The BIOS setup program - an acronym for Basic Input/Output System - is
a vital part of a PC's system, without which nothing can work.
For how much longer that is the case remains to be seen, because in
Apple Macs the operating system OS X performs the function, and some of
the leading players in the PC market, namely Microsoft and Intel are
working together on a replacement for the BIOS called the Extensible
Firmware Interface (EFI), which is a mini operating system that supports
a high-resolution full-colour graphical interface that allows various
tasks to be run before the main operating system boots, such as basic
multimedia operations, scanning for viruses, and the use of diagnostic
tools. In any case, even with the existing PC BIOS, the operating system
(Windows, Linux, etc.) has assumed many of the functions that used to be
be performed by the BIOS.
The BIOS setup program performs four distinct tasks:
1. - Tests the computer's main components by running its POST
(Power-On-Self-Test) program to make sure that they are all functioning
properly.
2. - Configures the main components that are part of the motherboard or
that are attached to it so that the operating system knows what to do
with them. The configuration role was essential to the operation of a
computer, but it is decreasing all the time as the operating system
continues to take over more and more of this role.
3. - Boots the operating system from the hard disk drive or from a
bootable floppy disk or CD/DVD disc at start-up.
4. - Provides access to some of the computer's components and features,
such as the keyboard even when the operating system is up and running.
The BIOS is programmed to run a small routine that handles the keyboard
at the behest of the operating system. In this way, the BIOS code
provides a uniform interface to the system in order that variable
hardware can function without having to make the necessary changes to
the operating system when the type of hardware changes. Windows 2000,
Windows XP and Windows Vista only make a small number of such calls to
the BIOS, but the Linux operating system makes no such calls while it is
running, because it deals directly with the standard hardware it is
likely to encounter, and it uses device-driver software to deal with any
non-standard or special hardware it encounters. Moreover, work is under
way to create a version of Linux that boots without a BIOS.
5. - The BIOS can be updated to remove bugs or support additional
hardware by reflashing it. The major motherboard manufacturers update
the BIOS for their motherboards regularly. An good example in which
installing an update is necessary is when a Socket 939 motherboard that
runs AMD's Athlon 64 processors has a BIOS that supports only the
single-core version of those processors. If the user wants to use a
dual-core Socket 939 model, which the motherboard supports, a BIOS
update is required.
PC Buyer Beware! Copyright © Eric Legge 2004-2007. All right reserved.
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