What do BIOS settings control?

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) settings primarily control the device boot priority, which determines the order in which hardware devices are checked and initialized during the boot process. This setting is crucial because it allows the computer to know which drive to access first for booting an operating system. For example, you might set the system to boot first from a USB drive for installations or recovery purposes, or from the hard drive where the operating system resides.

While BIOS settings offer control over system performance optimization, overclocking capabilities, and certain network configurations, these are not the primary function of the BIOS. System performance optimization generally involves settings related to CPU and memory configurations, which can enhance performance but are a secondary aspect in comparison to boot priority. Similarly, while overclocking capabilities can be configured in the BIOS for performance tuning, they are not universally applicable and depend on the system's hardware support. Network configurations are also part of the BIOS, particularly for network boot settings, but the primary function regarding system startup is to define boot priority.