Briefly,
the BIOS is data stored in chips on the motherboard that enables the operating system
(for example, Windows) to communicate with the PC??™s hardware.
When you start the PC, the BIOS springs into action. First, the BIOS checks that it
itself is intact and hasn??™t been attacked by a virus. Then, it sees whether the hardware
components it??™s expecting to be available are actually present and correct, and counts
the RAM. Around this point, before it actually starts to boot the PC from the boot device
(for example, the hard drive), the BIOS gives you a chance to interrupt the boot
?—? ?—? ?—?
54 Part II: Intermediate
process so that you can access the BIOS??™s settings. If you don??™t interrupt the boot process,
the BIOS locates the boot device, and your operating system starts.
Know Where Most PC BIOSes Come From
At this writing, the two predominant manufacturers of BIOSes for PCs are
Phoenix Technologies Ltd Produces the PhoenixBIOS
American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) Produces the AMIBIOS
Understand How Your PC??™s BIOS May Vary
from the Examples Shown Here
This project shows examples using a PhoenixBIOS and an AMIBIOS, as the chances
are pretty good that your PC??™s BIOS will be based on one or the other.
Wait a minute??¦ ???based on????
That??™s right??”and it makes the topic of dealing with BIOSes more complicated
than would be ideal. A PC??™s BIOS is actually specific to the PC??™s motherboard, because
different motherboards have different capabilities.
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