PC Architecture Fundamentals 32-Bit Architecture Processors Memory and I/O Maps Non-Volatile Memory BIO!" Bus !

tandards# and PCI $%AM !%AM and Cache Interrupts &imers Controllers and I!A

Parallel Ports 'ni(ersal !erial Bus '!B" Floppy I$) *ard $ri(e C$-%OM !mall !ystem !C!I" Audio Video Assem,ly -an.ua.e &echnolo.y &rends Computer Inter+ace

$irect Memory Access $MA" !erial Ports

What is a processor? Answer micro" processors are machines that e/ecute instructions and act on data0 the +ormat and interpretation o+ these instructions are machine dependant that is to say that a particular ,inary strin. o+ one1s and 2ero1s mean speci+ic thiin. s" to each processor desi.n or architecture0 also microprocessors address memory 3ith a parallel ,us - the 3idth o+ that ,us dictates the speed and the amount o+ addressa,le memory that is possi,le0 that said comtemporary intel processors adhere to either a 32 ,it or 45 ,it architecture0 &hose earlier processors com+ormin. to 32 ,its o+ internal processin./memory capacity adhere to intel1s ia-32 intel architecture - 32 ,its"0 It +ollo3s then that ia-45 is their 45 ,it (ariant - a ne3 architecture +ound in their itanium series0 ia-45 machines can at ,est only emulate ia-32 code and do so in so+t3are thus do so s-l-o-3-l-y0 3ith the mar6et pressures in+licted ,y intel1s ri(al amd and their 45 ,it architecture capa,le o+ e/ecutin. ,oth in 32 and/or 45 ,it modes" intel had to de(ise a 45 ,it e/tension to the u,i7uitous ia-320 amd1s 32 ,it e/ecution is rendered in hard3are and thus a competiti(e per+ormer any ia-32 machine0 moreo(er amd1s desi.n is more than patchin. or strechin. 32 ,it re.isters to 45 ,its0 not ,ein. capa,le o+ ,rin.in. themsel(es to ac6no3led.e amd1s inno(ation they intel" call their e/tension to ia-32 and a.ain I do mean e/tension not a re-architecture" em45t +or e/tended memory architecture 45 ,it technolo.y - it is supposed to adhere to amd1s amd450 amd1s 8.lue-less8 architecture9 ,t39 namely on-die memory m.t unit alon. 3ith hypertransport interconnect" ,lo3s intels a.in. +ront-side ,us architecture a3ay - ,i. time particularly as you increase the num,er o+ processors in the system desi.n0 amd1s desi.n 3as also created 3ith dualcore laid out +rom the start thou.h dual-core desi.ns ha(e only recently ,een introduced into the mar6etplace ahead o+ schedule"0 3hen comparin. ia-32 to amd45 machines don1t .et side-trac6ed ,y processor cloc6 speed either0 amd1s desi.n allo3s them to run at slo3er cloc6 speed and thus cooler" yet meet or e/ceed ia-32 per+ormance0 microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor on a microchip0 It1s sometimes called a logic chip0 It is the 8en.ine8 that .oes into motion 3hen you turn your computer on0 A microprocessor is desi.ned to per+orm arithmetic and lo.ic operations that ma6e use o+ small num,er-holdin. areas called registers0 &ypical microprocessor operations include addin.9

su,tractin.9 comparin. t3o num,ers9 and +etchin. num,ers +rom one area to another0 &hese operations are the result o+ a set o+ instructions that are part o+ the microprocessor desi.n0 :hen the computer is turned on9 the microprocessor is desi.ned to .et the +irst instruction +rom the ,asic input/output system BIO!" that comes 3ith the computer as part o+ its memory0 A+ter that9 either the BIO!9 or the operatin. system that BIO! loads into computer memory9 or an application pro.am is 8dri(in.8 the microprocessor9 .i(in. it instructions to per+orm0 memory - Memory is the electronic holdin. place +or instructions and data that your computer1s microprocessor can reach 7uic6ly0 :hen your computer is in normal operation9 its memory usually contains the main parts o+ the operatin. system and some or all o+ the application pro.rams and related data that are ,ein. used0 Memory is o+ten used as a shorter synonym +or random access memory %AM"0 &his 6ind o+ memory is located on one or more microchips that are physically close to the microprocessor in your computer0 Most des6top and note,oo6 computers sold today include at least ;4 me.a,ytes o+ %AM9 and are up.radea,le to include more0 &he more %AM you ha(e9 the less +re7uently the computer has to access instructions and data +rom the more slo3ly accessed hard dis6 +orm o+ stora.e0 Memory is sometimes distin.uished +rom storage9 or the physical medium that holds the much lar.er amounts o+ data that 3on1t +it into %AM and may not ,e immediately needed there0 !tora.e de(ices include hard dis6s9 +loppy dis6s9 C$-%OM9 and tape ,ac6up systems0 &he terms auxiliary storage9 auxiliary memory9 and secondary memory ha(e also ,een used +or this 6ind o+ data repository0 Additional 6inds o+ inte.rated and 7uic6ly accessi,le memory are readonly memory %OM"9 pro.ramma,le %OM P%OM"9 and erasa,le pro.ramma,le %OM )P%OM"0 &hese are used to 6eep special pro.rams and data9 such as the ,asic input/output system9 that need to ,e in your computer all the time0

RAM Defined %AM random access memory" is the place in a computer 3here the operatin. system9 application pro.rams9 and data in current use are 6ept so that they can ,e 7uic6ly reached ,y the computer1s processor0 %AM is much +aster to read +rom and 3rite to than the other 6inds o+ stora.e in a computer9 the hard dis69 +loppy dis69 and C$-%OM0 *o3e(er9 the data in %AM stays there only as lon. as your computer is runnin.0 :hen you turn the computer o++9 %AM loses its data0 :hen you turn your computer on a.ain9 your operatin. system and other +iles are once a.ain loaded into %AM9 usually +rom your hard dis60 %AM can ,e compared to a person1s short-term memory and the hard dis6 to the lon.-term memory0 &he short-term memory +ocuses on 3or6 at hand9 ,ut can only 6eep so many +acts in (ie3 at one time0 I+ shortterm memory +ills up9 your ,rain sometimes is a,le to re+resh it +rom +acts stored in lon.-term memory0 A computer also 3or6s this 3ay0 I+ %AM +ills up9 the processor needs to continually .o to the hard dis6 to o(erlay old data in %AM 3ith ne39 slo3in. do3n the computer1s operation0 'nli6e the hard dis6 3hich can ,ecome completely +ull o+ data so that it 3on1t accept any more9 %AM ne(er runs out o+ memory0 It 6eeps operatin.9 ,ut much more slo3ly than you may 3ant it to0 How Big is RAM? %AM is small9 ,oth in physical si2e it1s stored in microchip modules" and in the amount o+ data it can hold0 It1s much smaller than your hard dis60 A typical computer may come 3ith 32 million ,ytes o+ %AM and a hard dis6 that can hold 5 ,illion ,ytes0 %AM comes in the +orm o+ 8discrete8 meanin. separate" microchip modules that plu. into holes in the computer1s mother,oard0 &hese holes connect throu.h a ,us or set o+ electrical paths to the processor0 &he hard dri(e9 on the other hand9 stores data on a ma.neti2ed sur+ace that loo6s li6e a phono.raph record0 &oday1s personal computers come 3ith ;4 or more me.a,ytes o+ %AM9 usually increasin. in multiples o+ < me.a,ytes0 'sers o+ .raphic applications usually need 329 459 or ;2< or e(en more me.a,ytes o+ memory0 Most personal computers are desi.ned to allo3 you to add additional %AM modules up to a certain limit +or e/ample9 up to 45 or ;2< me.a,ytes"0 *a(in. more %AM in your computer reduces the num,er o+ times that the computer processor has to read data in +rom your hard dis69 an operation that ta6es much lon.er than readin. data +rom %AM0 %AM access time is e/pressed in nanoseconds= hard dis6 access time is e/pressed in milliseconds0" Why Random Access %AM is called 8random access8 ,ecause any stora.e location can ,e accessed directly0 Ori.inally9 the term distin.uished re.ular core memory

