ROM - BIOS

A BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) Short for ROM is boot firmware program that

a computer uses to successfully start operating. The BIOS is located on a chip inside of the
computer and is designed in a way that protects it from disk failure. When you turn on a PC,
the BIOS first conduct a basic hardware check, called a Power-On Self-Test (POST), to
determine whether all of the attachments are present and working. Then it loads the operating
system into your computer's random access memory, or RAM. The BIOS also manages data
flow between the computer's operating system and attached devices such as the hard disk,
video card, keyboard, mouse, and printer. The BIOS stores the date, the time, and your
system configuration information in a battery-powered, non-volatile memory chip, called a
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) after its manufacturing process. The
main functions of the BIOS are:

(i)    BIOS Power on Self-Test (POST)

(ii)  Bootstrap loader

(iii)  BIOS Setup utility program

(iv) System service routines

Functions of BIOS

(i) BIOS Power on Self-Test (POST): It is a built-in diagnostic program. This self-test

ensures that the computer has all of the necessary parts and functionality needed to
successfully start itself, such as use of memory, a keyboard and other parts. Then additional
tests are done during booting. If errors are detected during the test, the BIOS instruct the
computer to give a code that reveals the problem. Error codes are typically a series of beeps
heard shortly after start up. The BIOS also works to give the computer basic information
about how to interact with some critical components, such as drives and memory that it will
need to load the operating system. Once the basic instructions have been loaded and the self-
test has been passed, the computer can proceed with loading the operating system from one of
the attached drives. Computer users can often make certain adjustments to the BIOS through
a configuration screen on the computer. The setup screen is typically accessed with a special
key sequence during the first moments of start-up. This setup screen often allows users to
change the order in which drives are accessed during start up and control the functionality of
a number of critical devices. Features vary among individual BIOS versions. The boot
sequences for Award BIOS software are;

(i) Test the CPU

(ii)Initialize support chips

(iii)Initialize the keyboard

(iv)ROM BIOS test

(v)CMOS RAM test

(vi)Memory test

(vii)Cache initialization

(viii)Initialize the vector table

(ix)CMOS RAM check sum

(x)Keyboard initialization

(xi)Video circuit test

(xii)Video memory test

(xiii)DMA Controller test

(xiv)PIC tests

(xv)EISA mode test

(xvi)Enable EISA slots

(xvii)Check memory size

(xviii)Memory test

(xix)Check EISA memory

(xx)Mouse initialization

(xxi)Cache initialization
(xxii)Shadow RAM setup

(xxiii)Floppy test

(xxiv)Hard drive test

(xxv)Serial/parallel port test

(xxvi)Initialize math coprocessor

(xxvii)Boot speed

(xxviii)POST loop

(xxix)Security/Password information

(xxx)Write to CMOS RAM

(xxxi)Initialize adapter ROM

(xxxii)Set up the time

(xxxiii)Boot the system and control given to INT 19 boot loader.

We can also use flash-memory cards to hold BIOS information. This allows users to update
the BIOS version on computers after a vendor releases an update. This system was designed
to solve problems with the original BIOS or to add new functionality. Users can periodically
check for updated BIOS versions, as some vendors release a dozen or more updates over the
course of a product's lifetime. Mother board (System) BIOS, Video adapter firmware (BIOS),
Drive controller firmware (BIOS), Modem Card firmware (BIOS), Network adapter board
BIOS, SCSI adapter BIOS. The mother board BIOS provides routines to support motherboard
features. BIOS ROM chips for major sub systems of computer such as video and drive
control must also be included.

Actually BIOS can be placed in between the computer and external devices as its name tells it
is used for reading the keystroke, displaying values on screen, Reading and writing to and
from floppy and hard disks etc.

The keyboard is assigned the port number 60, which is known to BIOS. BIOS read this port
and data from keyboard goes to computer.

(ii) Bootstrap Loader: To boot the operating system. The BIOS contains a program known
as bootstrap loader whose responsibility is to search and start the operating system boot
program. Then the boot program of operating system controls the computer system and boots
the operating system.

(iii) BIOS Setup Utility Program: A non volatile memory (NVRAM) is used to store
information about the computer system. During installation of a system, the user run BIOS
setup program and enter the correct parameters. The settings of memory, disk types and other
settings are stored in NVRAM and not in BIOS chip itself. To construct NVRAM, the
material required is CMOS (Complementary metal oxide semiconductor). These CMOS
chips are very efficient storage devices as they store and maintain data on very low values of
current. The system's configurations therefore are also termed as CMOS settings, which we
can set using BIOS set up program. The BIOS reads the parameters from CMOS RAM as and
when required.

