Navigating the BIOS

As shown in Figure 1, the BIOS user interface (UI) is divided into three main panes:

    Topology

    Information

    Help

Figure 1  BIOS User Interface

Note: The symbol ‘i’ is a visual element used in this document to emphasize specific areas of the BIOS UI as relevant to the topic under discussion. The symbol is not part of the Marvell BIOS UI.

The arrow lines in Figure 1 show the flow of information in the user interface. Selections made in a pane determine the contents shown in other panes in the following ways:

Content in the Information pane is populated based on selections in the Topology pane.

Content in the Help pane is populated based on selections in both the Topology and Information panes.

Topology

As shown in Figure 2, the Topology pane uses a tree view to list and show the relationships between the various physical/virtual devices attached to the system. The devices on this list include the HBA, physical disks, and virtual disks.

Figure 2  BIOS UI Example Selection

Information

The Information pane is populated based on the selection in the Topology pane. Figure 2 shows information relevant to the selection HBA 0: Marvell 0.

Help

The Help pane is populated based on selections in both the Topology and Information panes. The Help pane in Figure 2 shows a brief description and lists keyboard controls for performing actions relevant to the selection (which in Figure 2 is HBA 0: Marvell 0).

Note: The Help pane is used by the BIOS to display important information relevant to the selection. The pane may contain short descriptions on selections, messages on selecting list items, default values for settings, among others.

Keyboard Controls

Table 1 lists the controls for navigating and using the BIOS UI

Table 1  Navigation Keys

Key

Function

 

Scrolls menu/list items.

 

Selects an item and shows a pop-up menu with options.

 

Toggles between Enable/Disable states and Select/Unselect states (as applicable).

 

Go backwards.

 

Confirm (Y) or Deny (N) settings.

 

Save and Exit the BIOS.