This area of the BIOS exists primarily for compatibility with old or unusual hardware. Most people will not need to make any changes from the factory default settings.

Reset Configuration Data : The Extended System Configuration Data (ESCD) contains information about non-PnP (plug and play) devices. It also remembers the configuration of the system since the last time it was booted. Enable this feature if you want the system to clear this data during the Power-On-Self-Test (POST). This is typically used when diagnosing a piece of hardware that is not working correctly. Once you've Enabled this and exited the BIOS, the data will be cleared, and the setting will automatically be returned to Disabled.

Resources Controlled By : This setting tells the computer to either set IRQs automatically or to allow for all devices to be assigned IRQs manually. Manual IRQ selection can be quite challenging and is usually only required when working with older, non-PnP compliant peripherals. The recommended setting is: AUTO(ESCD).

IRQ Resources : This option allows manual IRQ configuration and will only be available as an option if you selected MANUAL in the previous setting.

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop : This feature is typically used by video add-on cards, such as MPEG encoders. They do not have their own color palette, so they must borrow or "snoop" the palette from the system's video card. If, like most people, you do not have a secondary video device plugged into the video card, this setting should be set to Disabled.