Nonvolatile BIO

memory

From :i6ipedia9 the +ree encyclopedia >ump to# na(i.ation9 search Non!volatile BIO memory re+ers to the memory on a personal computer mother,oard containin. BIO! settin.s and sometimes the code used to initiali2e the computer and load the operatin. system0 &he non-(olatile memory 3as historically called "MO RAM or ?ust "MO ,ecause it traditionally used a lo3-po3er CMO! memory chip the Motorola MC;54<;<9 or one o+ its hi.her-capacity clones"9 3hich 3as po3ered ,y a small ,attery 3hen the system po3er 3as o++0 &he term remains in 3ide use in this conte/t9 ,ut has also .ro3n into a misnomer0 &he non-(olatile BIO! stora.e in contemporary computers mi.ht ,e in an ))P%OM or +lash memory chip and not in CMO! itsel+0 In these cases9 the ,attery ,ac6-up is meant to 6eep the %&C chip synchroni2ed0

#edit$ "MO

mismatch

CMO! mismatch errors typically occur i+ the computer1s po3er-on sel+test pro.ram# ;0 Finds a de(ice that is not recorded in the CMO!0 20 $oes not +ind a de(ice that is recorded in the CMO!0 30 Finds a de(ice that has di++erent settin.s than those recorded +or it in CMO!0 50 $etects a CMO! chec6sum error0 @;A @2A #edit$ "MO %attery

-ithium-type CMO!/%eal-time cloc6 3V cells last t3o to ten years9 dependin. on the type o+ mother,oard9 am,ient temperature and the time that the system is po3ered do3n0 *i.her temperatures and po3erdo3n time 3ill shorten cell li+e0 :hen replacin. the cell9 the system time and CMO! BIO! settin.s may re(ert to de+ault (alues0 &his may ,e a(oided ,y replacin. the cell 3ith the po3er supply master s3itch on9 and 3ith the system shut do3n0 &his 3ill supply BV stand,y po3er to the mother,oard9 and 6eep the CMO! memory ener.i2ed0 #edit$ Resetting the "MO settings

&o access the BIO! setup 3hen the machine +ails to operate9 occasionally a drastic mo(e is re7uired0 In older computers 3ith ,attery-,ac6ed %AM9 remo(al o+ the ,attery and short circuitin. the ,attery input terminals +or a 3hile did the ?o,= in some more modern machines this mo(e only resets the %&C0 !ome mother,oards o++er a CMO!-reset ?umper0 In yet other cases9 the ))P%OM chip has to ,e desoldered and the data in it manually edited usin. a pro.rammer0 !ometimes it is enou.h to .round the C-C or $&A line o+ the IDC ,us o+ the ))P%OM at the ri.ht moment durin. ,oot9 this re7uires some precise solderin. on !M$ parts0 I+ the machine lets you ,oot ,ut does not 3ant to let you into the BIO! setup9 one possi,le reco(ery is to deli,erately 8dama.e8 the CMO! chec6sum ,y doin. direct port 3rites usin. debug.exe9 corruptin. some ,ytes o+ the chec6sum-protected area o+ the CMO! %AM= at the ne/t ,oot9 the computer typically resets its settin. to +actory de+aults0 BIO Basic Input Output ystem" An essential set o+ routines stored in a chip that pro(ides an inter+ace ,et3een the operatin. system and the hard3are in a PC0 &he BIO! supports all peripheral technolo.ies includin. dri(es as 3ell as internal ser(ices such as the realtime cloc6 time and date"0 BIO! settin.s are maintained in a tiny ,attery-,ac6ed memory0 It !tarts :or6in. at !tartup On startup9 the BIO! tests the system and prepares the computer +or operation ,y 7ueryin. its con+i.uration settin.s0 It searches +or other BIO!1s on the plu.-in ,oards and sets up pointers interrupt (ectors" in main memory to access those routines0 It then loads the operatin. system and passes control to it0 &he BIO! accepts re7uests +rom the dri(ers as 3ell as the application pro.rams0 A BIO! Can Eet Out-O+-$ate BIO!s must periodically ,e updated to 6eep pace 3ith the latest peripheral technolo.ies0 I+ the BIO! is stored on a %OM chip %OM BIO!"9 it must ,e replaced0 Ne3er BIO!s are stored on a +lash memory chip that can ,e up.raded (ia so+t3are0 BIO! replacement 3as (ery common 3ith earlier PCs0 !ee BIO! up.rades9 BIO! setup and ,eep codes0

