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How it works: O.C. Profiles
Written on July 25, 2011 by Matt BachAlways look at the date when you read a hardware article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on July 25, 2011. For newer information, see our more recent articles.
Introduction
A computer's BIOS controls all the basic settings of your computer, such as memory and hard drive settings, as well as some other options which are all necessary for your computer to start Windows normally. All these settings should already be set when you receive your computer, but in certain instances the BIOS may "forget" all the custom settings and revert to default settings. This can happen if the motherboard's CMOS battery loses power (the BIOS requires a constant small amount of voltage to retain these settings) or can even happen if the system has an unexpected restart or shutdown.
O.C. profiles allows users to save their BIOS settings to a memory chip on the motherboard that is non-volatile (does not need a constant voltage source). This means that even if the BIOS gets reset due to a power loss or the CMOS battery dies, the saved O.C. profile is available for you to quickly restore from. Most motherboards also allow for multiple O.C. profiles to be saved, meaning that advanced users can have multiple BIOS setups that they can easily switch between. These multiple profiles are most often utilized by users performing aggressive overclocking who need multiple BIOS settings they can switch between quickly if/when their machine becomes unstable.
O.C. profiles are available on most current ASUS motherboards and may be offered on other brands as well, although the feature is likely called something different due to copyright issues.
O.C. profiles allows users to save their BIOS settings to a memory chip on the motherboard that is non-volatile (does not need a constant voltage source). This means that even if the BIOS gets reset due to a power loss or the CMOS battery dies, the saved O.C. profile is available for you to quickly restore from. Most motherboards also allow for multiple O.C. profiles to be saved, meaning that advanced users can have multiple BIOS setups that they can easily switch between. These multiple profiles are most often utilized by users performing aggressive overclocking who need multiple BIOS settings they can switch between quickly if/when their machine becomes unstable.
O.C. profiles are available on most current ASUS motherboards and may be offered on other brands as well, although the feature is likely called something different due to copyright issues.
Accessing O.C. Profiles
These instructions only pertain to ASUS desktop motherboards. All BIOS's are slightly different, so the layout and wording on your system's BIOS may slightly differ from the screenshots below. Pre-UEFI motherboards in particular will look much different, although the general layout of the BIOS will be similar. If in doubt, you can refer to your motherboard manual for specific instructions on using your BIOS.
Restoring from an O.C. Profile
To get to the O.C. Profile screen, see the section above titled "Accessing O.C. Profiles"
Saving a new O.C. Profile
To get to the O.C. Profile screen, see the section above titled "Accessing O.C. Profiles"
Conclusion
While the O.C. Profiles can be an excellent tool, there are a few drawbacks to the technology in it's current form. The largest drawback at the moment is that if you update the BIOS, you should avoid using any previously saved O.C. profiles. Often existing profiles are automatically deleted when the BIOS is updated, but this is not always the case.
The reason you should avoid using older profiles is that depending on what was changed, added or removed to the BIOS in the update, the settings saved in the profile may no longer be relevant. While this most often just means that one or more settings are not restored, it could potentially cause the system to not POST if the profile restores a setting that the BIOS no longer sees as being a valid option.
We also high recommend not saving over the profile we at Puget Systems setup for your system unless absolutely necessary. While you may make some hardware changes in the future that require a BIOS change or two, having the original profile gives us a concrete place to start troubleshooting if you ever have a BIOS-related issues.
As always, we offer lifetime support on all Puget Systems, so if you need help with anything relating to the BIOS, just give us a call at (425)458-0273
The reason you should avoid using older profiles is that depending on what was changed, added or removed to the BIOS in the update, the settings saved in the profile may no longer be relevant. While this most often just means that one or more settings are not restored, it could potentially cause the system to not POST if the profile restores a setting that the BIOS no longer sees as being a valid option.
We also high recommend not saving over the profile we at Puget Systems setup for your system unless absolutely necessary. While you may make some hardware changes in the future that require a BIOS change or two, having the original profile gives us a concrete place to start troubleshooting if you ever have a BIOS-related issues.
As always, we offer lifetime support on all Puget Systems, so if you need help with anything relating to the BIOS, just give us a call at (425)458-0273