BIOS is pronounced as by-oss and is sometimes referred to as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, or PC BIOS. The picture below is an example of what a BIOS chip may look like on a computer motherboard. Changing your boot order is less risky, but you can even run into trouble there. When you’re done, select the “Save Changes” option to save your changes and restart your computer. PCs with a BIOS will have a text-mode interface you can navigate with your arrow keys, using the Enter key to select options. Your computer’s BIOS is the first thing that loads when you start your computer. Join 425,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. In computing, BIOS (/ ˈbaɪɒs, - oʊs /, BY-oss, -⁠ohss; an acronym for Basic Input/Output System and also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS or PC BIOS) is firmware used to perform hardware initialization during the booting process (power-on startup), and to provide runtime services for … Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day, How to Access CPU and Memory Timing Settings in the BIOS, How to Access BIOS Setup Utility for Major BIOS Manufacturers, How to Check the Current BIOS Version on Your Computer, BIOS Setup Utility Access Keys for Popular Computer Systems, How to Fix the Inaccessible Boot Device Error in Windows 10, How to Fix 'PXE-E61: Media Test Failure, Check Cable' Error, check what version is currently running on your computer, Enable or Disable the Quick Power On Self Test (POST), Enable or Disable Onboard Floppy Controller, Enable or Disable Onboard Serial/Parallel Ports, Change Which Display is Initialized First on Multi-Display Setups, Reset Extended System Configuration Data (ESCD), Enable or Disable BIOS Control of System Resources. Use a terminal (or terminal emulator connected to a computer) through the serial port on the back panel of the server. Thus, if you want to: change the boot order; UEFI stands for “Unified Extensible Firmware Interface”. When you switch on your computer, the processor gives control to the BIOS. It doesn't matter if a computer is running Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, Unix, or no operating system at all—BIOS functions outside of the operating system environment and is no way dependent upon it. BIOS may refer to any of the following:. The BIOS setup utility access key differs between computer systems, motherboard manufacturers, and BIOS manufacturers — some of the common keys include F1, F2, and the Del key. Both offer interfaces you can access to change a variety of system settings. The BIOS Setup Utility is, for all practical purposes, the BIOS itself. Image Credit: ryuuji.y on Flickr and  Thomas Bresson on Flickr. Delete, F2, F10). The BIOS firmware is non-volatile, meaning that its settings are saved and recoverable even after power has been removed from the device. It allows you to access your computer system at the most basic level. BIOS access and configuration on PC systems are independent of any operating system because the BIOS is part of the motherboard hardware. Memory - Direct the BIOS to shadow to a specific memory address Security - Set a password for accessing the computer Power Management - Select whether to use power management, as well as set the amount of time for standby and suspend Exit - Save your changes, discard your changes or restore default settings BIOS is a program that comes with your computer and it generally resides on EPROM so that the processor can access it. To access it, hold down the Shift key as you click the “Restart” option to restart your computer. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings to access the UEFI firmware settings screen. You can access BIOS Setup utility screens from the following interfaces: Use a USB keyboard, mouse, and VGA monitor connected directly to the server. Even if you know what you’re looking for, it’ll be in a different place on different computer’s settings screens. The following are some of the more popular BIOS vendors: Award Software, General Software, and Microid Research were BIOS manufacturers acquired by Phoenix Technologies. Various Boot options are organized in a sequential manner in the order of their priority. However, your BIOS checks whether there are any bootable CDs or floppies, just in case. Both are low-level software that starts when you boot your PC and sets things up. What Is Bios and What Does It Do? The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is critical to the proper operation of your computer. If it doesn't, and the motherboard supports DualBIOS, that BIOS backup can be restored to overwrite the corrupted version. BIOS might check if the full update has been applied by verifying that the checksum matches up with the intended value. He's written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. To access your BIOS, you’ll need to press a key during the boot-up process. In general, your computer's basic input/output system shouldn't need to be updated that often, but sometimes you have to view or even edit your computer's BIOS. To find the exact key you need to press, consult your PC’s manual. But UEFI firmware and the BIOS are fairly similar. controls all of the low-level functions of your PC, and you'll need to access it if you want to make any changes. Note. lock down your computer with a boot password, enable Intel’s VT-x virtualization technology, How to Use Google Maps Street View in Split Screen on Android, How to Practice Your Presentations with PowerPoint’s Presenter Coach, How to Enable Google Chrome’s “Reading List” on Android, How to Add, Edit, or Delete Recurring Events in Google Calendar, How to Disable Notification Center on iPhone Lock Screen, © 2021 LifeSavvy Media. Generally, the motherboard will post this information when the computer first turns on, but it's best to look it up beforehand. The BIOS Setup Utility is accessed in various ways depending on your computer or motherboard make and model. Short for Basic Input/Output System, the BIOS (pronounced bye-oss) is a ROM chip found on motherboards that allows you to access and set up your computer system at the most basic level. But be careful in your BIOS or UEFI settings screen! If you built your own PC, consult your motherboard’s manual. But you can access the BIOS settings and do some changes. You can actually have a look at this by going into the BIOS while booting. The Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) is an essential set of routines in a PC, which is stored on a chip on the motherboard. It is important since it includes a