BIOS

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System, the computer system IBM PC or compatibles (computer based on Intel x86 processor family) refers to a collection of software routines that can do the following things:

• Initialize (ignition) and the testing of the hardware (in a process called the Power On Self Test, POST)
• Load and run the operating system
• Set some basic configuration of the computer (date, time, storage configuration, the configuration of the boot process, performance, and stability of your computer)
• Help operating systems and applications in the hardware settings using the BIOS Runtime Services.

BIOS provides a low-level communication interface, and can control many types of hardware devices (like keyboards). Because of its proximity to the hardware, the BIOS is generally made using assembly language (assembly) which is used by the machine in question.

The term first appeared in the operating system CP / M, which is part of CP / M loaded during the boot process starts dealing directly with the hardware (some machines running CP / M has a simple boot loader in ROM). Most versions of DOS have a file called "IBMBIO.COM" (IBM PC-DOS) or "IO.SYS" (MS-DOS) that does the same as CP / M disk BIOS.

Said the BIOS can also be interpreted as a "life" in Greek literature (Βίος).

In the BIOS, there are some basic components, namely as follows:
Examples of the CMOS Setup (Phoenix BIOS)

• BIOS Setup program that allows users to change the configuration of the computer (hard disk type, disk drives, power management, computer performance, etc.) as desired. BIOS hides the details of how to access hardware that is quite complicated, if done directly.
• Driver for the basic hardware devices, such as video adapters, input devices, processors, and some other devices for the base operating system 16-bit (in this case is the family of DOS).
• The main bootstraper Program that allows a computer to perform the process of booting into the operating system installed.