BIO! Interaction On startup9 the BIO! searches all peripheral controllers in the system to o,tain the current con+i.uration9 3hich it ma6es a(aila,le to the so+t3are0

BIO! Identi+ication

&ouch!tone !o+t3are1s BIO! :i2ard is a ni+ty utility that identi+ies and tests your PC1s BIO! to see i+ it needs to ,e updated0 &he pro.ram is a(aila,le at 3330esupport0com/,ios3i2/inde/20html0 (Screen image courtesy of TouchStone Software Corporation, www.esupport.com) &hree Must %ead Articles +rom CMP1s &ech:e,

BIO! Could *ide %oot6its -an.a -etter# !ol(in. '!B Boot Pro,lems Phoeni/ &echnolo.ies Opens 'p BIO! to the Net3or6 Find the latest ne3s9 +eatures and re(ie3s relatin. to 8BIO!8 +rom CMP1s &ech!earch0

Fi/ PC )rrors Fast Fi/ Computer )rrors F !peed 'p Gour PC in Minutes0 Free $o3nload0 PCFaster0Net Bios !ettin.s Article in PC Ma.a2ine %ead it online0 Free &rialH 3330CeepMedia0com A,,re(iations

-i,rary I :ords I A,,re(iations BIO! is short for& Meaning Basic Input Output !ystem Basic Input/ Output !ystem Basic Input/Output !ystem Binary Intelli.ence O(erride !ystem Binary Interrupt Output !er(ice

"ategory Computin.-IEeneral Eo(ernmental-IMilitary Community-IMedia Computin.-IEeneral Computin.-INet3or6in. Computin.-I$ri(ers Computin.-IEeneral Computin.-INet3or6in.

Clic6 here to su,mit an acronym0

Free *elp $es6 !o+t3are Free Instant Online &rial F !etup0 !imple Bro3ser ,ased Mana.ement +reenetpromotions0com VoIP Ne3s - Net3or6:orld Gour !ource +or VoIP !er(ices Ne3s F %esources at Net3or6:orld0 3330Net3or6:orld0com :i6ipedia -i,rary I %e+erence I :i6ipedia BIO! For other uses, see Bios. BIO Basic inp't o'tp't system

Phoeni/ A3ardBIO! CMO! non-(olatile memory" !etup utility on a standard PC tored on& P%OM )P%OM Flash memory "ommon Man'fact'rers& American Me.atrends Phoeni/ &echnolo.ies

Others BIO 9 in computin.9 stands +or Basic Inp't(O'tp't ystem also incorrectly

6no3n as Basic Integrated Operating ystem0 BIO! re+ers to the +irm3are code run ,y an IBM compati,le PC 3hen +irst po3ered on0 &he primary +unction o+ the BIO! is to prepare the machine so other so+t3are pro.rams stored on (arious media such as hard dri(es9 +loppies9 and C$s" can load9 e/ecute9 and assume control o+ the pc0 &his process is 6no3n as ,ootin. up0 BIO! can also ,e said to ,e a coded pro.ram em,edded on a chip that reco.nises and controls (arious de(ices that ma6e up the pc0 &he term BIO! is speci+ic to personal computer (endors0 Amon. other classes o+ computers9 the .eneric terms boot monitor9 boot loader or boot !" are commonly used0 &he term +irst appeared in the CP/M operatin. system9 descri,in. the part o+ CP/M loaded durin. ,oot time that inter+aced directly 3ith the hard3are CP/M machines usually had a simple ,oot loader in %OM9 and nothin. else"0 Most (ersions o+ $O! ha(e a +ile called 8IBMBIO0COM8 or 8IO0!G!8 that is analo.ous to the CP/M dis6 BIO!0 How the BIO %oots

&he BIO! runs o++ the P%OM9 )P%OM or9 most commonly9 +lash memory 3hen the computer is po3ered on and it initiali2es and sometimes per+orms the Po3er-on sel+-test PO!&"9 a set o+ dia.nostic tests on the hard dri(e9 memory9 (ideo9 chipset and other hard3are0 !u,se7uently9 it typically decompresses itsel+ +rom the BIO! memory space into the system main memory and starts e/ecutin. +rom there0 Nearly all BIO! implementations can optionally e/ecute a setup pro.ram inter+acin. the non(olatile BIO! memory CMO!"0 &his memory holds user-customi2a,le con+i.uration data time9 date9 hard dri(e details9 etc0" accessed ,y BIO! code0 &he <J/<4 source code +or early PC and A& BIO! 3as included 3ith the IBM &echnical %e+erence Manual0 In most modern BIO! implementations9 users select 3hich de(ice ,oots +irst# C$9 hard dis69 +loppy dis69 +lash 6eydri(e and the li6e0 &his is particularly use+ul +or installin. operatin. systems or ,ootin. to -i(e C$s9 and +or selectin. the order o+ testin. +or the presence o+ ,oota,le media0 !ome BIO!es allo3 the user to select the operatin. system to load e0.0 load another O! +rom the second hard dis6"9 thou.h this is more o+ten handled ,y a second-sta.e ,oot loader0 BIO as firmware

%OM 3ith BIO! BIO! is sometimes called +irm3are0 Be+ore ;KKJ or so BIO!es 3ere held on %OM chips that could not ,e altered0 As their comple/ity and need +or updates .re39 BIO! +irm3are 3as stored on ))P%OM or +lash memory de(ices0 &his ))P%OM chip sits on a F:* inter+ace9 ,ut in some ne3er ,oards ))P%OM chips are already sittin. on a ne3er9 emer.in. inter+ace named !PI0 ))P%OM chips are ad(anta.eous ,ecause they can easily ,e updated ,y the user= ho3e(er9 the ris6 is that an improperly e/ecuted or a,orted BIO! update can render the computer or de(ice unusa,le0 &o a(oid BIO! corruption9 some ne3 mother,oards ha(e a ,ac6up BIO! i0e0 they are re+erred as $ual BIO! ,oards9 Ei.a,yte e(en o++ers a mother,oard 3ith 7uad BIO!"0 Also9 most BIO!es ha(e a 8,oot ,loc68 3hich is a portion o+ the %OM that runs +irst and is not updatea,le0 &his code 3ill (eri+y that the rest o+ the BIO! is intact (ia chec6sum9 hash9 etc0" ,e+ore ?umpin. to it0 I+ the ,oot ,loc6 detects that the main BIO! is corrupt9 then it 3ill typically ,oot to a +loppy so that the user can try +lashin. a.ain9 hope+ully 3ith success0 *ard3are manu+acturers +re7uently issue BIO! updates to up.rade their products9 impro(e compati,ility and remo(e ,u.s0 )irmware on adapter cards A computer system can contain se(eral BIO! +irm3are chips0 &he mother,oard BIO! typically contains code to access +undamental hard3are components such as the 6ey,oard9 +loppy dri(es9 A&A I$)" hard dis6 controllers9 '!B human inter+aces9 and stora.e de(ices0 In addition9 plu.-in adapter cards such as !C!I9 %AI$9 Net3or6 inter+ace cards9 and (ideo ,oards o+ten include their o3n BIO!9 complementin. or replacin. the system BIO! code +or the .i(en component0 In some de(ices that can ,e used ,y add-in adapters and actually directly inte.rated on the mother,oard9 the add-in %OM may also ,e stored as separate code on the main BIO! +lash chip0 It may then ,e possi,le to up.rade this 8add-in8 BIO! sometimes called an 8option %OM8" separately +rom the main BIO! code0 Add-in cards usually only re7uire such an add-in BIO! i+ they#

