Weekly Subject -07- BIOS

[greengoose1]

In these threads we have covered Safety, Surge Protection, Cooling, Cases, CPUs and Mobos, and now we start BIOS.

But first please remember that we seem to cover the subjects on three levels - beginner, intermediate, and expert. We focus on the beginner and our various contributors expand where they think best as individuals all the way to the expert level. This is good. This method can help more people in this manner.

This means if you are just starting out you might not understand a deep technical discussion but somewhere down the line you will should you decide computers are your cup of tea. You are encouraged to ask questions on whatever you do not understand.

Additionally, you will find we talk about what and how we do things in these threads. This is important as only in a medium such as this will you the reader gain both book and experience knowledge at the same time.

This is a great group of contributors although there may have been some questions about their humor at one time or another. (We like to have a little fun while we're doing this as you will see.)

These threads are for you so do join in. We'd like to meet you.

Ok, now that we have made a wonderful opening to this thread maybe I should state that the subject is BIOS (before I forget)and to make double sure I got it right, the following came from the Webopedia.

Pronounced "bye-ose," an acronym for basic input/output system. The BIOS is built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.

The BIOS is typically placed in a ROM chip that comes with the computer (it is often called a ROM BIOS). This ensures that the BIOS will always be available and will not be damaged by disk failures. It also makes it possible for a computer to boot itself. Because RAM is faster than ROM, though, many computer manufacturers design systems so that the BIOS is copied from ROM to RAM each time the computer is booted. This is known as shadowing.

Many modern PCs have a flash BIOS, which means that the BIOS has been recorded on a flash memory chip, which can be updated if necessary.

The PC BIOS is fairly standardized, so all PCs are similar at this level (although there are different BIOS versions). Additional DOS functions are usually added through software modules. This means you can upgrade to a newer version of DOS without changing the BIOS.

PC BIOSes that can handle Plug-and-Play (PnP) devices are known as PnP BIOSes, or PnP-aware BIOSes. These BIOSes are always implemented with flash memory rather than ROM.

So, now, the first question. Why is BIOS important?




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[Dodge]

Bios is important cause it contains the PC's entire Setup information. i.e. Hard drives, Cdrom/s, Floppy/s, etc. Without this information you would not be able to access the computer at all, you would have a very expensive and bulky paper weight....

[jtdoom]

BIOS is a brand of Belgian beer, and if you dare drink too much of it, you lose your settings.

when we talk about computer BIOS,
I can recommend this Belgian effort. http://www.wimsbios.com/

there are a few things I should perhaps mention.

A LOT of people never go in BIOS setup.
A fair number of these never need to.
And a good deal of people do not need to Flash the BIOS.
You should only Flash a BIOS if you need fix an issue, and the BIOS update you find is intended to cure the issue. What the fixed issues are, is found in the BIOS update readme and posted at the manufactor site.
In other words, if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

A good many machines are set to less than optimal.
(optimal means it is still stable, so it may not be the high performance setting one can find)

One will often find it is set to do no BIOS shadowing.
(my little theory as to why that is is as follows. Older types of motherboards could power up without RAM. When there is no RAM, where would it copy to? You get beeps to indicate there is no RAM... I recently read that current ATX motherboards sometimes don't even fully power up when there is no RAM...
They certainly won't power up without a CPU... Most defaults I seen lately seem to have shadowing set ON.

One will often find that Extended System Configuration Data or ESCD has not been updated.
One will often find the event log has never been cleared
Plug and Play OS is often left set to NO

A modern BIOS is a complex thing.
BEFORE you make changes in BIOS SETUP, take a notebloc and make notes of all current settings.
One can record the settings to a data file on floppy, little utils like CMOSAVE exist http://mindprod.com/products.html
In many cases, your Antivirus rescue set has recorded the CMOS.
!!But, do NOT rely on the utils!!
you don't want the cold shower; that data will be useless if you flash the bios and want to copy that saved info into the newer version, so make NOTES ON PAPER, before you alter settings.

the best way is to print the manual found at the manufactor site, or make a xerox of the relevant pages of the paper version you have, and make your notes on the extra copy.

having said all this, I am extrememly interested to see the imput of others.

What are your preferred settings, and why?
What do the settings mean, what do they do?


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Isn't There Always "something entirely different" we'll need to reconsider?
Kind regards, Jaak.

