(continued)LCD Display
stretch:System
Memory:640 KBOption Setting ExplanationExtended
Memory:478 MBBIOS Ver.: V1.60Language: [English(US)]This setting applies only to
lower resolutions for the LCD.
When stretch is Enabled, the
video image is electronically
stretched to cover the entire
screen.A report on which version of
BIOS is installed; most modern
machines can update their BIOS
to later versions if they become
available by downloading a file
that “flashes” the reprogram-
mable read-only memory chip.
On this machine, I could
change the language for BIOS
screen settings from English
to Japanese.Extended memory is the block of
memory above the first megabyte
of RAM; modern machines play
tricks to recover the space
between the 640K of system
memory and extended memory.
Depending on the design of your
laptop, this number may seem
lower than you expect; on many
devices the video adapter grabs
a piece of installed RAM for
its own use. In the instance of
this Toshiba laptop, the
built-in Intel Extreme Graphics
circuitry on the motherboard
can “share” from 16 to 64MB of
RAM for its purposes.System Memory is the laptop’s
“lower” memory where most of
the operating system and some
programs reside; this is a
holdover design that harkens
all the way back to the origi-
nal IBM PC, a time when 640K
was more than anyone could
possibly imagine requiring.
This is not a user-changeable
setting, although if you see a
number lower than 640K you most
likely have a problem with the
machine’s memory or its mother-
board[Enabled][Disabled]104 Part II: Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong