Setting BIOS options

Personally I prefer a resolution of 1024x768 pixels on my 17 inch monitor. I tried Xconfigurator to set this resolution, but I was not satisfied with the results. The picture was not clear and showed ghost images. The monitor is okay when connected to other computers. The user manual for the PCM-5862 says on page 63, second point 4, that for other Refresh rates than 60 Hz, the display must be switched to CRT only display mode. Therefore I loaded a new BIOS in the Flash ROM. First I attached a floppy drive. Then I used the AMIFLASH program on the PCM-5862 Utility floppy to load the 5862_CRT.BIN file into the Flash ROM. Now I can use higher refresh rates, but the display is still not sharp. Presumably the design of the motherboard and/or connector is not optimal for these frequencies.

To get the BIOS settings in a known state, I first loaded the BIOS defaults. According to the documentation from Award Software International the BIOS defaults are the most save settings. The system booted correctly with these settings. The second step was to load the Setup defaults. These are the optimal settings for the the 5862 board (at least, according to the Award documentation). The system still booted correctly. Finally I made 2 changes:

	In the STANDARD CMOS SETUP screen, I set "Halt On" to "All,But Keyboard", so the system can boot without a keyboard attached.
	In the PNP/PCI CONFIGURATION screen, I set "Resources Controlled By" to "Auto". This is neccessary for the AX10410 analog I/O module.

With these settings the systems works reliable and it can boot without connecting any monitor or keyboard.