Need to ,e used prior to the time that the operatin. system loads e0.0 they may ,e used as part o+ the process 3hich loads ,ootstraps" the operatin. system"9 and# Are not su++iciently simple9 or .eneric in operation to ,e handled ,y the main BIO! directly

Older operatin. systems such as $O!9 as 3ell as ,ootloaders9 may continue to ma6e use o+ the BIO! to handle input and output0 *o3e(er9 most modern operatin. systems 3ill interact 3ith hard3are de(ices directly ,y usin. their o3n de(ice dri(ers to directly access the hard3are0 Occasionally these addin BIO!s are still called ,y modern operatin. systems9 in order to carry out speci+ic tas6s such as preliminary de(ice initiali2ation0 &o +ind these memory mapped e/pansion %OMs durin. ,oot9 PC BIO! implementations scan real memory +rom J/C<JJJ to J/FJJJJ on 2 6ilo,yte ,oundaries loo6in. +or a J/BB J/aa si.nature9 3hich is immediately +ollo3ed ,y a ,yte indicatin. the num,er o+ B;2 ,yte ,loc6s the e/pansion %OM occupies in real memory0 &he BIO! then ?umps to the o++set immediately a+ter the si2e ,yte9 at 3hich point the e/pansion %OM code ta6es o(er and uses BIO! ser(ices to pro(ide a user con+i.uration inter+ace9 re.ister interrupt (ectors +or use ,y post-,oot applications9 or display dia.nostic in+ormation0 For 'NIL and :indo3s/$O! systems there is a utility 3ith 3hich BIO! +irm3are so+t3are can ,e dumped at http#//3330linu6s0mine0nu/ree/ *he BIO %oot specification

I+ the e/pansion %OM 3ishes to chan.e the 3ay the system ,oots such as +rom a net3or6 de(ice or a !C!I adapter +or 3hich the BIO! has no dri(er code"9 it can use the BIO! Boot !peci+ication BB!" API to re.ister its a,ility to do so0 Once the e/pansion %OMs ha(e re.istered usin. the BB! APIs9 the user can select amon. the a(aila,le ,oot options +rom 3ithin the BIO!1s user inter+ace0 &his is 3hy most BB! compliant PC BIO! implementations 3ill not allo3 the user to enter the BIO!1s user inter+ace until the e/pansion %OMs ha(e +inished e/ecutin. and re.isterin. themsel(es 3ith the BB! API0 *he fall and rise of the BIO Older operatin. systems such as $O! called on the BIO! to carry out most input-output tas6s 3ithin the PC= 3ith the introduction o+ ne3er operatin. systems such as Microso+t :indo3s and -inu/9 the BIO! 3as rele.ated to principally pro(idin. initial hard3are setup9 and ,ootstrappin.0 Once it 3as up and runnin.9 the operatin. system does not ha(e to rely on the BIO! +or much0

In recent years9 ,y 3ay o+ systems such as ACPI9 the BIO! has ta6en on more comple/ +unctions such as aspects o+ po3er mana.ement9 hotplu.9 thermal mana.ement9 etc0 &his has led to rene3ed reliance on the BIO! ,y operatin. system producers9 and an increase in comple/ity o+ BIO! code0 &his in turn has led to in(ention o+ Intel1s modern )/tensi,le Firm3are Inter+ace )FI" 3hich in itsel+ incorporates BIO!es e/tended options0 -inu/ supports )FI (ia elilo ,oot loader since early 2JJJ0 Microso+t announced that support +or )FI in :indo3s Vista 3ill ,e dropped +or the launch9 ,ut added in a later update +or 45-,it (ersion0 &he Open !ource community increased their e++ort to de(elop a replacement +or proprietary BIO!es and their +uture incarnations 3ith an open sourced counterpart throu.h the -inu/BIO! and OpenBIO!/Open Firm3are pro?ects0 !o +ar9 those pro?ects ha(e met 3ith some success9 3ith AM$ pro(idin. product speci+ications +or a num,er o+ +airly recent chipsets9 and Eoo.le sponsorin. the pro?ect0 Mother,oard manu+acturer &yan o++ers -inu/BIO! ne/t to the standard BIO! 3ith their Opteron line o+ mother,oards0 *he BIO %'siness

