A Beginner's Guide to the BIOS, CMOS, and UEFI
The BIOS, CMOS, and UEFI are all types of firmware that play important roles in the operation of a computer. Understanding what each of these does on the computer can be helpful when troubleshooting problems or making changes to your system.
The BIOS, or Basic Input/Output System, is a piece of firmware that is built into the motherboard of a computer. When you turn on your computer, the BIOS is responsible for initializing the hardware and then searching for a boot device, such as a hard drive or optical drive, to boot the operating system from. The BIOS also runs a power-on self-test (POST) to check that all hardware is functioning correctly before the operating system is loaded.
The CMOS, or Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, is a chip that stores the BIOS settings, such as the boot sequence and hardware configurations. Unlike the BIOS chip, which is non-volatile and retains its contents even when the power is turned off, the CMOS chip is volatile and requires a constant power source, typically in the form of a battery, to retain its settings.
A newer version of the BIOS is the UEFI, or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. Most modern motherboards are shipped with this newer type of BIOS, which has several advantages over the old BIOS. One advantage is that the UEFI has a more user-friendly graphical interface, making it easier to navigate and change settings. It also has faster boot times and more advanced security features, as well as the ability to support larger hard drives and more hardware.
In summary, the BIOS, CMOS, and UEFI are all important components of a computer's firmware that play different roles in the boot and operation of the system. Understanding how they work can be helpful when troubleshooting problems or making changes to your system.
