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bios: Definition and Recommended Links

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In computing, the BIOS (pronounced /'ba?o?s/) is an initialism stands for the Basic Input/Output System according to the IBM Personal Computer Technical Reference manual[1] [2] or the punctuational variants Basic Input Output System, or Basic Input-Output System.

BIOS in part refers to the firmware code run by a PC when first powered on, which is a type of boot loader. The primary function of the BIOS is to identify and initialize system component hardware (such as the video display card, hard disk, and floppy). This is to prepare the machine into a known low capability state, so other software programs stored on various media can load, execute, and assume control of the PC.[3] This process is known as booting, or booting up, which is short for bootstrapping. Among other classes of computers, the generic terms boot monitor, boot loader or boot ROM were commonly used. Some Sun and Macintosh PowerPC computers used Open Firmware for this purpose. There are a few alternatives for Legacy BIOS in the x86 world: Extensible Firmware Interface, Open Firmware (used on the OLPC XO-1) and coreboot.

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS)

other great electronics sites:ee toolbox site

• • bios
    • In computing, the BIOS (pronounced /'ba?o?s/) is an initialism stands for the Basic Input/Output System according to the IBM Personal Computer Technical Reference manual[1] [2] or the punctuational variants Basic Input Output System, or Basic Input-Output System.

      BIOS in part refers to the firmware code run by a PC when first powered on, which is a type of boot loader. The primary function of the BIOS is to identify and initialize system component hardware (such as the video display card, hard disk, and floppy). This is to prepare the machine into a known low capability state, so other software programs stored on various media can load, execute, and assume control of the PC.[3] This process is known as booting, or booting up, which is short for bootstrapping. Among other classes of computers, the generic terms boot monitor, boot loader or boot ROM were commonly used. Some Sun and Macintosh PowerPC computers used Open Firmware for this purpose. There are a few alternatives for Legacy BIOS in the x86 world: Extensible Firmware Interface, Open Firmware (used on the OLPC XO-1) and coreboot.

      Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS)

      (Note: The Electronic Engineers Toolbox provides an alternative set of featured links for this word at http://www.cera2.com/bios.htm)

      Featured Links:

      Open Bios Project

      OpenBIOS is a free portable firmware implementation. The goal is to implement a 100% IEEE 1275-1994 (Referred to as Open Firmware) compliant firmware. Among it's features, Open Firmware provides an instruction set independent device interface which can be used to boot the operating system from expansion cards without native initialization code.
      http://www.openbios.info/

      Beyond BIOS: Implementing the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface with Intel's Framework

      Beyond BIOS: Implementing the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface with Intel¿s Framework describes a set of robust architectural interfaces, implemented in C, that has been designed to enable the BIOS industry and Intel customers to accelerate the evolution of innovative, differentiated, computer platform designs. The Framework is Intel's recommended implementation of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) specification for computer...
      http://www.amazon.com

      Cheetah - High-performance PC/104-Plus

      Small sized board with high-performance Intel Pentium M 1.8 GHz and Extreme Graphics 2 Video. Highlights - High-Performance Processor, Extreme Graphics 2 Video, SODIMM Memory Socket, On-board I/O, TVS Protection, CompactFlash Socket, Watchdog Timer, 400 MHz processor-side bus, Embedded BIOS, PC/104-Plus Form Factor, RoHS-compliant
      http://www.versalogic.com

      LinuxBIOS Project

      LinuxBIOS is an Open Source project aimed at replacing the normal BIOS with a little bit of hardware initialization and a compressed Linux kernel that can be booted from a cold start. The project was started as part of clustering research work in the Cluster Reseach Lab at the Advanced Computing Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
      http://www.linuxbios.org/

      Ocelot - Small, Fanless SBC based on Intel Atom

      Introducing Ocelot - SUMIT-104 (SUMIT - ISM) SBC with Intel Atom. Specifications: * Intel Atom (1.6 GHz) processor (Specifically designed for embedded applications!) * Up to 2 GB DDR2 memory * Support for SUMIT, ISA, and SPX expansion. Features extremely low power draw (7W) and fanless operation. Extended temperature version available.
      http://www.VersaLogic.com

      Manx - PC/104-Plus Single Board Computer

      SBC with low power consumption and no moving parts. PC/104-Plus Form Factor * AMD LX 800 Processor * Fanless Operation * Extended Temperature Version * Soldered-on System RAM * High Performance Video * Network Support * USB I/O * Device I/O CompactFlash® Socket * Puma Compatibility * RoHS-compliant
      http://www.VersaLogic.com

      The BIOS Companion

      The BIOS Companion explains those secret settings in the CMOS Setup and contains a wealth of data for troubleshooters, including Nasty Noises, Error and POST Codes, and more - there are over 440 pages. Download the first 28 here (includes Table of Contents).
      http://www.electrocution.com/

      Platform Firmware Solutions for Intel Embedded and Communications Products

      This video discusses the advantages of BIOS & UEFI on Embedded IA products versus boot-loader firmware used for non-IA processor architectures.
      http://ami.com/tv/

      Versalogic White Papers

      Embedded industrial computer developers can utilize these white papers to assist with their computer board, CPU and software design and selection. The papers offer tips, tricks and advice for engineers at every stage of development.
      http://www.versalogic.com/Support/WhitePaper/index.asp

      BIOS @ Wikipedia

      BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System also incorrectly known as Basic Integrated Operating System and occasionally Built In Operating System[citation needed]. BIOS refers to the firmware code run by an IBM compatible PC when first powered on. The primary function of the BIOS is to prepare the machine so other software programs stored on various media (such as hard drives, floppies, and CDs) can load,...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS

      Explanation: these links are provided as part of our EE glossary project, which seeks to identify the most prominent keywords in embedded systems, embedded software, realtime and rtos, dsp (digital signal processing), system-on-a-chip, microprocessors and microcontrollers, and other constituent elements for embedded systems. While we seek to keep most of the links up-to-date, the user is refered to other primary electronic-based search sites such as: cera2.com, embedded.com, or EDN Magazine. If you have any suggestions of links or definitions, please email!

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