Boot Order

Boot Order:
This is the most important setting for when you first build your computer. The boot order determines which devices the motherboard will look at for an operating system or installer. The options typically include Hard Drive, Optical Drive, Floppy Drive, Network and Other. The standard order at first startup is Floppy, Hard Drive, Optical Drive and Other. This will generally cause the system to find the hard drive first which will not have a functional operating system on the computer.
The proper sequence for the installation of a new operating system should be Floppy, Optical Drive, Hard Drive and Other. This allows the computer to but from the OS installation CD that has a bootable installer program on it. Once the hard drive has been formatted and the OS installed, it is important to then restore the boot order of the computer to the original of Floppy, Hard Drive, Optical Drive and Other.

Drive Settings:
The settings for the hard and optical drives that run off the ATA controllers is another area that users may need to alter. In most modern drives, the PIO and ATA modes are automatically detected and used. There are some cases that it may be necessary to set the controllers to a specific setting to properly function. This is usually only the case with older components.
To properly set the PIO and ATA modes for the drives, refer to the documentation from the manufacture of the hard or optical drive being installed. Once the settings are known from the manufacturer, the proper settings can be placed in the BIOS. Once again, this should only be done if there are problems with the computer when the AUTO settings are used.

Problems and Resetting the CMOS:
On some rare occasions, the computer system may not properly POST or boot. When this occurs, typically a series of beeps will be generated by the motherboard to indicate a diagnostic code. Pay close attention to the number and types of beeps and then refer to the motherboard manuals for what the codes mean. Generally when this occurs, it will be necessary to reset the BIOS by clearing the CMOS that stores the BIOS settings.
The actual procedure for clearing the CMOS is fairly straightforward, but check with the manual for the steps to double check. The first thing to do is power off the computer and unplug it. Let to computer rest for about 30 seconds. At this point, you need to find the reset jumper on the motherboard. This jumper is moved from the non-reset to reset position for a brief moment and returned back to its original position. Plug the power cord back in and reboot the computer. At this point, it should boot with the BIOS defaults allowing the settings to be redone.