BIOS Terms

[Guest]

I never really knew what all the BIOS Terms like flashing the bios or what double bios on motherboards are for (or why you would need them)

 

Can someone explain what all the terms mean :) Thanks

 

And yes, I know what a BIOS is.

[Sors]

Flashing the BIOS means overwriting the software it uses to run with another version.

 

Some motherbards and videocards have Dual BIOS, that means they have 2 different chips with the BIOS software, usually with a switch that you use to select which one of the 2 you want to use.   This is for when one of the BIOS information goes corrupt, you can switch to the other and still use your device.

[Glenwing]

If the BIOS is corrupted (for example, if there is a power out while you are flashing the BIOS chip with a newer version) your motherboard will be unusable.  A backup BIOS chip can be used to repair a corrupt primary BIOS.

 

Also if you like to tinker around with the BIOS a lot, it can be useful to have multiple BIOS "profiles".

[Guest]

Alright, makes sense on why you would need multiple BIOS', but I'm still a bit unclear on BIOS flashing.

[Zeal]

The board manufacturers release updates to their Bios Firmware that can increase stability and/or add new CPU compatibilities that didn't exist then.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Like if the board gets released, but users provide info regarding an issue/problem with a USB port or something, a wide range problem that 99% of boards released may have, they will release an update (much like a software patch) to be written to the bios via windows software or USB stick in the Bios itself..., with dev fix's, optimizations, features added or taken away... anything they wanna do, they can do, release a bios and then we'd flash it and get the USB problem port back...

[Guest]

Huh. so BIOS flashing is like manually installing windows updates, but on your motherboard (And not windows of course :P)

[mgsstar]

Huh. so BIOS flashing is like manually installing windows updates, but on your motherboard (And not windows of course :P)

Yes its basically updating your motherboard's software. Having a new bios usually will fix issues and bugs in the software.

 

Found a good website about flashing your bios and when you should do it : http://blog.superuser.com/2011/04/03/what-is-flashing-the-bios/

[Guest]

What about CMOS? I've always heard Linus talk about a "Clear CMOS" Button, never really knew what it meant though.

[mgsstar]

What about CMOS? I've always heard Linus talk about a "Clear CMOS" Button, never really knew what it meant though.

Clearing the CMOS means that you either use the jumper on the motherboard or pull out the battery in order to reset the bios settings to its factory/default settings.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/tp/clearcmos.htm

 

Some motherboards have a button which you press in order to reset it.

[Guest]

Clearing the CMOS means that you either use the jumper on the motherboard or pull out the battery in order to reset the bios settings to its factory/default settings.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/tp/clearcmos.htm

 

Some motherboards have a button which you press in order to reset it.

Ah ok, so it's just resetting all the BIOS settings to their factory defaults.

[Lil Chillbil]

NEVER FLASH YOUR BIOS WITHOUT HAVING A UPS PLUGGED INTO ANOTHER UPS PLUGGED INTO A SURGE PROTECTOR

 

 

 

trust me I learned my lesson... 

[imfamy]

BIOS = Basic Input Output System

CMOS = Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor 

UEFI = Unified Extensible Firmware Interface

[Glenwing]

What about CMOS? I've always heard Linus talk about a "Clear CMOS" Button, never really knew what it meant though.

 

The CMOS is the chip that retains your BIOS settings, and other things such as your computer's clock.  It's powered by a coin battery on the motherboard so that it persists even when the computer is off and disconnected from power, and is also how your computer keeps track of what time it is without any power.  Removing the battery will erase any changes you have made to the BIOS and restore it to its factory default (or whatever default you have flashed onto the BIOS chip via a BIOS update.  Clearing the CMOS can help when you have made a BIOS setting change that is preventing you from booting the computer or accessing the BIOS to change it back.

[MsTrMind]

Not to highjack the thread or so, but what is UEFI?

I mean, I know what it stands for (a little google isn't that hard), but in what layer does it run?

Ontop of the BIOS? Or is it a replacement for the bios?

[Glenwing]

Not to highjack the thread or so, but what is UEFI?

I mean, I know what it stands for (a little google isn't that hard), but in what layer does it run?

Ontop of the BIOS? Or is it a replacement for the bios?

 

It is a more advanced replacement for BIOS.

[MsTrMind]

It is a more advanced replacement for BIOS.

Oh okay, so on the modern boards, there is no such thing as a bios anymore?

[Guest]

Oh okay, so on the modern boards, there is no such thing as a bios anymore?

I think it's called a UEFI BIOS, not just UEFI, and thanks for asking about UEFI, that was another one of the questions I had that I forgot about