[kallikru]

Bios is, so to speak, the "kickstarter" of your system. All the messages you see scroll down your screen during the first 30-60 secs. after you power it up, are messages related to bios operation.

Bios detects all the hardware installed in the system, tries to communicate with it and allocate ressources for it (memory space/addresses for ports to access these devices, interrupts/IRQs ect.).
If anything goes wrong during this startup process (fx. a device is not properly recognized) the system halts and maybe a message related to the problem is displayed.

The final task of the bios is to try to locate an operating system (OS) on any of the connected storage drives, by inspecting the socalled boot sector of these devices. If successful, control is handed over to this OS and the OS then boots - you're up and running.
During OS boot the OS may then inspect the findings of the bios with respect to detected devices and load the appropriate driver programs for these devices.

One word of caution (there will probably be plenty more in this thread): Tampering with the bios settings is NOT something to be taken lightly. If any mistakes are made in there you MAY turn your machine into a heavy paper weight - in that case wrap it up and mail it to Dodge ...seriously, destroying the bios means you cannot boot your machine any longer and will most probably need professional help. Some motherboard manufactures may supply you with a new rom-chip (or re-program the destroyed one), but at a price!

Don't let this freighten you too much, though. Most mobos have pretty good manuals with descriptions of the bios settings and advice on what you may change and what you had better leave alone. With time you experience with bios settings will grow and you will get more bold - and the the hammer falls. The beast will not boot - only beeping is heard.

Before you start changing any bios settings you should therefore do yourself a great favour and locate the reset jumper on the motherboard. Most mobos have such a jumper, that enables you to revert the settings in bios the their default (factory) values. The manual should contain a description on how to locate and operate this jumper (usually three pins and a connector). It's highly likely you will need this information once you start playing with the bios settings.

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Karl, Denmark
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"..and may The Force be with you too..."

[This message has been edited by kallikru (edited 06-28-2001).]

[greengoose1]

Good Morning All, Looks like we've jumped into BIOS rather quickly.

Bistro we have a new acronym - BIOSBB - A sixpack with every chip. Learn sumpin' new every day.

I would recommend rereading the posts of Dodge, Jaak, and Karl once or twice more to digest what they have said as this information can and will help you in your understanding of your PC and how it works. Additionally, trouble shooting will be easier if it is required.

Jaak posted a couple of questions also.
"What are your preferred settings, and why?
What do the settings mean, what do they do?"



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[bistro]

"Preferred settings" is a hard one--depends on the mobo, processor and the make of the BIOS (Award, Phoenix, etc.). As to settings: As a guide, I like to refer to HERE. Notice I said "guide". As has been said above, a lot of folks have no need to go in there, and don't "fix" it if you have no need. And again: Seems that some people think you have to update the BIOS the same as having to update drivers and apps. Nope. Leave it alone if you don't really need the fix. Make real sure a "fix" (flash upgrade) is absolutely necessary before resorting to that.
One point of clarification that may be needed here: Sometimes you see the BIOS referred also as the CMOS (being used interchangeably). Actually this is not totally correct word usage, but a common occurrence. The BIOS is the software program; the CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) is the chip itself. If you see "BIOS settings" or "CMOS settings" used, realize they're same-same.

[Jynne62]

Originally posted by greengoose1:
In these threads we have covered Safety, Surge Protection, Cooling, Cases, CPUs and Mobos, and now we start BIOS.

"...The BIOS is typically placed in a ROM chip that comes with the computer (it is often called a ROM BIOS). This ensures that the BIOS will always be available and will not be damaged by disk failures. It also makes it possible for a computer to boot itself. Because RAM is faster than ROM, though, many computer manufacturers design systems so that the BIOS is copied from ROM to RAM each time the computer is booted. This is known as shadowing."

Hi, Just a question ... if the Bios is normally in a ROM chip and it starts up first why would it matter if it was copied to RAM each time the computer is booted? RAM is faster but once it is booted (with the ROM chip) isn't that all that is needed, or is the bios actually accessed over and over during the time the computer is on?

I hope this makes sense. Trying to understand this, is like reading Greek.


Thanks

[Dodge]

I did want to add for some that dont know. Some of the keys that will allow you into the Bios area of your Computer.

