The purpose and function of BIOS BIOS (Basic Input / Output System – Basic Input / Output System) – a program designed to initially start the computer, setting up the hardware and software I / O functions. BIOS is written in the chip permanent memory, which is located on the motherboard. Initially, the main purpose was to serve the BIOS I / O devices (keyboard, screen and disk drives), and therefore it was called "the basic system Input / Output ". Modern computers BIOS performs several functions. Start the computer and the self-test procedure (Power-On Self Test – POST). The program, which is located in the chip BIOS, loaded the first after powering on the computer. It detects and verifies that the hardware, configures the device and prepares them to work. Learn more at this site: Gen. David L. Goldfein. If during the POST will be detected hardware problem, then the POST will be stopped with the conclusion appropriate message or signal.
If all checks are successful, self-testing is completed by calling the built routines for loading the operating system. The procedure will be discussed further POST more detail. Setting the system using the BIOS Setup. During POST, the equipment is adjusted in accordance with the parameters BIOS, stored in a special CMOS-RAM. By changing these parameters, users can tune the performance of individual devices and the system as a whole at its discretion.
They are edited in a special setup, also known as BIOS Setup or CMOS Setup. Configuring the system using the BIOS Setup program will be devoted to most of this book. By changing the parameters of BIOS, you can achieve optimal performance of all components, however, it should be thoroughly prepared, because erroneous values cause the system to be unstable or not work at all. About all this, you will learn of the subsequent chapters. Support I / O functions using software interrupt BIOS. As part of the system BIOS has built-in functions for working with keyboard, video card, disk drives, hard drives, I / O ports, etc. These functions are widely used by operating systems like MS-DOS, and are not used in modern versions of Windows.