Technical Vocational Education

Computer Systems Servicing 9

First Quarter

THE
POST and BIOS

Prepared by:
MARILOU F. ANGADOL
 Information Sheet 1.7

THE POST and BIOS

Power on Self Test (POST)

POST, short for Power On Self Test, is the initial set of diagnostic tests performed by the
computer right after it's powered on, with the intent to check for any hardware related issues.
Computers aren't the only devices that run a POST. Some appliances, medical equipment, and other
devices also run very similar self-tests after being powered on.

The Role of POST in the Startup Process

A Power On Self Test is the first step of the boot sequence. It doesn't matter if you've
just restarted your computer or if you've just powered it on for the first time in days; the POST is going to
run, regardless.
POST doesn't rely on any specific operating system. In fact, there doesn't even need to be an OS
installed for it to run. This is because the test is handled by the system's BIOS, not any installed
software. If an OS is installed, POST runs before it has a chance to start up.
This test checks that basic system devices are present and working properly, like the keyboard and
other peripheral devices, and other hardware elements like the processor, storage devices,
and memory.
The computer will continue to boot after the POST, but only if it was successful. Problems can
certainly appear afterward, like Windows hanging during startup, but most of the time those can be
attributed to an operating system or software problem, not a hardware one.
If the POST finds something wrong during its test, you'll usually get an error of some kind, and hopefully,
one clear enough to help jump-start the troubleshooting process.

The Power-On Self-Test process verifies the viability of the hardware necessary to run a computer's OS and
applications properly.
Problems During the POST
Remember that the Power On Self Test is just that: a self-test. Just about anything that might
prevent the computer from continuing to start will prompt some kind of error.
Errors might come in the form of flashing LEDs, audible beeps, or error messages on the monitor, all of
which are technically referred to as POST codes, beep codes, and on-screen POST error messages,
respectively. For example, one of the AMIBIOS beep codes is three short beeps, which means there's a
memory read/write error.

If some part of the test fails, you'll know very soon after powering on your computer, but how you
find out depends on the type, and severity, of the problem.
For example, if the issue lies with the video card, and therefore you can't see anything on the monitor,
then looking for an error message wouldn't be as helpful as listening for a beep code or reading a POST
code with a POST test card.

On Mac computers, these errors often appear as an icon or another graphic instead of an actual
error message. For example, a broken folder icon after starting up your Mac may mean that the
computer can't find a suitable hard drive to boot from.

Certain types of failures during the POST might not produce an error at all, or the error may hide
behind a computer manufacturer's logo.

BIOS/UEFI

The Boot Procedure

BOOT - To boot (to boot up, to start up or booting) a computer is to load an operating system
(OS) into the computer's main memory or RAM.

So, how does a computer boot? Let's go step by step:

1. You press the power button on your laptop/desktop.
2. The CPU starts up, but needs some instructions to work on (remember, the CPU always needs to
do something). Since the main memory is empty at this stage, CPU defers to load instructions from
the firmware chip on the motherboard and begins executing instructions.
3. The firmware code does a Power On Self Test (POST), initializes the remaining hardware, detects
the connected peripherals (mouse, keyboard, pendrive etc.) and checks if all connected devices
are healthy. You might remember it as a 'beep' that desktops used to make after POST is
successful.
4. Finally, the firmware code cycles through all storage devices and looks for a boot-loader (usually
located in first sector of a disk). If the boot-loader is found, then the firmware hands over control
of the computer to it.
5. So now that the boot-loader is loaded, its job is to load the rest of the operating system. GRUB is
one such boot-loader that is capable of loading unix-like operating systems and is also able to
chain-load Windows OS. Boot-loader is only available in the first sector of a disk, which is 512
bytes. Given the complexity of modern operating systems, some of these boot-loaders tend to do
 multi-stage loading, where the main boot-loader loads the second-stage-boot-loader in an
environment which is not restricted to 512 bytes.
6. The boot-loader then loads the kernel into memory. Unix-like operating systems then run
the init process (the master process, from which other processes are forked/executed) and finally
initialize the run-levels.
7. In Windows, wininit.exe is loaded along with some other processes like services.exe for service
control, lsass.exe for local security and authority (similar to run-levels) and lsm.exe for local
session management.
8. After all this, and after some other drivers are initialized, the Graphical User Inferface (GUI) is
loaded and you are presented with the login screen.

