When booting from my hard drive, I am prompted with an option to choose my operating system: windows 7 or Ubuntu operating systems. Upon choosing one of these, it takes me through the normal booting process. When booting from a CD – ROM or Flash, insert the CD or flash and then restart the computer. Press the "F8" function key as the computer restarts to enter into BIOS setting of the computer. You may have to press the "Ctrl" key at the same time depending on the manufacturer of the computer. If any problems arise, check the owner's manual for additional information as each computer can have different BIOS access options. After finding the boot option menu item in the BIOS, you should hard drive as the primary or first device. Use the up arrow key or space bar to select the CD-ROM as the primary or first boot device. Push the "Esc" key and then save the changes to the BIOS settings. The computer will restart then, and it should boot from the CD-ROM now. Depending on what you have on the CD rom for booting, the computer runs from that. I booted the BackTrack program from my CD-ROM in order to use the program without having it permanently saved on my hard drive. I navigated through the BackTrack program with no problems, but did not activate any sessions as it is used for hacking purposes.
My computer uses USB for both the mouse and the keyboard, therefore it does not signal any beep codes as an older motherboard with PS2 mouse connectors would. The main difference between a USB mouse and a ps2 is that ps2 speeds up to 2mbps where USB speeds up to 480 mbps and it is hot swappable (plug & play) among many types of devices. Also because the USB is not specifically used for mice and keyboards, the absence of them does not raise any beeping signals. Because of this reason, switching the ports for the mouse and keyboard or even not having them attached at all, I cannot find any error codes or signal alarms that result. There are a few additional security measures that one can take besides the generic username and password to access an operating system. One example is a BIOS option to enable more layers of security, such as asking for another password to boot, access the drive, or change BIOS settings. This can help fend off data thieves that may gain physical access to your computer, but will make it much more difficult to alter and steal data within the computer system. Another form of security that a lot of BIOS offer is a hardware monitor menu. Some might not consider this a security feature, but I believe that this is a very valuable tool that can help safeguard your computer hardware. This part of the BIOS displays and sometimes monitors voltages, fan speeds, and temperatures. My motherboard, for example, allows me to set the system to automatically control the speeds of its fans keeping the system at a steady internal temperature. Also I can set the CPU warning temperature that sounds an alarm if any overheating arises. Other common options include settings that power down once a pre-set temperature has been exceeded, or if the fan is turning too slowly or not at all. This prevents the CPU from burning up if a fan fails or other extraordinary condition occurs.