Book2: Chapter4: Telling Your BIOS from Your CMOS

Question 1

BIOS

Answer 1

(basic input-output system)

The Low-level instructions the system uses to communicate with the system devices.

BIOS actual code

Question 2

CMOS

Answer 2

(complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)

Simply an inventory list of the configuration information for the system, containing information such as the hard drive space and amount of memory that exists on the system.

CMOS is the inventory list

Question 3

Where is the BIOS stored?

Answer 3

BIOS Chip usably containing EEPROM

electronically erasable programmable read-only memory

Question 4

POST

Answer 4

(power-on self-test)

The POST is a self-diagnostics routine that the system goes through each time it boots up. This self-diagnostic checks to see that each device listed in CMOS actually exists on the system. The POST also tests devices, such as I/O (input/output) ports and memory, to verify not only that they exist but also that they still function.

Question 5

UEFI

Answer 5

(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

designed to replace the older BIOS interface on newer systems and comes with a number of benefits:

Benefits:

• —Improved security to ensure that the startup environment has not been tampered with.
• —Quicker startup time when booting the PC and resuming from hibernate mode.
• —Support for more partitions and larger partition sizes due to the use of the GUID partition table (more on drives in Book 2, Chapter 5).
• —The UEFI setup program is more graphical and includes mouse support.
• —Backward compatible with older systems by being able to run in BIOS mode.

Question 6

How do you replace your BIOS

Answer 6

In the past, with much older systems, you would upgrade the BIOS by completely replacing the BIOS chip.

To upgrade the BIOS, also known as the firmware, for your system, you navigate to the website for your PC, laptop, or device and then download the latest BIOS update/firmware upgrade for the system.

Question 7

How does a CMOS maintain its memory on losing power?

Answer 7

CMOS battery

Question 8

Where would you set up your Startup Sequence?

Answer 8

CMOS

complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

Question 9

BIOS security features

1) where is it found
2) what can you do with it

Answer 9

found in CMOS

Setup Passwords:
‘power on password’ AKA. hardware password.
‘administrator password’

Question 10

GUID or UUID

Answer 10

The ‘globally unique identifier’ (GUID) is a 128-bit number, randomly generated for the system when it was built, and stored in CMOS.

The ‘universally unique identifier’ Same thing as GUID

Question 11

USB stands for

Answer 11

Universal Serial Bus

Question 12

What would you need to boot off the network

Answer 12

Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE)-compliant system

Question 13

MBR

Answer 13

(Master Boot Record)

code that initiates the startup of the system and is located at the beginning of the hard drive.

Question 14

AHCI

Answer 14

(Advanced Host Controller Interface)

standard developed by Intel that allows software to communicate with SATA devices and take advantage of SATA features such as hot-swapping.

Question 15

You have a USB camera from which you are trying to copy some of the pictures to the computer’s hard drive. The computer does not seem to recognize the device. What should you do?

(A) Check to see that the boot order is correct.

(B) Make sure that the USB ports are enabled.

(C) Make sure that the serial port is enabled.

(D) Make sure that the operating system has not assigned the USB device resources to some other device.

Answer 15

B.

In today’s systems, many of the built-in devices can be enabled or disabled in the CMOS setup program. When experiencing problems with a built-in device, the first thing you should check is whether the device is enabled. See “Built-in network adapter.”

Question 16

2. You are part of the help desk support team for your company. One of your users calls complaining that the computer constantly prompts for the date and time. What does this indicate?

(A) The date and time are wrong.

(B) The time has fallen back by one hour.

(C) The battery on the motherboard is losing its charge.

(D) The time has increased by one hour.

Answer 16

C.

The CMOS configuration information is stored in CMOS RAM. This special RAM chip maintains its information by using a small battery on the system board. If the battery loses its charge, the CMOS RAM is flushed out, meaning that it will prompt you for the information such as the date and time as the system boots up. Review “Date and time.”

Question 17

3. You are installing Windows on a newer system with SATA drives, but the Windows setup program does not detect the drive. What should you do?

(A) Replace the BIOS with a non–Plug and Play BIOS.

(B) Enable the AHCI IDE Compatibility option in CMOS.

(C) Install an IDE drive.

(D) Enable the AHCI RAID option in CMOS.

Answer 17

B.

The newer CMOS setup programs allow you to change the configuration so that the SATA is emulating an IDE interface. This can allow software that is not SATA aware to recognize the drive. Check out “AHCI settings.”

Question 18

4. Your manager is worried that someone will be able to start up any of the computers and view confidential information. What could you do to ensure that anyone starting the computer is supposed to be using that system?

(A) Lock the computer case.

(B) Set file-share permissions on the files that are confidential.

(C) Set a power-on password in CMOS.

(D) Use NTFS permissions to protect the files from unauthorized access.

Answer 18

C.

Choice C is the best answer to ensure that only authorized individuals are powering on the system. In order to use the system, someone will need to type the CMOS password. This password is not dependent upon any particular operating system because you are setting a hardware-level password. Peruse “User and administrator passwords.”

