during the bootup’s RAM test. That “special key” is usually either the DELETE key or the Esc key or the F1 key; to find out what the “special key” is on your computer, read your computer’s manual or ask your dealer.
Once the CMOS SETUP program starts running, it asks you lots of questions. For each question, it also shows you what it guesses the answer is. (The computer’s guesses are based on what information the computer was fed before.)
On a sheet of paper, jot down what the computer’s guesses are. That sheet of paper will turn out to be very useful!
Some of those questions are easy to answer (such as the date and time).
A harder question is when the computer asks you to input your hard-drive type number. If your BIOS chip is modern and your hard drive is modern (IDE), you can make the computer automatically figure out the hard-drive type number: just choose “auto-detect hard drive” from a menu. Otherwise, you must type the hard-drive type number, as follows:
The answer is a code number from 1 to 47. If your hard drive is modern (IDE), choose 47 or “user”; if your hard drive is older, you must choose a lower number, which you must get from your dealer. (If your dealer doesn’t know the answer, phone the computer’s manufacturer. If the manufacturer doesn’t know the answer, look inside the computer at the hard drive; stamped on the drive, you’ll see the drive’s manufacturer and model number; then phone the drive’s manufacturer, tell the manufacturer which model number you bought, and ask for the corresponding hard-drive type number.)
If you say 47 or “user”, the computer will ask you technical questions about your drive. Get the answers from your dealer (or drive’s manufacturer or by looking at what’s stamped on the drive).
If you don’t know how to answer a question and can’t reach your dealer for help, just move ahead to the next question. Leave intact the answer that the computer guessed.
After you’ve finished the questionnaire, the computer will automatically reboot. If the computer gripes again, either you answered the questions wrong or else the battery ran out — so that the computer forgot your answers!
In fact, the most popular reason why the computer asks you to run the CMOS SETUP program is that the battery ran out. (The battery usually lasts 1-4 years.)
To solve the problem, first make sure you’ve jotted down the computer’s guesses, then replace the battery, which is usually just to the left of the big power supply inside the computer. If you’re lucky, the “battery” is actually a bunch of four AA flashlight batteries that you can buy in any hardware store. If you’re unlucky, the battery is a round silver disk, made of lithium, like the battery in a digital watch: to get a replacement, see your dealer.
After replacing the battery, run the CMOS SETUP program again, and feed it the data that you jotted down.
That’s the procedure. If you’re ambitious, try it. If you’re a beginner, save yourself the agony by just taking the whole computer to your dealer: let the dealer diddle with the CMOS SETUP program and batteries for you.
Whenever you upgrade your computer with a better disk drive or video card or extra RAM, you must run the CMOS SETUP program again to tell the computer what you bought.
In many computers, the ROM BIOS chip is designed by American Megatrends Inc. (AMI). AMI’s design is called the AMIBIOS (pronounced “Amy buy us”). Here’s how to use the 4/4/93 version of AMIBIOS. (Other versions are similar.)
When you turn the computer on, the screen briefly shows this message:
AMIBIOS (C)1993 American Megatrends Inc.
000000 KB OK
Hit
Then the number “000000 KB” increases, as the computer checks your RAM chips. While that number increases, try pressing your keyboard’s DEL or DELETE key.
That makes the computer run the AMIBIOS CMOS SETUP program. The top of the screen will say:
AMIBIOS SETUP PROGRAM - BIOS SETUP UTILITIES
Underneath, you’ll see this main menu:
STANDARD CMOS SETUP
ADVANCED CMOS SETUP
ADVANCED CHIPSET SETUP
AUTO CONFIGURATION WITH BIOS DEFAULTS
AUTO CONFIGURATION WITH POWER-ON DEFAULTS
CHANGE PASSWORD
AUTO DETECT HARD DISK
HARD DISK UTILITY
WRITE TO CMOS AND EXIT
DO NOT WRITE TO CMOS AND EXIT
The first and most popular choice, “STANDARD CMOS SETUP”, is highlighted. Choose it (by pressing ENTER).
The computer will warn you by saying:
Improper use of Setup may cause problems!!!
Press ENTER again.
The computer will show you the info stored in the CMOS about the date, time, base memory, extended memory, hard drives, floppy drives, video card, and keyboard.
If that stored info is wrong, fix it! Here’s how:
By using the arrow keys on the keyboard, move the white box to the info that you want to fix. (Exception: you can’t move the white box to the “base memory” or “extended memory”.) Then change that info, by pressing the keyboard’s PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN key several times, until the info is what you wish.
When you’ve finished examining and fixing that info, press the Esc key. You’ll see the main menu again.
If you’re having trouble with a modern (IDE) hard drive, choose “AUTO DETECT HARD DISK” from the main menu (by pressing the down-arrow key six times, then pressing ENTER). The computer will try to detect what kind of drive C you have, then it will say:
Accept Parameters for C: (Y/N) ?
Press the Y key then ENTER.
Then the computer will try to detect what kind of drive D you have and say:
Accept Parameters for D: (Y/N) ?
Press Y again then ENTER. You’ll see the main menu again.
When you’ve finished using the main menu, you have two choices:
If you’re unsure of yourself and wish you hadn’t fiddled with the SETUP program, just turn off the computer’s power! All your fiddling will be ignored, and the computer will act the same as before you fiddled.
On the other hand, if you’re sure of yourself and want the computer to take your fiddling seriously, press the F10 key then Y then ENTER. The computer will copy your desires to the CMOS and reboot.
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