BIOS
A foundational concept in the computer firmware layer, responsible for power-on self-test, hardware initialization, peripheral configuration, and providing the operating system with a standardized hardware access interface. It serves as an abstraction bridge between hardware and the operating system, and was gradually supplanted by UEFI from the 2010s onward.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Flashing the BIOS itself requires a CPU supported by the current BIOS in order to boot, presenting a chicken-and-egg dilemma for beginners
ENIAC had no BIOS because it did not have a stored-program architecture, and the concept of BIOS was not applicable in its era.
After the 2010s, traditional BIOS was gradually replaced by UEFI, which supports larger-capacity hard drives, a graphical interface, and a more secure boot process.
BIOS was standardized as a core firmware component of the PC architecture when the IBM PC was introduced in 1981, stored in a read-only memory chip on the motherboard.
BIOS was first introduced by Gary Kildall in 1975 for the CP/M operating system.
The core responsibilities of BIOS include Power-On Self-Test (POST), initializing the CPU and memory, enumerating and configuring peripherals, and providing the operating system with a unified hardware access interface via the interrupt vector table.
The author modified the BIOS, including removing the hardware whitelist, modifying PCIe power-on timing, and disabling PCIe power-saving states.
Resolving firmware-level fan control issues requires adjustments at the BIOS level, involving reverse engineering techniques such as disassembly, symbol recognition, and feature matching.
The fan control curve is a temperature-to-speed mapping relationship preset by hardware manufacturers, typically stored in BIOS/UEFI firmware in the form of ACPI specifications.
BIOS firmware embeds ACPI tables (such as DSDT and SSDT), EC (Embedded Controller) firmware, and vendor-customized modules, with fan control logic often written in the EC firmware.
6 more timeline events
All Facts (15)
Flashing the BIOS itself requires a CPU supported by the current BIOS in order to boot, presenting a chicken-and-egg dilemma for beginners
50%UnverifiedENIAC had no BIOS because it did not have a stored-program architecture, and the concept of BIOS was not applicable in its era.
50%UnverifiedBIOS was first introduced by Gary Kildall in 1975 for the CP/M operating system.
50%UnverifiedBIOS was standardized as a core firmware component of the PC architecture when the IBM PC was introduced in 1981, stored in a read-only memory chip on the motherboard.
50%UnverifiedThe core responsibilities of BIOS include Power-On Self-Test (POST), initializing the CPU and memory, enumerating and configuring peripherals, and providing the operating system with a unified hardware access interface via the interrupt vector table.
50%UnverifiedAfter the 2010s, traditional BIOS was gradually replaced by UEFI, which supports larger-capacity hard drives, a graphical interface, and a more secure boot process.
50%UnverifiedThe author modified the BIOS, including removing the hardware whitelist, modifying PCIe power-on timing, and disabling PCIe power-saving states.
50%UnverifiedResolving firmware-level fan control issues requires adjustments at the BIOS level, involving reverse engineering techniques such as disassembly, symbol recognition, and feature matching.
50%UnverifiedThe fan control curve is a temperature-to-speed mapping relationship preset by hardware manufacturers, typically stored in BIOS/UEFI firmware in the form of ACPI specifications.
50%UnverifiedBIOS firmware embeds ACPI tables (such as DSDT and SSDT), EC (Embedded Controller) firmware, and vendor-customized modules, with fan control logic often written in the EC firmware.
50%UnverifiedIf an interruption (such as a power outage or program crash) occurs during firmware update within the window after erasure is complete but before writing is finished, the chip will retain an incomplete firmware image, rendering the device unable to boot; this type of BIOS-level corruption typically cannot be recovered through reinstalling the OS or conventional operations.
50%UnverifiedTraditional BIOS was born in the era of the CP/M operating system in 1975, runs in 16-bit real mode, and has a 1MB memory addressing limit and a 2.2TB hard drive capacity ceiling.
50%UnverifiedUEFI firmware code size has grown from the few hundred KB of traditional BIOS to tens of MB, and its complexity far exceeds that of traditional BIOS, making firmware update risks higher than in the traditional BIOS era.
50%UnverifiedBIOS/UEFI firmware is typically stored on a dedicated SPI NOR Flash chip on the motherboard, with a capacity generally between 16MB and 32MB.
50%UnverifiedThe traditional BIOS originated in the era of the CP/M operating system in 1975, runs in 16-bit real mode, and has a 1MB memory addressing limit and a 2.2TB hard drive capacity ceiling.
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