CMOS settings can be maintained by battery backup either by using capacitor or by a battery
built into NVRAM chip. This chip also has system clock. If there is no battery, the setting
remains for short period of time and we need to reset the system. With it there is loss of BIOS
password which protects BIOS set up program.

To clear the CMOS RAM contents, two methods used are

(i) By using clear CMOS jumper.

(ii) By holding down enter key during booting of the system.

For Pentium III motherboards, different set ups are there in AMI BIOS. These are:

• Standard CMOS Setup:It is used to set time date, hard disk type, type of floppy drive,
type of monitor and keyboard.

Advanced CMOS Setup:It is used to set typematic rate and delay, above 1 MB memory test,
memory test tick sound, Hil < Del> message display, system boot up sequence etc.

• Advanced Chipset Setup:It is used to set features of chipset.

• Power Management Setup:It is used to control power conservation options.

• PCI/Plug and Play Setup:It is used to set options of PCI bus and that of plug and play
devices.

• Peripherals Setup:It is used to control options related to I/O controllers.

• CPU Configuration Setup:This setup is used to select the types of CPU installed in the
motherboard. In AMI BIOS, the settings are auto as it automatically finds out the type of
CPU in the computer system.

(iv) System Service Routines: The BIOS provides various software routines (subprograms)

that can be called by higher-level software such, as DOS, Windows, or their applications, to
perform different tasks. Virtually every task that involves accessing the system hardware has
traditionally been controlled using one or more of the BIOS programs (although many newer
operating systems now bypass the BIOS for improved performance). This includes actions
like reading and writing from the hard disk, processing information received from devices,
etc. BIOS services are accessed using software interrupts, which are similar to the hardware
interrupts except that they are generated inside the processor by programs instead of being
generated outside the processor by hardware devices. One thing that this use of interrupts
does is to allow access to the BIOS without knowing where in memory each routine is
located. Normally, to call a software routine you need to know its address. With interrupts, a
table called an interrupt vector table is used that bypasses this problem. When the system is
started up, the BIOS puts addresses into this table that represent where its routines are located
for each interrupt it responds to. Then, when DOS or an application wants to use a BIOS
routine, it generates a software interrupt. The system processes the interrupt, looks up the
value in the table, and jumps to the BIOS routine automatically. DOS itself and application
programs can also use this interrupt vector table.
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Device Drivers & Its Role in PC
In computing, a Device Driver is a small piece of software that tells the operating and other
software how to communicate with a piece of hardware. A Device driver (commonly
referred to as a driver) is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of
device that is attached to a computer. A driver provides a software interface to hardware
devices, enabling operating systems and other computer programs to access hardware
functions without needing to know precise details of the hardware being used. A driver
typically communicates with the device through the computer bus or communications
subsystem to which the hardware connects. When a calling program invokes a routine in the
driver, the driver issues commands to the device. Once the device sends data back to the
driver, the driver may invoke routines in the original calling program. Drivers are hardware-
dependent and operating-specific. They usually provide the interrupt handling required for
any necessary asynchronous time-dependent hardware interface. For example, printer drivers
tell the operating system, and by extension whatever program you have the thing you want to
print open in exactly how to print information on the page. Sound card drivers are necessary
so your operating system knows exactly how to translate the 1's and 0's that comprise
that MP3 file into audio signals that the sound card can output to your headphones or
speakers. The same general idea applies to video cards, keyboards, monitors, etc. There are
drivers for almost every computer device and peripheral such as mouse, keyboard, hard disk
drive, network interface cards, floppy disk drives, network adapters, SCSI adapters, sound
cards, printers and modems. There are device drivers for printers, displays, CD-ROM readers,
diskette drives, and so on. When you buy an operating system, many device drivers are built
into the product. However, if you later buy a new type of device that the operating system
didn't anticipate, you'll have to install the new device driver. A device driver essentially
converts the more general input/output instructions of the operating system to messages that
the device type can understand. Some Windows programs are virtual device drivers. These
programs interface with the Windows Virtual Machine Manager. There is a virtual device
driver for each main hardware device in the system, including the hard disk drive controller,
keyboard, and serial and parallel ports. They're used to maintain the status of a hardware
device that has changeable settings. Virtual device drivers handle software interrupts from the
system rather than hardware interrupts. In Windows operating systems, a device driver file
usually has a file name suffix of DLL or EXE. A virtual device driver usually has the suffix
of VXD.
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