UEFI, Secure Boot and what it means to you

With the advent of UEFI and Windows 8 comes some security and usability issues. When Windows 8 is released, UEFI’s “Secure Boot” will be required to be turned on by default and it will be left to the OEM’s on how to implement it. What does this mean to you? Maybe nothing.

Windows is still the most popular PC Operating System in the world. As such, it is highly likely that the computer you are reading this article on is running some version of Microsoft Windows. If you are running Windows 7 and up, your OS is compliant to UEFI specifications. But what if you want to run a different OS, like Linux, older versions of Windows?… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

Out with BIOS, in with UEFI.

Ever since the computer was born, there needed to be a program to tell the CPU where things are and how to use them. In 1981 the IBM 5150 introduced the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) to the IBM-PC market. The IBM 5150 had an 8088 16bit (16bit internal bus, 8bit external bus) processor, so the BIOS chip was limited to 16 bits and 1MB of memory space. Years went by and the CPU became more powerful, with a wider bus and more memory access. However, the BIOS remained the same, and retained it’s 16bit bus and 1MB memory limit, depending on the PC-AT hardware platform.

Enter EFI/UEFI (Extensible Firmware Interface/Unified Extensible Firmware Interface respectively).… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

No overclock option in your BIOS? No Problem.

Overclocking your CPU can be risky business, however if done properly and with the proper amount of care, it can improve system performance anywhere from 5% to 50% depending on the CPU and how it is overclocked. In this article, I am going to discuss the various methods, benefits and downfalls of overclocking. Remember, ALL forms of overclocking beyond the manufacturers specifications voids the warranty and has the potential of “bricking” your CPU, Motherboard, or both. Therefore I take no responsibility what happens to your CPU/Motherboard if you attempt an overclock. If you are not technically inclined, or feel uncomfortable changing these settings, please give it to someone who is or just don’t try it.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

Windows-on-ARM: Hot Topic at CES 2012

Windows on ARM (WoA), a combination of Windows 8 and ARM-based processors, is expected to make an official appearance at the end of 2012 and will try to compete in the notebook market as soon as June 2013, according to sources from notebook vendors.

Since players such as Nvidia and Qualcomm have been enhancing their ARM-based processors’ power consumption and performance, if their processors can successfully pair up with Windows 8 and receive Windows software support, the WoA platform may soon be able to compete against Intel and AMD.

The sources pointed out that players with ARM-based processors are aggressive about WoA platform and are hoping that the platform will be able to raise their share in the tablet PC market as well as help them enter the notebook industry that has been dominated by Wintel.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

Intel Ivy Bridge at IDF 2011

Varghese George, senior principal engineer, has detailed information on the upcoming Ivy Bridge microarchitecture that’s due to be released in 1H 2012.

Ivy Bridge is the successor to incumbent Sandy Bridge – the design which powers the majority of Intel’s silicon available today – and it’s considered a tick in Intel’s nomenclature.

Ivy’s central core design is similar to Sandy Bridge in some ways, George said, as it features the same two-chip solution – PCH and CPU – socket, shared cache, and memory-controller found on the incumbent chip.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

HP MediaSmart Server Bricked Motherboard Recovered

The HP MediaSmart Server is a versatile OEM Windows Home Server Version 1 product, and is well known for its low power consumption and small form factor. Several months ago, BIOS-Mods helped several other developers compile a BIOS image that would enable true dual core and quadcore CPU support for the EX485 platform to have similar if not better performance than the emerging EX495. After many successful upgrades without BIOS modification, it was established that there were several issues with sleep and shutdown with the “R0” revision Intel CPUs.

The modding then plunged onward with flashing the EX495 BIOS to the EX485.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

The best BIOS support team on the internet is here, welcome.

Our team of experts works daily to help modify and update your BIOS, and answer your requests within 24hrs.

What is a Bios? A BIOS is defined as a Basic Input Output System.The BIOS is boot firmware, designed to be the first code run by a PC when powered on. The initial function of the BIOS is to identify, test, and initialize system devices such as the video display card, hard disk, floppy disk and other hardware. The BIOS sets the machine hardware into a known state, so that software stored on compatible media can be loaded, executed, and given control of the PC. This process is known as booting, or booting up, which is short for bootstrapping.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula: Overclocking Paradise

The ASUS Crosshair IV Formula motherboard is one of ASUS’ latest motherboards for the AMD platform. A fully featured ATX motherboard using the 890FX chipset, the Crosshair IV can handle today’s latest standards. USB 3.0, Sata 6Gbps, Crossfired GPUs, and six-core Black Edtion CPUs are  all “standard” features that are supported on the 890FX chipset. Not only is it equipped with the latest hardware specifications, but its ability to Overclock and tweak on demand in the BIOS, Windows, and even remotely from another computer makes this board worthy of your Black Edition CPU.

In our test rig at BIOS-Mods, we tested the AMD Phenom II 1090T X6 BE paired with 8GB of G.SKIL… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading