Chapter 3. Before setup

Table of Contents
3.1. Configuring your BIOS
3.2. Creating a "bootdisk"
3.2.1. Under Windows
3.2.2. Under GNU/Linux
3.3. Supported hardware
3.3.1. What's not supported
3.3.2. Collecting information on your hardware

3.1. Configuring your BIOS

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is used to boot up a computer. Specifically, it is used to find the device on which the operating system is located and start it up. It is also used for the initial configuration of the hardware.

The appearance of plug'n'play and its widespread use means that all modern BIOS can initialize these devices, but you still have to ask it to do so. If your Windows 9x OS is initializing these devices instead of the BIOS, this will need to be changed for use under GNU/Linux.

Changing your BIOS settings is usually performed by holding down the DEL key just after the computer is switched on. Unfortunately, there are many types of BIOS', therefore you will have to look for the appropriate option by yourself. The option to look for is often called PNP OS installed (or Plug'n'Play OS installed). Set this option to No and the BIOS will then initialize any plug'n'play devices. That can help GNU/Linux recognize some devices in your machine which it would not otherwise be able to initialize.

If your BIOS can boot from the CDROM and you want to perform a standard installation of Linux-Mandrake (not using Lnx4Win), you can also set your BIOS to boot from the CDROM before searching the hard disk. Look for Boot sequence in the BIOS features setup.


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