BIOS Setup for interactive installations
On unattended installations in public places, electrical power is sometimes not guaranteed.
That's why you'll need to ensure that the electronics in your setup can start back up after a power loss.
To do so, you will need to set certain BIOS parameters:
Accessing the BIOS
- Power cycle the PC
- Press F2 and/or Del (or look for any message telling you what key to use to access Setup).
- If this does not access the BIOS, check this link for ways to do it.
Usually after making changes you can save and reboot with F10.
Side Note: ACPI Power States
ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface specification) defines several power states. It can be useful to know their meaning as some BIOS use them in the menu labels:
- S0: Working (full power on).
- S1-S3: Sleep (monitor sleep, but running under).
- S4: Hibernated (memory saved to disk, like laptops with low battery).
- S5: Soft Off. Fully shut down, but can be powered up by BIOS.
- G3: Mechanical off. No power consumed.
Power On after power loss (or state after G3)
Each BIOS will have this option placed somewhere different, but usually under either the "Power management" or "Advanced Settings" sections. Set this to Power On.
Wake up by Real-Time-Clock (RTC)/Wake from S5
In case the PC is shut down cleanly, it won't start unless the power button is pressed. If you want to ensure the PC is operative by, say, first hour in the morning, you can set it up to start at a given time.
Usually in the Advanced or Power sections of the BIOS you can find a "Resume by Alarm" or "Resume by RTC Alarm" option.
It allows you to enter a time (HH:MM:SS) to power on the machine if it's off.
Note: If a date is offered, usually a value of zero in the day field means "every day".