Question 19

5. You are installing Windows on your computer, and you know that the Windows CD is a bootable CD. You have tried a number of times to boot off the CD, but you are unable to. What CMOS option should you look for?

(A) You must delete the existing partitions so that you can boot off the CD-ROM.

(B) Ensure that the CD-ROM device has been set up as the first device in the startup (boot-up) order.

(C) Disable the hard drive in CMOS.

(D) Disable the CD-ROM in CMOS.

Answer 19

B.

Many computers are set up to boot off the floppy drive, then the hard drive, and finally the CD-ROM, which means that if the system can boot off the floppy or hard drive, the opportunity will never arise to boot off the CD-ROM. Changing the startup order so that the CD-ROM is the first bootable device means that you can put in the Windows CD-ROM, and setup will be invoked from it. Choice A would work, assuming that the CD-ROM device is listed anywhere in the bootable device order. Unfortunately, you have lost the contents of the hard drive because partitions have been wiped out, so Choice A is not the best answer. Take a look at “Boot sequence.”

Question 20

6. You are worried that some of your advanced computer users on the network will start changing the settings within CMOS. What is the best thing you can do to protect these settings?

(A) Set a power-on password.

(B) Set an administrator password.

(C) Set a Windows log-on password.

(D) Ask the advanced users not to change any of the CMOS settings.

Answer 20

B.

An administrator password is a password that must be provided to enter the CMOS setup program and change the settings. Choice A is not the right answer because you might not want to set up a password for when the computer turns on but only if a user tries to enter the CMOS setup program. Peek at “User and administrator passwords.”

Question 21

7. Your built-in network adapter doesn’t seem to be connecting you to the network. What is one of the first things you want to check for in CMOS?

(A) That the built-in network adapter is enabled in CMOS

(B) That the network adapter driver is loaded

(C) That the resources are not conflicting

(D) That the proper protocol is installed

Answer 21

A.

One of the first things you want to do with a built-in device is ensure that the device has not been disabled in CMOS. If it has not been disabled, you should look at the other choices for the solution. Study “Built-in network adapter.”

Question 22

8. You are trying to boot the system off the network, but the computer doesn’t seem to boot off the network adapter. You have verified that the network adapter has been enabled in CMOS. What else should you check for within CMOS?

(A) That the network card has been disabled

(B) That the network adapter has been disabled

(C) That the CD-ROM has been configured as a bootable device

(D) That the network adapter is set up as a bootable device

Answer 22

D.

When booting the system from the network, you need to ensure that the computer not only has the network adapter enabled, but also that the network adapter is signified as a bootable device, and maybe even the first bootable device. In this question, you have already verified that the network adapter has been enabled, so Choice D is the only possible answer. Refer to “Built-in network adapter.”

Question 23

9. You are experiencing a lot of problems running your customized software on some of the newer computers. What might you try disabling in CMOS to clear up the compatibility issue between the software and the system?

(A) RAM

(B) Cache memory

(C) Hard drive

(D) Floppy drive

Answer 23

B.

Many systems today have built-in cache memory. Although it isn’t that common, you might sometimes have problems with particular software not “liking the idea” of using information from cache instead of RAM. To test this, temporarily disable the cache memory. Examine “Onboard cache.”

Question 24

10. You are having trouble installing a new operating system on your computer because the installation fails with each attempt. Which of the following CMOS settings would you disable to help the system make it through the installation?

(A) Network adapter

(B) Bootable CD-ROM

(C) Antivirus

(D) Bootable network adapter

Answer 24

C.

Viruses commonly attack the MBR of the hard drive, so virus software constantly watches out for applications that try to make a change to this area of the disk. Some systems today have built-in virus detection, and because the installation of a new operating system causes a change to the MBR, there may be incompatibilities between the OS installation and the virus protection built into the system. Disabling this virus protection in the CMOS will allow the installation to finish. See “Virus protection.”

Question 25

11. Which of the following is a typical method for updating your system BIOS?

(A) Replace the old BIOS chip with a new BIOS chip.

(B) Run a BIOS update program, also known as firmware upgrade, that flashes the BIOS with a new version of the BIOS.

(C) Replace the old motherboard with a new one.

(D) You cannot update the BIOS.

Answer 25

B.

To update your BIOS today, you will download the update from the Internet and then run the update. In the past, you would have to replace the entire ROM chip. Review “Performing BIOS upgrades/firmware updates.”

Question 26

12. Which of the following best describes the difference between BIOS and CMOS?

(A) BIOS contains the configuration information for the system, and CMOS is the low-level code that allows the devices to communicate.

(B) BIOS is stored in RAM, and CMOS is stored in ROM.

(C) BIOS is stored in RAM, and CMOS is stored in cache memory.

(D) CMOS contains the configuration information for the system, and BIOS is the low-level code that allows the devices to communicate.

Answer 26

D.

CMOS is the inventory list of devices and their configuration, whereas the BIOS is the set of low-level instructions that tells these devices how to communicate. Choice B and Choice C are wrong because BIOS code is stored in ROM, not RAM. Check out “BIOS versus CMOS.”