Madow's Computer Lessons - #1 BIOS

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ID:184743
 
Jul 15 2006, 11:27 pm
Well, I have a little bit of free time on my hand, enough to learn something. What is a BIOS? How does it work with the computer? What does it do?
Jul 15 2006, 11:33 pm
Basic Input Operating System. It's in a chip that's embedded onto your computer. It does a bunch of helpful stuff, like managing the clock on your computer, helping oper... ahh screw it. Just wikipedia the darn thing.
Jul 15 2006, 11:40 pm
In response to D4RK3 54B3R
I always thought it stood for Built In Operating System.
Jul 16 2006, 12:12 am
In response to Jp
You're both wrong - it's the Basic Input/Output System. =)

(And I did know that without looking it up, though I did check to confirm. =))
Jul 16 2006, 12:17 am
In response to Crispy
Crispy wrote:
You're both wrong - it's the Basic Input/Output System. =)

You're all wrong! BIOS == Bring It On, Sucka!!!

[double checks...]

Er, wait. :/

Hiead
Jul 16 2006, 12:34 am (Edited on Jul 16 2006, 12:56 am)
In response to Hiead
Well, that pretty much covers it =) Are some BIOSs better then others?
Jul 16 2006, 12:35 am
In response to Madow
Pretty much, no.
Jul 16 2006, 1:27 am
In response to Madow
If your BIOS works, then it's as good as it needs to be.

Some have more features and whatnot, but they're never important, and the only way you can usually get them is by upgrading your motherboard (which basically equates to chucking out half your computer, or your entire computer if you're not comfortable with taking it to bits and putting it back together again).

(Very) occasionally there are bugs, or new features, but you almost never need to update the BIOS (via a processing called "flashing") unless you really really need the update for some reason. If it works, don't even think about fixing it.
Jul 16 2006, 2:34 am
In response to Hiead
Boobs In Outer Space!
Jul 16 2006, 6:01 am
In response to Crispy
Crispy wrote:
Some have more features and whatnot, but they're never important,

Unless you have a server motherboard or similar. Or if your BIOS supports replacing the boring computer startup screen with your own one. :)
Jul 16 2006, 6:35 pm
In response to Crispy
Yeah, that's what my CISCO class teaches me at least. The site we were working on before school ended was http://cisco.netacad.net

It gives you tons of information on PCs and such.
Jul 17 2006, 9:38 pm
In response to Crispy
Crispy wrote:
If your BIOS works, then it's as good as it needs to be.

Some have more features and whatnot, but they're never important, and the only way you can usually get them is by upgrading your motherboard (which basically equates to chucking out half your computer, or your entire computer if you're not comfortable with taking it to bits and putting it back together again).

(Very) occasionally there are bugs, or new features, but you almost never need to update the BIOS (via a processing called "flashing") unless you really really need the update for some reason. If it works, don't even think about fixing it.

Am I missing something? The bios is critical to fine tuning your computer speed :/

For example, disabling unneeded hardware, switching around the boot order, changing temp monitor settings. Overclocking, adjusting voltages (for example, to reduce heat, when your processor doesnt need 1.375 volts but rather 1.10 like mine) (yes, it works fine, tested it w/ software and good ol' trial and no-error). Adjusting ram timings for better performance, list goes on and on...
Jul 17 2006, 10:46 pm
In response to Jerico2day
Sure, the BIOS settings can be important. But the BIOS itself rarely needs upgrading, and that was my point.
Jul 18 2006, 5:56 pm
In response to Crispy
Crispy wrote:
Sure, the BIOS settings can be important. But the BIOS itself rarely needs upgrading, and that was my point.

That I'll agree.
Jul 19 2006, 12:27 am
In response to Jerico2day
Ok, thanks for all the help peoples! Now, time to work on Madow's Computer Lessons #2. Btw, I downloaded an old version of Firefox (Firebird 0.7), how would I upgrade it? As in, plugins*?

<font size=1>*Is it 'plugins' or 'plug-ins'?
Also, is it '' or ""?</font>
Jul 19 2006, 4:17 am
In response to Madow
upgrade it here - http://www.getfirefox.com as for plugins or plug-ins, I believe both are acceptable.
Jul 19 2006, 10:25 pm
In response to Madow
Madow wrote:
Is it 'plugins' or 'plug-ins'?

I think plugins is more common.

Also, is it '' or ""?

Take your pick. I think it's one of those silly differences between American and English conventions.
Jul 20 2006, 1:01 am
In response to Crispy
xD Yeah, well. I like to be punctuating with my postings; sometimes I even use Word to correct my mistakes o_0!

I'm beginning to feel that my Word might not be accurate -_-
Jul 20 2006, 2:47 am
In response to Madow
As a regular user of Australian English, I have learned not to trust Word's spellchecker one iota. Even when set to use its "Australian English" dictionary, it still marks "colour" as incorrect and doesn't complain about "color". Grrr. Bad Microsoft.

Actually this seems to be a common ailment of so-called "Australian" English spell checkers... hence why I hardly ever bother to use one. They all suck.
Jul 20 2006, 5:36 am
In response to Madow
Madow wrote:
Also, is it '' or ""?</font>

By all English rules the double-quotes are right. Single-quotes used in their place are commonly used by people that program and don't like using escapes in their text strings -- or like me it became a habit when using double-quotes in DreamSeeker didn't work at all (when typing in the commandbar).
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