Chapter 5 - firmware

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1. Firmware permanent software programmed into a read-only

memory.

2. Firmware Update Allows ROM to be re-programmed with bug fixes or

new features

3. flash ROM ROM that can be reprogrammed or changed without

replacing chips. Most common storage medium for
bios

4. ROM Read Only Memory

5. Northbridge In older computers The CPU is connected to the

RAM via this bridge. Is an integrated circuit that is
responsible for communications between the CPU
interface and the memory.

6. Southbridge In older computers, A portion of a computer's chipset

that controls communications between the CPU and
such I/O busses as USB, IDE, PS2, SATA, and oth-
ers. (1)

7. Platform Controller Family of chips that are the successor to the North
Hub (PCH) Bridge and South Bridge chipset for Intel mother-
boards

8. scan code Unique code corresponding to each key on the key-

board, sent from the keyboard controller to the CPU.

9. BIOS Basic Input/ Output System. A computer's firmware

used to manipulate different settings such as the
date and time, boot drive, and access password.
Allows computer to boot

10. nonvolatile memory Storage that retains data even when powered down
(such as flash memory, hard disk, or DVD storage).

11. Services Processes that run in the background of the PC but

displays no icons. Stored in rom chips

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12. UEFI (Unified Exten- Modern and 32 or 64 bit firmware programming inter-
sible Firmware Inter- face, supports large drives, additional features, and
face) more direct booting process

13. real-time clock A separate battery-backed chip that keeps track of

the date and time in a computer.

14. CMOS (complemen- Originally, ram that was hooked up to the RTC so
tary metal-oxide semi- it wouldn't be erased. Now refers to cmos set up a
conductor) program or system set up utility

15. system setup utility Enables you to access and update cmos data (bios,
uefi)

16. CMOS battery The lithium coin-cell battery on the motherboard

used to power the CMOS chip that holds BIOS setup
data so that the data is retained when the computer
is unplugged. Usually a cr2032

17. CMOS clear A jumper on the motherboard that, when set, will
revert CMOS settings to the factory defaults.

18. Administrator Pass- Unlocks or locks access to system utility

word

19. Ai Tweaker (Graphic The Ai Tweaker tab lets you overclock both the CPU
UEFI) and RAM. You can change the clock multiplier, clock
speeds, voltages, and more here.

20. Advanced tab (Graphi- The Advanced tab gives BIOS component info about
cal UEFI) CPUs, hard drives, and optical drives and all the built
in components, such as USB ports. In this tab, as you
drill down to each subcategory, you can configure
drive settings, enable and disable devices, and more.

21. boot options Settings that define which devices the system will
attempt to boot from and in which order

22. Secure Boot A UEFI feature that prevents a system from booting
up with drivers or an OS that are not digitally signed
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and trusted by the motherboard or computer manu-
facturer.

23. Chassis Intrusion De- Feature offered in some chassis that trips a switch
tection/Notification when the chassis is opened.

24. LoJack A technology by Absolute Software used to track the

whereabouts of a laptop computer and, if the com-
puter is stolen, lock down access to the computer or
erase data on it. The technology is embedded in the
BIOS of many laptops.

25. Trusted Platform Mod- A hardware platform for the acceleration of crypto-
ule (TPM) graphic functions and the secure storage of associ-
ated information.

26. BitLocker Drive En- Drive encryption software offered in high-end ver-
cryption sions
of Windows. BitLocker requires a special chip to vali-
date hardware status and to ensure that the comput-
er hasn't been hacked.

27. Option ROM Alternative way of telling the system how to talk to a
piece of hardware. Option ROM stores BIOS for the
card in a chip on the card itself

28. device driver A software program that provides the instructions

your computer needs to communicate with a device,
such as a scanner.

29. POST (power-on self Basic diagnostic routine completed by a system at

test) the beginning of the boot process to make sure a dis-
play adapter and the system's memory are installed;
it then searches for an operating system. If it finds
one, it hands over control of the machine to the OS.

30. POST beep codes Series of audible beeps produced by motherboard

during post

31. text errors indicate POST errors after video test

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32. post card An adapter card used to run a special diagnostic

test on a computer as it is powering up. These tests
usually go beyond those performed by the system
BIOS-based POST. (5)

33. Common reasons for Dirt on motherboard, touching the motherboard,

losing cmos data pulling and inserting cards, electrical surges, faulty
psu

34. power good wire Used to wake up the CPU after the power supply has
tested for proper voltage.

35. Boot Sequence The order in which the BIOS will search devices for
an operating system to start. (4)

36. boot sector First sector on a PC hard drive or floppy disk, track
0. The boot-up software in ROM tells the computer
to load whatever program is found there. If a system
disk is read, the program in the boot record directs
the computer to the root directory to load the operat-
ing system

37. PXE (preboot execu- Tech that enables pc to boot without any local stor-
tion environment) age by retrieving an os over a network

38. bootstrap loader
Segment of code in a system's BIOS that scans for
an operating system, looks specifically for a valid
boot sector, and, when one is found, hands control
over to the boot sector; then the bootstrap loader
removes itself from memory.

39. Errors that indicate CMOs configuration mismatch

lost cmos info sce- CMOs date/time not set
nario No boot device available
CMOs battery state low

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