Kopec Explains Software
Computing concepts simplified
1 year ago

#96 What is a BIOS?

The firmware that sits between the hardware and the operating system in a PC.

A BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a piece of firmware on a PC that sits between the hardware and the operating system. It takes care of some essential functions like hardware startup tests, power management, boot device order, and control of microprocessor support chips. The original firmware on IBM PCs and PC compatibles was called the "BIOS", but most PCs manufactured in the last decade use a newer standard known as UEFI for their firmware. However, the term BIOS is still used generically to refer to UEFI compatible firmware, so in this episode we discuss PC firmware more generally than any specific BIOS. We discuss what a BIOS does and why a user may want to enter its setup mode to configure it.

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