&he (ast ma?ority o+ PC mother,oard suppliers license a BIO! 8core89 and tool6it +rom a commercial third party9 3hich creates and maintains such a core0 &he mother,oard manu+acturer then customi2es this BIO! to suit its o3n hard3are - +or this reason updated BIO!es are normally o,tained directly +rom the mother,oard manu+acturer0 +ist of BIO

s'ppliers

American Me.atrends AMI" Phoeni/ &echnolo.ies A3ard !o+t3are International mer.ed 3ith Phoeni/ in ;KK<" MicroI$ %esearch M%BIO!" Insyde !o+t3are Insyde" Eeneral !o+t3are

ee also

Firm3are )/tensi,le Firm3are Inter+ace )FI" -inu/BIO!9 a pro?ect 3hich aim is to create a +ree BIO! ,ased on -inu/ Open Firm3are Input/Output Base Address Ad(anced Con+i.uration and Po3er Inter+ace ACPI" BIO! ,oot de(ices BIO! Interrupt Calls Po3er-On !el+ &est PO!&"

,-ternal lin.s

:im1s BIO! Pa.e A3ard ,ios identi+ication pa.e *o3 !tu++ :or6s - BIO! In+ormation a,out the BIO!9 PO!&9 BIO! reco(ery

&his entry is +rom :i6ipedia9 the leadin. user-contri,uted encyclopedia0 It may not ha(e ,een re(ie3ed ,y pro+essional editors see +ull disclaimer" /"I !hort +or Peripheral Component Interconnect, a local ,us standard de(eloped ,y Intel Corporation0 Most modern PCs include a PCI ,us in addition to a more .eneral I!A e/pansion ,us0 PCI is also used on ne3er (ersions o+ the Macintosh computer0 PCI is a 45-,it ,us9 thou.h it is usually implemented as a 32-,it ,us0 It can run at cloc6 speeds o+ 33 or 44 M*20 At 32 ,its and 33 M*29 it yields a throu.hput rate o+ ;33 MBps0 Also see #C$%& and #C$ 'xpress0 Althou.h it 3as de(eloped ,y Intel9 PCI is not tied to any particular +amily o+ microprocessors0

I A %'s Pronounced as separate letters or as eye%sa"0 !hort +or Industry Standard Architecture bus9 the ,us architecture used in the IBM PC/L&

and PC/A&0 &he A& (ersion o+ the ,us is called the A& ,us and ,ecame a de +acto industry standard0 !tartin. in the early KJs9 I!A ,e.an to ,e replaced ,y the PCI local ,us architecture0 Most computers made today include ,oth an A& ,us +or slo3er de(ices and a PCI ,us +or de(ices that need ,etter ,us per+ormance0 In ;KK39 Intel and Microso+t introduced a ne3 (ersion o+ the I!A speci+ication called Plu. and Play I!A0 Plu. and Play I!A ena,les the

