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Computer Group Literature Center Web Site
BIOS
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If the F2 key was not pressed and no errors were detected, the SYSTEM
SUMMARY SCREEN is displayed (if enabled). After 10 seconds or upon
pressing a key, the BIOS attempts to boot the installed operating system.
The System BIOS is compatible with the Plug-and-Play Specification
Version 1.0A. Two areas addressed by the System BIOS are Resource
Management and Runtime Services.
Resource Management provides the ability to manage the fundamental
system resources which include DMA, Interrupt Request Lines (IRQs),
I/O and Memory Addresses. The Resource Manager takes on the
responsibility for configuring Plug-and-Play (PnP) cards, as well as system
board devices during the power up phase. After the Power-On Self Test
(POST) process is complete, control of the Plug-and-Play device
configuration passes from the system BIOS to the system software. The
BIOS does, however, provide configuration services for system board
devices even after the POST process is complete. These services are
known as Runtime Services.
Runtime Services provide a mechanism whereby a Plug-and-Play
operating system, such as Windows 2000, may perform resource allocation
dynamically at runtime. The operating system may directly manipulate the
configuration of devices that have traditionally been considered static.
