What is BIOS and How Does it Work

What is BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

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Topics

• What is BIOS
• History of BIOS
• BIOS access
• How BIOS Works
• Functions of BIOS
• Basic Input/Output System Security
• BIOS Manufacturers

What is BIOS

The full form of BIOS is Basic Input/Output System. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is the program that the computer’s microprocessor uses to start the computer system after it is started. It also manages the data flow between the computer’s operating system (OS) and its associated devices such as hard disks, video adapters, keyboards, mouse and printers.

History of BIOS

The term BIOS was first used by American computer scientist Gary Kildall in 1975. It was included in IBM’s first personal computer in 1981 and in the years to come it gained popularity within other PCs and became an integral part of the computer.

However, the popularity of BIOS has diminished with the advent of a new technology Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Intel announced plans in 2017 to end support for BIOS systems by 2020 and replace them with UEFI.

BIOS access

The main use of the BIOS is to act as a middleman between the operating systems and the hardware they run. The BIOS is theoretically always the intermediary between the microprocessor and the input/output device control information and data flow

In some cases, however, the BIOS can arrange for data to flow directly from the device to the memory. such as video cards that require fast data flow to function optimally.

How BIOS Works

The BIOS is included with the computer in the form of firmware on a chip on the motherboard. In contrast an operating system (OS) such as Windows or iOS can be pre-installed either by the manufacturer or vendor or can be installed by the user.

The BIOS is a program that can be accessed on the Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) chip for the microprocessor. When users turn on their computer, the microprocessor passes control to the BIOS program. which is always located in the same place on the EPROM.

When the BIOS boots the computer, it first determines that all necessary attachments are in place and enabled. Any part or part of hardware that contains files that are needed for the computer to start is called a boot device.

After testing and making sure that the boot devices are working. The BIOS then loads the operating system or its major parts from the hard disk or disk drive (Boot Device) into the computer’s RAM.

Functions of BIOS

Immediately after the computer is started, the BIOS connects to the operating system after identifying, configuring and testing the computer hardware. The combination of these steps is called the boot process.

The following functions are performed by the BIOS –

• Power on Self Test (POST) ? It tests the hardware of the computer before loading the operating system.
• Bootstrap loader ? It detects the operating system i.e. locates the operating system.
• Software / Drivers ? It detects Software and Drivers. Which once run interfaces with the operating system.
• Complementary metal ? CMOS This is a configuration program that enables users to change hardware and system settings. CMOS is the name of the non-volatile memory of the BIOS.

Basic Input/Output System Security

BIOS Security is a somewhat overlooked component of cyber security. However, it still needs to be managed to prevent hackers from executing malicious code on the operating system.

In 2017 security group Cylance demonstrated how modern BIOS security flaws can enable ransomware programs inside motherboard’s UEFI and exploit other PC BIOS vulnerabilities.

Another unique exploit involving BIOS manipulation was Plundervolt, Plundervolt can be used to tamper with a computer’s power supply while writing data to memory. Due to which such errors can be created which can cause security gaps. Intel released a BIOS patch to prevent this.

BIOS Manufacturers

The BIOS was initially made, originally owned by IBM. However, some companies such as Phoenix Technologies reverse engineered the original version of IBM to create their own BIOS.

Phoenix did this by allowing other companies to clone IBM PCs as well as making non-IBM computers that worked with the BIOS. Another company to do this was Compaq.

Today many manufacturers manufacture motherboards with BIOS chips. Some of which are as follows –

• AMI
• Asus
• Foxconn
• Hewlett Packard (HP)
• Ricoh

In short

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