Im new here, please explain BIOS

[FaZe Rain]

Just explain what a BIOS is, i understand its something to do with your motherboard. Like, in pcpartpicker when it says "your motherboard may need a BIOS update prior to using a haswell refresh cpu". And if you could also explain how to preform these bios updates. Any answers are appreciated. thanks!

[Godlygamer23]

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System. Its job is to essentially recognize the hardware, apply settings to the hardware, and give instructions to the CPU on how to boot the OS. Though BIOS is becoming outdated in favor of a newer type of firmware called UEFI.

[Zayzo]

Just explain what a BIOS is, i understand its something to do with your motherboard. Like, in pcpartpicker when it says "your motherboard may need a BIOS update prior to using a haswell refresh cpu". And if you could also explain how to preform these bios updates. Any answers are appreciated. thanks!

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+a+BIOS

[Swndlr]

Basically a control center for your PC.

 

"The BIOS includes instructions on how to load basic computer hardware and includes a test referred to as a POST (Power On Self Test) that helps verify the computer meets requirements to boot up properly. If the computer does not pass the POST, you will receive a combination of beeps indicating what is malfunctioning within the computer."

[alexhelvetica]

i can't explain what a bios is, but put the update for a bios on a USB drive and plug it into the computer.

[coppertj]

BIOS is the menu your motherboard uses to show configurable settings. The haswell refresh means you're going to need to flash your motherboard with a new bios update. You can find bios updates on your motherboard's site you're going to need a usb drive

[JefferyD90]

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System. It's job is to essentially recognize the hardware, apply settings to the hardware, and give instructions to the CPU on how to boot the OS. Though BIOS is becoming outdated in favor of a newer type of firmware called UEFI.

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[Lolucoca]

Just like the basic operating system of your motherboard.

[JefferyD90]

BIOS = Basic Input/Output System.

 

It is the FIRST thing your computer does when it is turned on.  This is the basis on how your computer operates.  It is what looks at the inputs of your computer (like keyboard strokes) and sends it to the components (like the CPU) to be determined into a action (like adding each letter in this message)!

 

Having a upto date BIOS means that it will support more hardware, or fix some weird errors with certain hardware.

 

As people have mentioned, BIOS is a out of date term.  Most computers, if not all, ship with UEFI and not a BIOS.  UEFI is much more advanced and has many advantages.  For example, it supports current day standards.  The BIOS was developed by IBM in the 80's and only offers basic support of hardware, if you wanted to do advanced things (like using a mouse) it would require a higher level piece of software (like a operating system and a driver) to manipulate the computer into performing the action.

 

In short, a updated BIOS or UEFI is a good thing and usually brings much needed improvements like supporing new hardware.

[adithyay328]

Basically, when you start your computer, you can choose to go into this menu(BIOS), and you can change settings like cpu multiplier, RAM profile, etc,