operatin. system to con+i.ure e/pansion ,oards automatically so that users do not need to +iddle 3ith $IP s3itches and ?umpers0 memory +ast modified& )riday0 1an'ary 230 4224 Internal stora.e areas in the computer0 &he term memory identi+ies data stora.e that comes in the +orm o+ chips9 and the 3ord storage is used +or memory that e/ists on tapes or dis6s0 Moreo(er9 the term memory is usually used as a shorthand +or physical memory, 3hich re+ers to the actual chips capa,le o+ holdin. data0 !ome computers also use (irtual memory9 3hich e/pands physical memory onto a hard dis60 )(ery computer comes 3ith a certain amount o+ physical memory9 usually re+erred to as main memory or ("0 Gou can thin6 o+ main memory as an array o+ ,o/es9 each o+ 3hich can hold a sin.le ,yte o+ in+ormation0 A computer that has ; me.a,yte o+ memory9 there+ore9 can hold a,out ; million ,ytes or characters" o+ in+ormation0 &here are se(eral di++erent types o+ memory# RAM 5random!access memory6& &his is the same as main memory0 :hen used ,y itsel+9 the term (" re+ers to read and write memory= that is9 you can ,oth 3rite data into %AM and read data +rom %AM0 &his is in contrast to %OM9 3hich permits you only to read data0 Most %AM is )olatile, 3hich means that it re7uires a steady +lo3 o+ electricity to maintain its contents0 As soon as the po3er is turned o++9 3hate(er data 3as in %AM is lost0 ROM 5read!only memory6& Computers almost al3ays contain a small amount o+ read-only memory that holds instructions +or startin. up the computer0 'nli6e %AM9 %OM cannot ,e 3ritten to0 /ROM 5programma%le read!only memory6& A P%OM is a memory chip on 3hich you can store a pro.ram0 But once the P%OM has ,een used9 you cannot 3ipe it clean and use it to store somethin. else0 -i6e %OMs9 P%OMs are non-(olatile0 ,/ROM 5erasa%le programma%le read!only memory6& An )P%OM is a special type o+ P%OM that can ,e erased ,y e/posin. it to ultra(iolet li.ht0 ,,/ROM 5electrically erasa%le programma%le read!only memory6& An ))P%OM is a special type o+ P%OM that can ,e erased ,y e/posin. it to an electrical char.e0

dynamic %e+ers to actions that ta6e place at the moment they are needed rather

than in ad(ance0 For e/ample9 many pro.rams per+orm dynamic memory allocation, 3hich means that they do not reser(e memory ahead o+ time9 ,ut sei2e sections o+ memory 3hen needed0 In .eneral9 such pro.rams re7uire less memory9 althou.h they may run a little more slo3ly0 Also see dynamic *T"+ and dynamic , +0 &he opposite o+ dynamic is static.

RAM Pronounced ramm, acronym +or random access memory9 a type o+ computer memory that can ,e accessed randomly= that is9 any ,yte o+ memory can ,e accessed 3ithout touchin. the precedin. ,ytes0 %AM is the most common type o+ memory +ound in computers and other de(ices9 such as printers0 &here are t3o ,asic types o+ %AM#

dynamic %AM $%AM" static %AM !%AM"

&he t3o types di++er in the technolo.y they use to hold data9 dynamic %AM ,ein. the more common type0 $ynamic %AM needs to ,e re+reshed thousands o+ times per second0 !tatic %AM does not need to ,e re+reshed9 3hich ma6es it +aster= ,ut it is also more e/pensi(e than dynamic %AM0 Both types o+ %AM are )olatile, meanin. that they lose their contents 3hen the po3er is turned o++0 In common usa.e9 the term (" is synonymous 3ith main memory9 the memory a(aila,le to pro.rams0 For e/ample9 a computer 3ith <M %AM has appro/imately < million ,ytes o+ memory that pro.rams can use0 In contrast9 !" (read%only memory) re+ers to special memory used to store pro.rams that ,oot the computer and per+orm dia.nostics0 Most personal computers ha(e a small amount o+ %OM a +e3 thousand ,ytes"0 In +act9 ,oth types o+ memory %OM and %AM" allo3 random access0 &o ,e precise9 there+ore9 %AM should ,e re+erred to as read-write (" and %OM as read%only (".

RAM -ast modi+ied# Monday9 May ;<9 ;KK< !hort +or static random access memory9 and pronounced ess-ram0 !%AM is a type o+ memory that is +aster and more relia,le than the more common $%AM dynamic %AM"0 &he term static is deri(ed +rom the +act that it doesn1t need to ,e re+reshed li6e dynamic %AM0 :hile $%AM supports access times o+ a,out 4J nanoseconds9 !%AM can .i(e access times as lo3 as ;J nanoseconds0 In addition9 its cycle time is much shorter than that o+ $%AM ,ecause it does not need to pause ,et3een accesses0 'n+ortunately9 it is also much more e/pensi(e to produce than $%AM0 $ue to its hi.h cost9 !%AM is o+ten used only as a memory cache0