BIOS or UEFI – BIOS is the firmware code that determines the characteristics of a PC. It is generally set during the setup or when a computer is turned on. The BIOS translates various events that occur within the PC such as the start up, shut down and a variety of other operations to the instructions that are then carried out by the hardware. This is usually done in an orderly fashion in that all computers start with their own BIOS before the operating system itself. However, sometimes the BIOS gets corrupted and has to be replaced with a newer one.
There are several reasons why BIOS can become corrupt or corrupted. One reason is the simple act of for example installing new hardware within the system without unlocking the access to the BIOS. Another reason is having viruses or malicious programs infecting the computer. Another very common cause is faulty hardware. In these cases the BIOS gets corrupted as a result of attempting to communicate with the computer’s system board and may therefore reset or disable all the features of the system. These problems need to be resolved in order to resume normal operation from the point the BIOS was lost.
There are a number of solutions to BIOS problems. First of all the user should take care not to update the BIOS when the system is started. The updates can only be installed when the computer is switched off. In some cases where there is a possibility of the BIOS being updated automatically it is advisable to enable the Safe Mode which is similar to a temporary mode in the operating system. In Safe Mode the system will boot directly to the Windows OS without any settings being changed by the user.
Before performing the updating process of BIOS it is wise to back up the system and perform a full power cycle. This is to ensure that no unneeded changes are made in the BIOS. Once the computer has been switched off then the only option available is to restart the machine. Thereafter, any changes that you have made to the BIOS will be uncommitted and thus the change will not take effect.
It is important that users try to understand the BIOS as well as the system they are updating. The BIOS basically controls the primary and secondary processors on the computer. It is referred to as the CMOS because it is part of the Central Management Architecture. Part of the CMOS is the BIOS itself, which allows the system to function correctly. While updating, if anything is found to be invalid or bad, then the BIOS is usually the reason why this happens.
There are ways to solve this problem and one of these is to replace the faulty BIOS chip. The problem often lies with chips that are installed at unexpected places in the computer. It is possible to replace them by hand but many people prefer to use a specialist for this task. It is also worth noting that once a BIOS is damaged it can not be recovered. In this case it is best to reformat the computer and reinstall the OS.