What is BIOS?
BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System. The BIOS is a program (also known as firmware) which is stored in a ROM (Read-Only Memory) chip on the motherboard commonly referred to as the BIOS chip. The BIOS is responsible for detecting, testing, initializing and monitoring the system hardware from the moment the system is turned on until Windows takes over. When you turn the computer on the BIOS instantly identifies all of the onboard devices (processor, memory, video card, etc.) and then runs the Power On Self Test (P.O.S.T) to determine whether of not each device is working properly.
If all of the devices pass the POST test then the BIOS initializes each device, detects the hard drives, CD-ROM and floppy drives and then searches the first boot device (normally the hard drive or floppy drive) for files necessary to load the operating system software and then passes control of the system to the operating system software. If any device fails the POST test then an error message will be displayed on the screen or a series of 'beeps' will be played through the PC speaker to indicate there is a problem. The sequence of beeps (beep code) can be used to identify exactly what the problem is.
Most of the time you will not need to update your BIOS. BIOS updates are provided to correct existing poblems 'bugs' in the original BIOS program, or to add new features or hardware support to the BIOS. If your computer is working fine then updating your BIOS is not recommended and may cause problems with your system.
However if you will be upgrading your computer's processor, hard drive or video card you may need to update your BIOS in order for the new device to work properly.
