软件工程专业BIOS资料外文翻译文献What is the Basic Input Output System (BIOS)?BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input Output System. It is the program thatstores configuration details about your computer hardware and enables your computerto boot up. Every time your computer is switched on the BIOS loads configurationdata into main memory, performs a routine diagnostic test on your hardware, then loads the operating system. The BIOS resides in a ROM (Read-Only memory) chip, whichis mounted on the motherboard, usually in a socket so it is removable. To the rightis an example of what a BIOS chip may look like in your motherboard. This is a PLCC32 pin type BIOS chip. It is a very common type.Every computer has BIOS. There are many types but the most common type of BIOS's come from: AMI, Award and Phoenix. Motherboard manufacturers buy or lease the BIOS source code from these companies. The BIOS tells the operating system in your computer how to boot up, where to load everything, what to load, what memory and CPU are present and much more. A good comparison to further understand thefunctionality of the BIOS would be to say that the BIOS is the Computer equivilant of the human hypothalamus. hypothalamus regulates body temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat, metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, and sugar levels in the blood. It is the subconscious nervous system sometimes it's called the brain of the brain.In a PC we all know that the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain. Well the BIOS is the CPU's brain. Without a Hypothalamus you will die. Without a BIOS your PC is a paper weight.The BIOS is programmed on an EEPROM. We refer to them as BIOS chips. Other names you may hear are: Firmware Hub, CMOS, ROM Chip IC, Flash Rom and I am sure there are a few more! If you want a common term for all these items when refering to motherboards, BIOS chip is the the most common term used.Here are all the terms mentioned above with a description of what they actaully mean:CMOS =(complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) A semiconductor technology that uses less power and generates less heat (enabling higher circuit density) than bipolar semiconductor technologies Firmware = A category of memory chips that hold their content without electrical power. They include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM) and electronically erasable PROM (EEPROM) technologies. Firmware becomes "hard software" when holding program code. The contents are generally permanent or semipermanent control coding implemented at a microinstruction level for an application program, instruction set, operating routine or similar user-oriented function. NOTE: Intel calls their BIOS chips Firmware Hubs. EEPROM= (electrically erasable programmable ROM)A type of programmable read-only memory (ROM) that can be erased or updated using electrical signals, a process often performed remotely. ROM =(read-only memory) Data stored in computer memory that can be accessed and read by the user, but not modified. ROM is often permanent, and stores system controlsoftware. flash memory=A nonvolatile storage chip that enables easy electrical erasability and reprogramming, often used to remotely update routers or modems with new versions of software. IC= (integrated circuit) An assembly of electronic circuits contained on a single piece of semiconductor material.So, a BIOS chip is an IC, CMOS, EEPROM, Flash memory, Firmware chip that holds software called the BIOS. The BIOS is programmable via software (flash programs such as AMIFLASH, AWDFLASH, PHLASH or Uniflash. You can see a link to these programs here here: BIOS Flash utils.For the person who still has no idea about the BIOS on your PC, notice when you first turn on your PC or laptop a few screens pop up. It might be a logo such as DELL or HP or ASUS, Tyan , AMI BIOS, AWARD BIOS etc. You might also see a memory count . This is all part of the POST (Power On Self Test). POST is a test the BIOS runs before it hands over control to the OS (Operating System). You can see more of the post if you disable the logo option in your BIOS. Otherwise just know that if you see a logo the POST is running. For more infor on the POST click here: Power On Self Test.. You can read all about the POST codes etc on that site.Well eventually I will add some settings to help you optimize your BIOS but for now I'll finish with a recommendation. Do not flash your motherboard BIOS! If you feel you need to update your BIOS buy a pre programmed BIOS update chip from . Flashing your BIOS is risky. If anything goes wrong while you're flashing it your motherboard / PC is now a paperweight! Click here to buy a BIOS Update ChipThere are two methods to update yiour BIOS chip:1. Flash it (software method)2. Program it with an EEPROM programmer. This is a hardware method . This ishow we at BIOSMAN program sall our BIOS chips.It is much more thorough than a flash. Think of it like a hard drive. if you "format c: / "a hard drive you wipe out all the contents Or do you? Not really. That data is still recoverable. if you really want to clean the drive or start with a fresh drive you write O's and 1's to it, this is also known as a low-level format . Utilities such as wipe.exe