System BIOS and Utilities 4-1System BIOS andUtilitiesYour NEC Direction L-Series computer system is made upof many different components that work together to keep thesystem operating normally. This chapter providesinformation on the NECCSD utilities available for yoursystem: Setup utility BIOS flash utility Video drivers.SYSTEM BIOS AND THE SETUP UTILITYConfiguration information is stored in a nonvolatile memorychip, a device that retains its data when system power isturned off. This chip is called a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) chip, and it is backed up by abattery on the system board. The battery suppliescontinuous power to CMOS memory and maintainsconfiguration information when system power is off.The system BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a set ofconfiguration instructions burned into the CMOS chip.Your system ships from the factory with the BIOS setcorrectly for your configuration. Unless you add optionalhardware, you do not need to run the Setup utility to operateyour system. However, you might wish to run Setup to setfeatures that customize your system, such as to add oradjust security features.4
