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In computing, BIOS (/ ˈ b aɪ ɒ s,-oʊ s /, BY-oss, -ohss; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is a type of firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the booting process (power-on startup). [1]
In computing, the System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) specification defines data structures (and access methods) that can be used to read management information produced by the BIOS of a computer. [1] This eliminates the need for the operating system to probe hardware directly to discover what devices are present in the computer.
The original motivation for EFI came during early development of the first Intel–HP Itanium systems in the mid-1990s. BIOS limitations (such as 16-bit real mode, 1 MB addressable memory space, [7] assembly language programming, and PC AT hardware) had become too restrictive for the larger server platforms Itanium was targeting. [8]
Most of the computer peripherals are offline, and the only ways to exit this screen are to power off or reset the computer. The "It's now safe to turn off your computer" screen in Windows NT 4.0. Unlike Windows 9x and later NT releases, most of the essential computer peripherals are working normally, so the user can opt to restart instead of ...
AMIBIOS (also written as AMI BIOS) is the IBM PC-compatible BIOS that was formerly developed and sold by American Megatrends since 1986. [10] In 1994, the company claimed that 75% of PC clones used AMIBIOS. [16] It is used on motherboards made by AMI and by other companies. [3] A chip containing an old version AMIBIOS image, pulled from an ECS ...
With SLP 3.0, OEM SLP keys are no longer used at all. Instead, a tool is used by the OEM to embed a unique key in each computer's BIOS, making consumer versions of Windows 8 and later very difficult to pirate using the SLP insertion technique. [4] In the SLP 3.0 implementations, BIOS report the ACPI MSDM table to the operating system.
The main editions also can take the form of one of the following special editions: N and KN editions The features in the N and KN Editions are the same as their equivalent full versions, but do not include Windows Media Player or other Windows Media-related technologies, such as Windows Media Center and Windows DVD Maker due to limitations set by the European Union and South Korea ...
Maximum PC gave Windows 7 a rating of 9 out of 10 and called Windows 7 a "massive leap forward" in usability and security, and praised the new Taskbar as "worth the price of admission alone." [178] PC World called Windows 7 a "worthy successor" to Windows XP and said that speed benchmarks showed Windows 7 to be slightly faster than Windows ...