BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services for Not Yet Techies

"Computer Careers: Working With This Collection of Hundreds of Tiny Programs That Keep Your PC Running"

by Richard Stooker, President Info Ring Press and author of Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career

BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services is the collective name for the hundreds of small (2 to 30 lines of code each) software programs that enable the CPU to talk to the hardware. BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services is stored on a ROM (Read Only Memory) chip, which means it will not be erased when the computer is turned off, as RAM is.

Most ROM chips store around 65,536 lines of BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services programs. The CPU accesses the correct code through the address bus.

All hardware must have BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services to operate

That which is stored on the ROM chip attached to the motherboard is the system BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services. There can be other forms on the computer.

Your computer uses BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services to get the system going when you turn it on. Plus it manages the data flow between the operating system and the attached devices. When you boot up, it checks on your hardware and then loads your operating system into RAM.

For common hardware it never changes and is stored on the system ROM chip. Some devices are common but can change (such as RAM, which you can upgrade), so it is stored on a RAM chip called a CMOS / complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. The information on this chip can be modified.

Most BIOS / Basic Input/Output Services are written by third parties such as American Megatrends and Phoenix Technologies.

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