HACKING YOUR BIOS

BIOS Hacks for Faster Bootup
Some of the stuff your computer does at boot time is of no
use. Disable those features to boot faster.

Disable Extended Tests
Many systems offer the option of allowing an in-depth test of system memory and components
(an extended test) or zipping through the system and getting to bootup as quickly as possible.
With RAM as reliable and economical as it is (and having so much of it) and having plug-and-play
operating systems like Windows—and, to some extent, current versions of Linux—the Quick Test
mode is more than adequate, and preferred for faster boot times. This parameter is shown in Figure
1-14, and specifi es the depth, and thus the time involved, for testing system RAM and fi nding and
checking the basic components of the system—COM and LPT ports and such
Confi gure Drive Detection
Most BIOSes provide the capability to automatically search for, identify, and confi gure different
types of drives across multiple IDE and Serial ATA connections. This parameter setting usually
shows up as AUTO in the IDE confi guration choices. If you leave the parameter for all four possible
IDE or Serial ATA devices set to AUTO, your BIOS will waste a lot of time searching for nonexistent
devices. For faster boot times set the parameter to NONE, as shown in Figure 1-15, for any unused
interfaces and connections that have nothing attached to them.