STUDENT DATE PERFORMED

SECTION/ GROUP RATING

Activity No. 3
The ROMBIOS

Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to setup and troubleshoot a newly assembled
system. The objective of this activity is to boot the system from drive A. The POST
(Power-On Self Test) function of the ROM BIOS (Read Only Memory Basic Input-
Output System) will be used to diagnose and troubleshoot the system. Logical settings
will be configured in the BIOS CMOS Setup

Recommended Readings/ References

Upgrading and Repairing PC’s, 8th ed. Chapter 4- Motherboards

Materials
• 1 unit PC System
• 1 PC Tools Kit

Procedure
A. Basic PC Setup and Troubleshooting
1. Setup the PC’s main components: system unit, monitor, keyboard, AVR,
etc.
2. Turn on the system. At this point, a text should be displayed on the screen.
3. If there’s no display, follow the basic troubleshooting procedure listed
below.

Basic Troubleshooting Procedure:

Systems Block diagram is one graphical tool used by technicians in
troubleshooting the system. It shows the different components and their
 connections with each other. The following describes the general
procedure in PC’s basic troubleshooting:
a. Analyze the Symptoms
b. Check the cables and other connections
c. Diagnose a Section
d. Isolate an Area
e. Repair or Replace the Defective Component

4. Draw a block diagram of the PC system.

B. The POST (Power-On Self Test) is one function of the ROM BIOS that
performs series of tests run by the computer at power-on. It scans and tests
various components such as the CPU, memory, internal circuitry, etc. If it
encounters a problem, it produces an error message through its internal
speaker by producing audio error codes and monitor by displaying visual
error codes.
1. Describe the sound produced by the internal speaker on the following
situations:
a. normal startup

b. by removing the memory

c. by removing the video card

2. Referring to POST Audio Error Codes documentation, identify the Fault

in the system with the following beep codes:
a. repeating short beeps

b. one long, two three beeps

c. continuous beep

3. Given the following Visual Error Codes, identify the component that
causes the error.

a. Error 201

b. Error 306

c. Error 1210
C. The BIOS CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Setup
provides a built-in Setup program that allows user to modify the basic system
configuration and hardware parameters. The BIOS configuration will be
stored in a battery-backed CMOS, so that data will be retained even when
the power is turned off.
1. Turn on the computer and press <Del> to enter the “BIOS CMOS Setup
Utility”.
2. On the “BIOS CMOS Setup” main menu, choose “Load Setup Defaults”
and press <Enter>. If the “Load Setup Defaults?” question is displayed,
press <Y> to load setup default settings.
3. Choose “Standard CMOS Setup” and then press <Enter>. On the
“Standard CMOS Setup Menu”, a) Set the “Date” and “Time” to current
date and time; b) Set the “Hard Disk Type” to “Auto”; c) Set “Halt On”
to “All Errors”. Press <Esc> key to go back to the Main Menu.

NOTE: Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the
<PgUp> or <PgDn> key to select the desired value in each item in the
menu. Use the <Esc> key to quit or go back to the main menu.

4. Choose “BIOS Features Setup” and press <Enter>. On the “BIOS Feature
Setup Menu”, a) Set the “Boot Sequence” to “A, C, SCSI”, this option allows
the BIOS to search first the OS (Operating System) in the floppy disk; b) Set
the “Security Option” to ”System”. Then press the <Esc> key to go back to
main menu.
5. Choose the “Supervisor Password” and press <Enter>. Type the
supervisor password and press <Enter>. Confirm the password and press
<Enter> again.
6. Choose the “User Password” and press <Enter>. Type a different user
password from the “Supervisor Password” then press <Enter>. Confirm
the password and press <Enter> again.
 CAUTION: Don’t forget the password you’ve entered in both the
“Supervisor Password” and “User Password”. You might be locked up in your
own system.

7. Choose “Save and Exit Setup” and press <Y> to save changes. The
system will then reboot.
8. If asked for a password during startup, type either the “Supervisor
Password” or the “User Password” then press <Enter> to enter the
system.

Review Questions
1. What are the three main functions of a ROM BIOS? Describe each of them.

2. What happens to the system if there is no internal battery in the

motherboard?

3. What error message is displayed if you remove the FDD in the system?

4. In “Security Option” under the “BIOS Feature Setup Menu”, what is the
difference between the “Setup” and the “System” option?
 5. When will you recommend using the Supervisor Password and the User
Password?

6. What will you do if you forgot the Supervisor Password/ User Password and
set the “Security Option” to “System” to boot-up the system?

7. What error message is displayed on the screen if there is no bootable diskette

in a FDD during the boot up process? What is the cause of an error?

Observation

Conclusion