Artesyn MITX-CORE-820 Installation and Use (July 2014) - Manual (Page 77)

Chapter 5
MITX-CORE-820 Installation and Use (6806800M10H) 77
BIOS
5.1 Power Up Self Test (POST)
After power-up or reset, the BIOS performs a self-test, POST, that attempts to determine if
further operation is possible and that the detected configuration is expected. This process can
complete normally or result in a warning or an error. The boot process does not stop after a
warning but displays a message on the primary display device. If an error is detected, the boot
process is halted. If possible, a message will be displayed but failures early on in the test can
only be indicated in POST codes - See the description of these codes later in this document.
The POST process display depends on the Quiet Boot option.
Viewing all checkpoints generated by Phoenix SCT firmware requires a checkpoint card, which
is also named "POST Card" or "POST Diagnostic Card". They are PCI or LPC add-in cards that
show the value of I/O port 80h on a LED display. These cards are available at the electronic or
computer market around the world.
5.2 Boot Process
While performing the functions of the traditional BIOS, the Phoenix SCT core follows the
firmware model described by the Intel® Platform Innovation Framework for EFI. The
framework is associated with the following boot phases, which can be described by various
state codes.
 Security (SEC) - initial low-level initialization
 Pre-EFI Initialization (PEI) - memory initialization
 Driver Execution Environment (DXE) - main hardware initialization2
 Boot Device Selection (BDS) - system setup, pre-OS user interface & selecting a bootable
device (CD/DVD, HDD, USB, Network, Shell, etc.)
5.3 Initiating Setup
Pressing the "F2" key on the keyboard during the boot brings up the Setup utility once the POST
is complete and before it searches for a boot device. See the setup description later in this
document to describe the operation of the this utility. If you exit setup without saving any
changes, the boot process continues with the search for a boot device. If the changes are saved,
the motherboard loads the new settings and resets, re-starting the entire boot process.