WHAT ARE UEFI AND BIOS?

UEFI and BIOS are two types of motherboard firmware used during startup to initialize the
hardware and load the operating system. They also determine the device boot priority and allow users to
customize hardware and software settings.
Both firmware types serve the same purpose, but UEFI is newer and offers more customization options
and features.

What Is BIOS?
BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It is a small piece of code on a read-only flash
memory chip on the motherboard called EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The chip
is non-volatile, meaning it retains its contents even after the power is turned off.
The purpose of BIOS is to check settings stored in a CMOS chip to determine how the user wants the
system to run and which devices to initialize - CPU, GPU, RAM, etc. After performing the device checks,
BIOS looks for bootable devices and hands over control to the OS.

BIOS works in 16-bit mode, which also limits the amount of code that can be read and executed
from the firmware ROM. The firmware uses the MBR partitioning scheme and supports up to 2 TB storage
devices.
What Is UEFI?
UEFI is short for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. Its purpose is to store all data about device
initialization and startup in a .efi file, which is kept on a special disk partition called the EFI System
Partition (ESP). The ESP also holds the bootloader responsible for booting the operating system.
The primary purpose of creating UEFI was to overcome the limitations of BIOS and shorten system boot
time. UEFI uses the GPT partitioning scheme and supports much greater drive sizes.

In addition, UEFI provides better security with the Secure Boot feature, preventing
unauthorized apps from booting. However, the downside is that Secure Boot prevents dual booting
because it treats other OSes as unsigned apps.

UEFI runs in 32-bit or 64-bit mode, allowing it to provide a graphical user interface:

BIOS vs. UEFI: Differences

Although BIOS and UEFI are both used to kickstart the machine hardware before the operating
system loads, there are some key differences between the two solutions.

The table below compares some of the key features of BIOS and UEFI:
BIOS UEFI

Release Date 1975. 2002.

Operating
16-bit. 32-bit/64-bit.
Mode

Provides a user-friendly graphical UI

User Interface Basic UI navigation using the keyboard.
with mouse support.
 BIOS UEFI

Partition
Up to four physical partitions. Up to 128 physical partitions.
Support

Partition Size
2 TB. 18 exabytes (~18.8 million terabytes).
Limit

Faster boot time and better

Performance Performs best on older 16-bit systems.
performance compared to BIOS.

System initialization information stored in a System initialization information stored

Storage
dedicated chip on the motherboard. in a .efi file on the hard drive.

Security Password protection. Secure Boot feature.

Release Date
UEFI is a newer firmware developed for more recent machines. Therefore, it offers greater
scalability, better performance, programmability, and security.

Operating Mode
UEFI runs in 32-bit or 64-bit mode, while BIOS operates in 16-bit mode. The support is another
result of the age difference and the hardware they are designed for.

User Interface
UEFI offers a graphical UI and allows users to navigate the software using the mouse and
keyboard. This GUI immediately provides a system state overview from the included graphs and charts.
On the other hand, BIOS offers a basic UI that can be navigated only by using the keyboard.

Partition Support
BIOS uses 32-bit entries in its partition table, which limits the total physical partitions to only four.
Moreover, BIOS can only boot from partitions up to 2.2 TB in size, which is an obstacle for systems with
higher-capacity drives.

In contrast, the UEFI GUID partition table uses 64-bit entries and supports up to 128 physical
partitions. Additionally, the theoretical size limit for bootable drives in UEFI is over nine zettabytes, which
is one of its key advantages.

Performance
Although BIOS works seamlessly in older, 16-bit systems, it only has 1MB of space in which it
operates. This space constraint makes the boot process slow on modern machines. In addition, BIOS has
to load the bootloader, a separate program that loads the operating system.
 On the other hand, UEFI is built for modern machines, and it stores all the boot information in
a .efi file on the ESP partition. The partition also contains the bootloader, making the boot process more
efficient and faster since UEFI directly boots the OS.

Security
BIOS offers password protection to allow system access to authorized users only. Setting up a
password prevents users from booting using removable media and making changes to BIOS settings.
On the other hand, UEFI has the Secure Boot feature, which guarantees that only software trusted by the
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) can boot the device. That means that UEFI prevents the
computer from booting from unauthorized/unsigned applications.
When the machine starts, UEFI checks the signature of each piece of boot software, drivers, and
OS to see if the signatures are valid. A successful check means the OS can take control of the computer.