William Case wrote:
Thanks James. That fixes things. Everything that I had read about BIOS
including the Intel Data Sheets left me with the impression that the
BIOS (Firmware Hub) was like a minor CPU that fired up everything else.
For a little history, the term originated with CP/M (Control Program/
Microprocessor), which was a floppy disc based OS used extensively
in the late '70s and early '80s. It is an acronym derived from
Basic Input/Output System. Simply stated, it is just the first program
to be given control during boot. Its job, so to speak, is simply
to take the processor from its initial state after reset, and
prepare it for OS load, then load the OS, and hand off control to
that. It provides a number of I/O routines for disc, serial port,
etc. which are used during initial boot, hence the name.
I went back to my manuals and re-read them with the idea that the main
processor is empowered first (as it were) and is the guy that does all
the work. BIOS is just and only a separate memoray location for
specific startup instructions in a guaranteed location that the main CPU
can use to get the computer started. All the manuals make sense on that
basis.
That's a succinct and reasonably accurate summary.
Thanks for your time James.
Regards Bill
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