will accomplish this. If you don't low level format your HD before loading it or selling it then you have pretty much left all your old data on the drive. Flashing a BIOS chip is the same procedure. It basically writes on top of the data already on the BIOS chip. The Boot Block won't be written over unless you specify it to be but for some BIOS's you have to (See AMI BIOS flash)!! An EEPROM programmer wipes the chip clean before writing the new BIOS to it. This is just one reason why buying a new BIOS chip from us is preferable to flashing one yourself. Ok I sort of skipped oiver what a boot block is so let me cover that. The Boot block is a section of a BIOS chip that won't be programmed. It contains a small amount of information. For instance, in an AMI BIOS the boot block contains the AMIFLASH.exe flash program and some code to allow it to run if the "CTRL" and "Home" keys are pressed on the keyboard. It will basically recover your BIOS if the flash went bad. You can read about AMI BIOS recovery and AWARD BIOS recovery here: AMI BIOS and AWARD BIOS. Oh yeah if you're wondering why I left off the Phoenix BIOS recovery technique, well there isnt' one! That's just another reason to buy a BIOS chip vs. trying to flash one!Ok so now hopefully you are convinced to not flash your BIOS using a software utility. You also don't want to buy an EEPROM programmer for $1500.00 so just fork out the $25.00 and buy yoiur new BIOS update from ! Ok so i'm pushing our store on you but BIOSMAN came into existence for a reason. 100's of people buy BIOS's every month from us because their system is down due to a failed flash! Whynot be pro active rather then re active? Think of it like having a spare battery for your flashlight. Why wait till a power outtage to realize your batteries are dead? Speaking of power outtage, one of the top reasons for a BIOS flash failure is that there is a power outtage or a break in power to the PC while the flash is in progress. Just another for the 1000's of reasons why not to attempt a BIOS update yourself!BIOS chips come in many flavors. On the left is a 32 pin DIP chip. These chips are usually 2Mb (256KB) in size. Some are 1Mb (128KB) but those are old and we hardly get orders for them. Below is what a PLCC chip looks like. This is the most common variety nowadays. They also come in many flavors, 128KB, 256KB, 512KB (4Mb) or the most popular and the largest today the 1MB (8Mb) chips BIOSMAN programs all the types mentioned. Ok so lets get back to more BIOS basics. Why would you want to upgrade your BIOS? Here are the most common reasons:rge hard drive support. Older BIOS's couldn't see drives larger than 37GB due the 48bit problem.2. New video card technology such as AGP 8X support, or in older machines 2Xto 4X. Today the SLI support is a biggie3.ACPI compatibility4. CPU suppoirt. BIOS companies often release new CPU microcode updates to the motherboard companies who in turn add them to their BIOS's to support newer CPU's5. Fix problems. The motherboard companies often release many BIOS's when amotherboard is first released. A common culprit is USB compatibility. There areso many USB devices nowadays and many of them try to use the same IRQ. Not a probllem when XP loads but as the system BIOS is loading, IRQ conflicts cancause your USB devices to not be found.6. Memory support. Newer faster memory can have issues on your motherboard. Might be larger than what was originally tested or approved. A tweak from the motherboard company can fix that.7. The most common reason. You update your BIOS because there is a BIOS update available! (OK i do this too!) You just can't stop yourself. Its sort if the same reason you have all the latest gadgets.All are good reason to update your BIOS so buy one from us rather than flashing it!BIOS SettingsThis section describes most of the BIOS settings that you will find in a typical Pentium-class or higher PC. Some BIOS settings are quite universal, while others can be found on only the systems made with one type of BIOS or made by one manufacturer. This section lists the most common settings that are used in modern PCs, with full explanations as to what they are and how to set them. This includes the more common advanced settings, but does not attempt a "shotgun" coverage of every setting I've ever seen on a machine. Some are very atypical and usually not something you need to worry about. The less common a setting is, the more often it is the case that you really will want to leave it on its default setting anyway. Not always, but usually.By the nature of how I designed this section, it should cover 95%+ of the settings in your BIOS that you will ever want to change. If you find a setting in your BIOS that isn't covered here, you may find it in the BIOS Survival Guide, which has A mre complete list of the settings found on various types of PCs.For each setting I describe the most common options and what they mean. Inaddition, I indicate which options are usually the default. I also describe what the implications are of using the different settings, andprovide general recommendations on how to configure most of the parameters. The settings themselves are organized based on the names of the settings groups you will find in a typical BIOS setup program.It is a good idea