BIOS A SSIGNMENT PART 1

1. WHAT DOES BIOS STAND FOR?

BIOS stand for basic input/output system.

2. WHAT IS AN OPERATING SYSTEM? PROVIDE 4 EXAMPLES.

Operating system is software that manages computer hardware
and software resources and provides common services for computer
programs.
Multi-user: A multi-user operating system allowing
multiple users to use the computer system at the same
time.
Multi-tasking: A multi-user operating system allows more
than one program to be running at the same time.
Single-tasking: A single-tasking operating system only
allows one program to be running.
Distributed: A distributed operating system manages a
group of independent computers and makes them appear
to be a single computer.

3. WHAT ARE APPLICATIONS ?

Applications are programs that are designed for the person who
uses the computer.

4. WHAT
IS THE ROLE OF THE BIOS?
The
primary role of the BIOS is to load
and start
an operating system.
For
example, when a PC starts up the
first job
for the BIOS is to initialize and
identify system devices such as the keyboard, mouse and other
hardware.

5. WHAT

IS FLASH MEMORY AND WHAT RELATION DOES

FLASH MEMORY?

BIOS

HAVE WITH

Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer storage

medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
The relation between the two is that on
most of the PCs the BIOS are stored on the
flash memory so without a flash memory
there are no BIOS. Its also easier to
refresh if necessary.

6. WHAT DOES CMOS STAND FOR?

CMOS stands for complementary metallic oxide
semiconductor.
7. WHAT DOES CMOS DO?
Its a battery in PC that stores time and date while the
computer
turned off.

8. WHAT ARE INTERRUPT HANDLERS?

Interrupts and their handlers are used to handle high-priority
conditions that require the interruption of the current code the
processor is executing.
9. PROVIDE 4 EXAMPLES OF DEVICE DRIVER.
KERNEL MODE VS. USER MODE : Device drivers, particularly
on modern Microsoft Windows platforms, can run in kernelmode or in user- mode.
APPLICATIONS : The diversity of modern hardware and
operating systems, drivers operate in many different
environments like printer, sound card, etc.
VIRTUAL DEVICE DRIVERS: Virtual device represent a
particular variant of device drivers, which are used to
emulate a hardware device, particularly in virtualization.
IDENTIFIES : A device on the PCI bus or USB is identified by
two IDs. The vendor ID identifies which is the vendor of the

device and the device ID identifies a specific device from

that manufacturer/vendor.
10. WHAT ARE THE KEYS THAT USERS CAN PRESS TO GET INTO BIOS?
You need to re start your computer and press the key on the
keyboard before the BIOS hands over control to Windows. There
should be a message that says which key you need to press. It could
be A Function key like F1, F2 or F3, The Esc key or The Delete key.

11. PROVIDE 5 EXAMPLES OF ITEMS THAT ARE IN THE CMOS.

ISBN: International standard book number, electronic
version of book will have different ISBN than print version.
ISSN: International standard serial number.
COLOPHON: An inscription including the facts of production.
ERRATA : A loose sheet inserted by hand; sometimes a
bound page.
PAGE NUMBERS: Arabic numerals for text; Roman numerals
for front matter.
12. WHAT

SOURCE OF POWER DOES THE

INFORMATION?

CMOS

USE TO STORE

CMOS use the battery backed-up RAM source of power to store

the information.

13. CAN BIOS BE UPGRADED ?

Yes, BIOS can be upgraded because its stored on the flash
memory so it can be upgraded without the chip being removed from
the motherboard.
14. LIST 4

BIOS MANUFACTURERS .
American Megatrends Inc.
Phoenix Technologies
Ali
Winbond