What is BIOS? Ask PC Experts

Ever wondered how does your PC which is made of various hardware’s work together in sync and still be perfect? While you type a command or run a program how does the entire system co-ordinate to perform instantly within seconds?

BIOS – Binary Input and Output System of your PC.

BIOS look into the functioning of your system as one. All hard drives, ports, CPU and others function together with the help of BIOS.

To be able to perform successfully the computer is completely dependant on the BIOS. When you turn on your PC is the BIOS is copied from the ROM to RAM. The BIOS is usually stored inside a PROM, EEPROM or flash ROM.

Here is how the BIOS functions:

1. The BIOS is used to function as the sole interface through which all components communicate. BIOS handles important instructions and allows the user to customize their settings in order to get the maximum performance or stability out of the system.
2. When you turn on your PC the BIOS starts up your computer.
3. When the PC is first turned on, its main system memory is empty, and it needs to find instructions immediately to tell it what to run to start up the PC. These it finds within the BIOS program, because the BIOS is in read-only permanent memory and so is always available for use, even when the rest of system memory is empty.
4. It checks for all the attachments in your system and then loads the Operating system into the RAM from where it executes.
5. One of the most important role of the BIOS in the PC is Hard disk access and control.
6. The loading of the system is always done as per the settings of the BIOS. You must have noted when you switch on your PC while the system is being loaded you have option of “DEL” to load the BIOS. Here you can see, the drive is always selected to boot the system, where the OS is linked from the ROM to the RAM in loaded for use.
7. When re-installing windows we change the settings in the BIOS to boot from the CD-ROM. In this case the BIOS picks the data from the CD-ROM and enables re-installation of windows via the RAM.
8. BIOS also enables faster flow of data from the drive to the memory in cases wherein faster data flow is required. E.G. In case of video cards. The data is to be transferred within seconds from the graphic card to the monitor.
9. Certain BIOS also enable Plug and Play devices. I.e. addition if new devices which do not require any installation or configuration.

To know more about BIOS, BIOS Setting or any other PC related issues, click here to ASK PC EXPERTS.

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What is a Graphic Card?

A Graphic Card in simple words is the hardware component of the system which generates the display images. The data in the CPU is present in form of Binary data. Our display screen is made up of pixels. Here the graphic card comes into picture; the graphic card converts the binary data into an image that we see on our display screens.

To be able to perform its function the graphic card needs:

• · Motherboard
• · Processor
• · Memory
• · Monitor

Motherboard: It supplies the power to the graphic card. The information as mentioned above the binary data is also provided to the graphic card by the Motherboard.

Processor: The processor defines how and by what way each pixel can be displayed on the screen.

Memory: The information for each pixel that is formed is stored in the memory. Images formed by the graphic card are also stored temporarily in the memory.

Monitor: The final display screen where the image appears.

Every CPU had a basic Graphic card to enable and justify the basic needs of the user. But as per the needs of the user the type of graphic card changes. Certain development software’s, graphic related deign studios and many other such high end users need specialized graphic cards to be able to justify the use of their specialized software’s and developments. For PC gamers a very high end graphic card is required. E.g. Ge Force GTX 280. These cards make use of second generation architecture and have other specialized supports for gaming.

Specialized graphic cards are high quality imaging, high performing, 3 D imaging and support high demanding applications.

When you select your graphic card note the following:

1. For your basic use, business – web browsing, normal imaging a simple value graphic card is ok.
2. For digital photography, gaming, video editing etc you would need a graphic card which is better than a regular graphic card.
3. For applications, 3-D images, Quality imaging you needs high end graphic cards. These are much more expensive than the regular cards.
4. For maximum settings and very high end usage graphic cards with very high support graphics is required. These are generally bought by users whose systems are also specialized and updated as per the performance expectations. These cards are top end and very expensive.

To know more about graphic cards and to select the right card for your system check with us at ASK PC EXPERTS.

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Want a Fast Computer - Perform a SYSTEM CLEAN-UP

1. Is your PC slowing down?
2. Programs don’t run as fast as they used to?
3. It takes longer to boot up system?
4. Takes forever to shut down?
5. PC letting you down when you need it the most?

One of our most recent customers was facing the above problems. She insisted that her system was working perfectly few days back but recently it had developed the above problems and would just not work. With the latest and updated Virus scan she couldn’t find any reason for her system to function so slow and difficult.

So she called us at Ask PC Experts and the following happened:

With normal check up of the drives and amount of space available in each drive, the content in the drives and the content occupying maximum space in the drive we found the cause. The problem was caused was due to presence of a large number of unused/unneeded files, temporary files and the Registry.

Unused/Unneeded files: Files which are not needed by the system or yourself for any applications. Files which were installed while installing certain applications and have no use today. Files that were loaded in your system while running any online application.

Temporary Files/Cookies: Every time we download a file or an application a temporary file/folder is created in the system. Also, cookies are built up in the system when we surf on the web. These temporary files/cookies are plenty in numbers and occupy a lot of space within the system with time.

Registry: the registry is a system-defined database used by the Windows operating system to store configuration information. Most Windows applications write data to the registry during installation and system components store and retrieve configuration data through the registry. The data stored in the registry varies from system to system. Over a period of time the size of the same increases due to presence of many entries not required. The more the number of entries in the registry the longer it takes for the system to find things and hence the system becomes slow.

To be able to remove the above we suggested her for a System Clean Up which would enable the deletion of all the above not required files which were occupying too much space in the system.

There are various software packages available for system clean up. For one point system clean up they serve as an easier medium of system clean up. System Clean Up tools are also inbuilt in the OS. From there itself the system can be cleaned to improve efficiency and also keep the system healthy.

If your system is slowing down and you do not want to wait forever before making a presentation to a client or watching your favorite flick or just checking your email, CALL US NOW at 1-888-889-3335 and Ask PC Experts!

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NTFS, CDFS, FAT32 - What Are File Systems?

In our regular lives we create, store and modify files. Where do these files go and what makes them so accessible? It’s the file systems.

File system is a method by which storing, organizing, modifying and retrieving of data is done. The conversion of the data i.e. the interpretation of the same is done by applications and other software. It uses data storage devises like hard disks and CD-ROMs.

A file system:

1. Specifies the names for the files/data.
2. Makes efficient use of the space available in your system.
3. Specifies the path to the directory or file the data is stored in.
4. Stores and retrieves data efficiently
5. It is the hardware used for nonvolatile storage.
6. Controls the hardware and the architecture of the software and the hardware of the system.

Most commonly used file systems are as follows:

• · For Windows 2000 and NT (NTFS)
• · For MS-DOS (FAT)
• · For Windows 95 (VFAT and FAT32)
• · For Macintosh (HFS and HFS+)
• · For UNIX (UFS)
• · For CD-ROMs - ISO 9660

Types of File Systems:

1. Disk File Systems – designed for storage on data storage devises like disks connected to the system. E.g. NTFS
2. Flash File Systems – a system designed for storage of data in flash memory. Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products like mobiles.
3. Database File Systems – designed to identify and store files as per their characteristics.
4. Transactional File Systems – designed to prevent loss of data due to sudden shut down of system due. E.g. due to power failure.
5. Network File Systems – designed to get access to files available on the server.

Thus, with various types of file systems available we can access our data easily at any given point n time.

To know more about files and file systems you can get access to the entire library of our documentation. Visit us at www.askpcexperts.com for more information.

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