to "back up" (record on paper) all of your BIOS settings once your PC is running and stable, and especially before you make any changes to them. Reference this procedure for specific instructions on configuring the most important BIOS settings to safe values, to maximize the chances of booting a new or problematic system.Every setup program is slightly different from every other one. Even if two BIOSes are both on Pentium motherboards and are made by Award, they may have different settings. The commands as shown here might be different on your PC, or they might be in a different place. Use care when modifying these parameters, and refer to your motherboard manual if it is accurate.Changing advanced parameters can lead to system instability and data loss. It is recommended that only users who really understand what they are doing change these settings. Proceed at your own risk.If your BIOS contains a "hard disk utility" that includes items like setting interleave ratios, low level formatting, or "media analysis", do not use it on an IDE/ATA or SCSI drive (which includes virtually every PC hard drive made in at least the last 5 years). These old utilities are designed for the MFM and RLL drives from the 1980s and can in theory damage a modern drive, for which they are unnecessary.BIOS System Boot OperationsOne of the most important functions that the BIOS plays is to boot up the system. When the PC is first turned on, its main system memory is empty, and it needs to find instructions immediately to tell it what to run to start up the PC. These it finds within the BIOS program, because the BIOS is in read-only permanent memory and so is always available for use, even when the rest of system memory is empty.This section takes a look at what is involved in booting the PC, including a discussion of the steps in the system boot process, and a look at the power-on self-test (POST) that is conducted whenever the system starts up.System Boot SequenceThe system BIOS is what starts the computer running when you turn it on. The following are the steps that a typical boot sequence involves. Of course this will vary by the manufacturer of your hardware, BIOS, etc., and especially by what peripherals you have in the PC. Here is what generally happens when you turn on your system power:1.The internal power supply turns on and initializes. The power supply takessome time until it can generate reliable power for the rest of the computer, and having it turn on prematurely could potentially lead to damage.Therefore, the chipset will generate a reset signal to the processor (the same as if you held the reset button down for a while on your case) until it receives the Power Good signal from the power supply.2.When the reset button is released, the processor will be ready to startexecuting. When the processor first starts up, it is suffering from amnesia;there is nothing at all in the memory to execute. Of course processor makersknow this will happen, so they pre-program the processor to always look at the same place in the system BIOS ROM for the start of the BIOS boot program.This is normally location FFFF0h, right at the end of the system memory.They put it there so that the size of the ROM can be changed without creating compatibility problems.3.The BIOS performs the power-on self test (POST). If there are any fatalerrors, the boot process stops.4. The BIOS looks for the video card. In particular, it looks for the videocard's built in BIOS program and runs it. Most modern cards will display information on the screen about the video card. (This is why on a modern PC you usually see something on the screen about the video card before you see the messages from the system BIOS itself).5.The BIOS then looks for other devices' ROMs to see if any of them have BIOSes.Normally, the IDE/ATA hard disk BIOS will be found at C8000h and executed.If any other device BIOSes are found, they are executed as well.6.The BIOS displays its startup screen.7.The BIOS does more tests on the system, including the memory count-up testwhich you see on the screen. The BIOS will generally display a text error message on the screen if it encounters an error at this point.8.The BIOS performs a "system inventory" of sorts, doing more tests todetermine what sort of hardware is in the system. Modern BIOSes have many automatic settings and will determine memory timing (for example) based on what kind of memory it finds. Many BIOSes can also dynamically set hard drive parameters and access modes, and will determine these at roughly this time.Some will display a message on the screen for each drive they detect andconfigure this way. The BIOS will also now search for and label logical devices (COM and LPT ports).9.If the BIOS supports the Plug and Play standard, it will detect and configurePlug and Play devices at this time and display a message on the screen for each one it finds.10.Having identified its target boot drive, the BIOS looks for boot informationto start the operating system boot process. If it is searching a hard disk, it looks for a master boot record at cylinder 0, head 0, sector 1 (the first sector on the disk); if it is searching a floppy disk, it looks at the same address on the floppy disk for a volume boot sector.基本输入输出系统是什么（BIOS）？BIOS是基本输入输出系统的首字母缩略词。