1. At the first sign of bootup(First screen) hit the F1 key

2. Or the Ctrl key

3. or the F10 key Compaq's mainly

4. sometime the F12 key

There may be some more keys that I have left out..

As far as what settings are best. IMO, Factory defaults are the best settings for beginners. That way most likely everything will work correctly.

One last thing. Even the Beginners CAN go into the Bios and play around and not worry about screwing things up.
Just make sure that after you get though playing around and surfing through the Bios, make sure you Exit WITHOUT SAVING CHANGES. If you do this then everything you change in there will not take afect and wont mess up anything..........

What are setting? Settings tell you everything about the Hardware in your PC. Such as how many Hard drives, cdroms, floppy's drives, zip drives etc.... I highly recomend the Boot Priority to be in this order.
1. Floppy
2. Cdrom
3. Hard drive
4. any extra drives can go at this point and below....

Settings also tell you how many Heads, sectors, etc that you HD has. This is needed in order to have the correct hard drive setup. If it isn't setup correctly then you will not be able to use the HD or even try to bootup the PC....

Hope this makes sense.......

[bistro]

Jynne62:
Good question. Helps with "warm booting"--computer will boot up faster when restarting.
Nope, the BIOS is not (fully) accessed each time during warm boots, nor is it accessed over and over while the system is on. Realize that it's the "jump starter" for the system--once started, the system takes over. On warm boots (restarts) it's reading the RAM copy (if all shadowing was "on" in the BIOS--some folks turn some shadowing off--we won't get into that here ). But turn the power off and the RAM loses all that data. Now you need the BIOS to jumpstart the system again.


[This message has been edited by bistro (edited 06-28-2001).]

[greengoose1]

The understanding that is gained on BIOS certainly will help in troubleshooting your computer should it be required. If your computer is operating well, nothing should be adjusted in BIOS. As one of the member's signature reads "If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Two things will cause BIOS to fail. A component failure or you in the BIOS and miskeying. I mention this because as you become more proficient and knowedgeable you might want to "poke" around. When this time comes be very very careful. Please know what you are doing.

And this leads us to another question. Why is there as many threads (questions) on BIOS as there is. Any opinions?

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[Dodge]

Goose, IMO, I think alot of people here that upgrading the bios will make the PC run faster. I have seen that in the Win/98 forum many times.

I hate to inform anyone that thinks that. Upgrading the Bios will not make the Computer faster. It can however slow it down, as in destroy the thing......

Another reason is that when some people decide they need/want to Flash the bios, they dont read into it fully. They dont fully understand what Flashing the bios is for and the dangers of doing it. In hence, the PC will no longer work correctly...... Just a couple of Ideas.......

[bistro]

Some folks have the misconception that "all roads lead to the BIOS" when experiencing problems. Not true. Others upgrade their hard drives and experience some problems that may or not may not be related to the BIOS. And as mentioned before, others under the perception that the BIOS needs to be upgraded regularly will flash the BIOS, only to end up with a system that won't boot.

Before jumping into the lake, know what's under the surface first.

[Jynne62]

Thanks for the great explanation bistro. Although I am just reading (no poking around here ... at least not yet )it is fascinating.

Is it possible to have a virus in your bios? A friend said this happened to them and their computer was useless.

[bistro]

Yes ma'am. Viruses such as the Win95/CIH would affect flashable BIOS's (some older BIOS's cannot be "flashed", i.e. upgraded by software). The poor unfortunate soul would end up having to replace the CMOS chip.
If you keep your antivirus program up to date and run scans regularly and often, it should catch most if not all those types of viruses before they can creep into the system. Watch your email attachments--that's where they usually come from. Have your firewall or AV program scan all email/attachments as it comes in or just get into the habit of scanning manually. Personal policy: If I don't recognize the sender; it's deleted without opening. If it was THAT important, they'll resend or get in touch with me some other way.

[This message has been edited by bistro (edited 06-28-2001).]

[greengoose1]

Now let's see if this is right. Bios brings up a computer using information programmed into a chip that is found on the Mobo. The BIOS information controls the computer until it is up and running. The newer BIOS chips can be "Flashed" meaning the information in them can be changed. Once the computer comes up and is checked, the BIOS hands off to the CPU, RAM, and Memory. It is in effect an electronic switch. And without BIOS a computer cannot be brought up.

What is the actual information that is set up in BIOS. Is it a mini program?

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