test called POST to check if there are hardware-related issues with the computer and loads the boot loader to initialize Windows. This key is often displayed during the boot process with a message “Press F2 to access BIOS”, “Press to enter setup”, or something similar. If you’re creating a bio while currently employed, list your current position or job role, such as “Senior Associate” or “Editor.” If you are unemployed and creating a bio as part of an online profile, you can list your previous role or your current expertise. Join 425,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. Unlike an operating system like Windows, which is often downloaded or obtained on a disc and needs to be installed by the user or manufacturer, BIOS comes installed from the moment the machine is manufactured. You can also use the systeminfo command from the command line to view the BIOS version and other system information by following the following steps. Modern computers predominantly ship with UEFI firmware, which is the successor to the traditional BIOS. 1. Meddling with certain settings (especially those related to overclocking) you can make the computer’s work unstable or even damage its hardware. It’s the successor to the traditional BIOS. Here's how. BIOS, which stands for Basic Input Output System, is software stored on a small memory chip on the motherboard. One way to avoid this problem is to use what's called a "boot lock" section of the BIOS software which gets updated on its own apart from the rest so that if corruption ensues, a recovery process prevents damage. Saving these changes and restarting the computer applies the changes to the BIOS and alters the way BIOS instructs the hardware to function. The BIOS is low-level system software that should “just work” without getting in your way. You'll need this … Some settings are less dangerous than others. This option reset your computer’s BIOS or UEFI settings to their defaults, undoing all your changes. It initializes your hardware before booting an operating system from your hard drive or another device. All modern computer motherboards contain BIOS software. The computer will reboot into a special boot options menu. Once you've launched the BIOS program then you'll probably first see the Main menu. Some PC users will be familiar with the instruction to press a key during bootup to access BIOS, but Windows 10 allows for an easier method to enter the BIOS menu. The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. However, one does feel the need to access this component, and therefore, through this article, we shall address the issue when you can’t enter BIOS. Computer BIOSes usually give you access to plenty of settings that you can tweak. What to Do if PC is Stuck on BIOS Screen 1. BIOS instructs the computer on how to perform basic functions such as booting and keyboard control. BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. Restore Default Settings of BIOS 2. However, it's also incorrectly referred to as the Basic Integrated Operating System or Built-In Operating System. We’ve even seen modern PCs refer to their UEFI firmware settings screen as the “BIOS”. BIOS stands for basic input/output system. Open the Windows command line. The BIOS in some of the first IBM computers were not interactive like modern-day implementations but instead only served to display error messages or beeps codes. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. When you power your computer on, your BIOS takes control, starting the power-on self test (POST) and passing control over to the boot loader, which boots your computer’s operating system. The actual BIOS or UEFI settings screen looks different on different PC models. After this, BIOS checks for the boot options. BIOS stands for “Basic Input/Output System”, and is a type of firmware stored on a chip on your motherboard. You can almost always use the Quick Boot option (Typically the F8 key) which will allow you to quickly choose which device you would like to boot off of. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. You can also select a “Discard Changes” option to restart your PC without saving any of the changes you made. (Figure 1) Figure 1: BIOS Loading Screen. E.1 Using BIOS Setup Utility Menu Items . BIOS or Basic Input Output System is often difficult to access when one is working on Windows 10. The first thing the BIOS does is check the information stored in a tiny (64 bytes) amount of RAM located on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip. BIOSes are small programs with sizes that are close to 16 MB. It initializes your hardware before booting an operating system from your hard drive or another device. The CMOS Setup provides detailed information particular to your system and can be altered as your system changes. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek. It’s possible to make your system unstable or even cause hardware damage by changing certain settings, especially ones related to overclocking. Clear the CMOS (BIOS) 3. Type systeminfo and press Enter to get a screen similar to the example shown below. Whatever the screen looks like, you can use your keyboard or mouse to navigate through it. There’s a different process for accessing the BIOS or UEFI firmware settings screen on each PC. It's BIOS that's responsible for the POST and therefore makes it the very first software to run when a computer is started. The BIOS manages the order of system boot items, such as floppy (yes, they still exist), CD/DVD optical drive, flash drive and hard drive. As it works with the input/output device, it doesn’t need to be changed frequently. BIOS, Basic Input Output System, is a firmware embedded on the chip of PC’s motherboard. Type msinfo into the Start window, then click System Information at the top of the Start window.Step 3, Check your computer's model name. BIOS instructs the computer on how to perform basic functions such as booting and keyboard control. For example, you can modify your boot order, tweak overclocking options, lock down your computer with a boot password, enable virtualization hardware support, and tweak other low-level features. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. If a device detail is changed or if you want to make a change, you have to access the BIOS. For example, you could list … This usually contains only some legacy settings and a few options that the BIOS … Whatever the menu – BIOS or UEFI – you are working in, be very attentive and only modify the settings when you are confident you know what you are doing and why.