Please note that this is only a issue for UEFI systems, if you plan to upgrade an existing system with BIOS you won’t be affected by it.

The UEFI secure boot protocol is the foundation of an architecturally neutral approach to platform and firmware security. Based on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) process to validate firmware images before they are allowed to execute, secure boot helps reduce the risk of boot loader attacks. Microsoft relies on this protocol in Windows 8 to improve platform security for our customers.

Microsoft today responded to those claims in another article on the Building Windows 8 blog. OEM systems shipping with Windows 8 will have secure boot enabled by default to only load verified operating system loaders during boot time. This prevents malware from switching the boot loader, but also other operating systems that are not signed from being loaded.

While Secure Boot is enabled by default, it is up to the OEM to add controls to UEFI to allow the user to disable the feature. The Samsung tablet that Microsoft gave away on the BUILD conference for instance came with an option to disable Secure Boot on the device.

Microsoft employee Tony Mangefeste notes that “OEMs are free to choose how to enable this support”, which means that OEM could make the decision to not implement the override in the UEFI configuration. This would then mean that customers would not be able to boot third party operating systems from the OEM machine.

The only option that consumers have at this point is to find out about this in advance before making a purchase. I for one would never buy a system that prevents me from loading a third party OS.

Your options to install Windows 8 are:

• Install Windows 8 on a PC with BIOS.
• Build your own new PC, or have it build for you.
• Verify that the OEM PC with Windows 8 is offering an option to disable Secure Boot before purchasing it.
• Hope that someone will come up with a hacked firmware to disable Secure Boot

What’s your take on Secure Boot? I personally think that it improves security, and do not think that it is an issue as long as all OEMs add the means to disable the feature. Let me know in the comments.

Who cares, right? They are computers, after all, and it’s our right to leave them running. While true, it is good for a computer to get a break once in a while. While most computers can stay on for weeks on end without significant damage, it is best to turn most computers off completely each and every day when not in use for an extended period.
While it may not hurt much to shut computers down at the end of the day, many people are annoyed to have to boot them back up in the morning. The two minutes it takes for a Windows machine is just too long, and some users leave their computers on all night to avoid the “lengthy” process of booting.

But what if your computer could shut itself off after it knows you have gone to bed and then wake itself back up again? Such a situation would be downright ideal – you wouldn’t have to remember to shut it down before leaving it for the day, and you wouldn’t have to wait for it to start back up in the morning. What’s not to love?

This how-to will remind users how to program their computers to shut themselves down after day’s end and will introduce, to users with a modern enough BIOS, a way to have it start up on its own.
GHacks.net actually shared with you an automatic shutdown program called Smart Shutdown a few years back. While a solid option, some people have had problems getting it to work on Windows 7 machines. Luckily, another option called Switch Off provides the same features with support for Windows 7. The program can be downloaded here.

Follow the steps of the automatic installer, and when finished a new icon should be sitting on your taskbar. Clicking on it brings up a handy interface that allows you to choose how often you would like your machine to take itself down. Make your selections before clicking Enable Task.

Getting your machine to boot back up on its own is a little more hit and miss, but most recent machines should have you covered. Unfortunately software cannot be used to bring your computer up from a shutdown – that would defeat the purpose of a shutdown. But if you enter your BIOS options as your computer is just beginning to boot, you may find a series of options under Power Management Options or something to that effect.

Take a look there for an alarm feature which will automatically turn your computer back on. It may be labeled as Resume by RTC or RTC Alarm. Program it to come up an hour or so before you use it each day, and like magic, your login screen will await with your computer feeling rejuvenated after a long night’s sleep.

That may be going too far, but giving your computer a rest really is good for its components. You aren’t using it anyway, so why not let it go down for the night?

Some hardcore technicians might know all the beep codes and their meaning, everyone else might benefit from a software like Rizone’s Beep Code Viewer which provides details about every beep code and possible causes.

bios beep codes

The software displays information about AMI, AWARD, IBM and Phoenix bios beep codes. Each beep sequence is listed with its linked error name and troubleshooting tips on how to resolve the issue.

It is important to select the right BIOS manufacturer as all are making use of their own beep code system. 1 long and 3 short beeps for instance indicates a memory failure on AMI systems but video display circuitry problems on IBM systems.

Most troubleshooting tips are general in nature. The tips to resolve the previously mentioned memory failure for instance asks the user to remove newly installed memory from the system, move or swap the memory and to test the memory in another computer if the other tips do not resolve the hardware issue.

The software does not offer an option to print out the beep codes. It is however possible to copy and paste the text into a text editor to print it from there.

Rizone Beep Codes Viewer is a portable software for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

First thing was to check the installed hardware in the Windows Control Panel. If you operate a different operating system you need to find and access the equivalent there. The LAN was not listed there anymore. That was bad. It could have been a driver problem so the next step was to check for hardware that was not installed yet. The LAN was not found there either.

Next step was to reboot the computer and check in the Bios. While doing that I verified that the LAN led was still on. The BIOS showed zero LAN configuration options. I knew that there were some before which gave me the confirmation that something was seriously wrong. Next step CMOS reset. This is done by setting a jumper on the motherboard. The LAN options did not show up then either. I could have tried installing a new BIOS but this sounded awfully risky with dead components on the motherboard.

You got two options basically at this point. The fast option is to add a new PCI LAN card and install it on the computer system. Good LAN cards should provide better performance than onboard LAN. That’s what I did. The other option is to contact the manufacturer of the motherboard and wait for an answer. Can take some days, usual result is a replacement or repair which can take weeks or even months. Not a good option if you need to be online most of the day.

To put everything in a list:

• Check if the operating system lists the onboard component.
• Check if it can be found by scanning for hardware.
• Check if the lights are on (if it has lights)
• Shutdown the computer and see if everything is connected properly
• Check the Bios for the onboard component
• Reset the Bios
• Replace the Nic or replace the motherboard or contact support.

Do you have any additional tips on how to cope with a dead onboard LAN?

The following article explains an easy and straightforward way of updating the computer bios. The main question that everyone should ask himself before updating the BIOS is if it is beneficiary to update the Bios. The article takes a look at finding that out as well. The phrase “never change a running system” has some truth to it but it is still a good idea to check for new Bios versions every now and then.

It does make sense to check for Bios updates before upgrading computer components. New Bios versions can add support for faster processors, computer memory, lower temperaturs and even add new features.

Step 1: Identifying the Bios

Probably the most important step in the Bios updating process is to identify the current motherboard and Bios version properly. The easiest way would be to check a receipt or motherboard manual if one was provided with the computer. If that’s long gone you can try software like cpu-z to find out about your motherboard and Bios.

The Mainboard tab contains the information about the motherboard and Bios. Important are the motherboard manufacturer, the motherboard model and the Bios version.

Cpu-Z supports many motherboards but not all. If your motherboard cannot be identified you need to check the post screen during boot. That’s the first screen that is being displayed. Hit the pause key after the computer memory is shown and you should find information about the computer Bios as well.

Step 2: Checking for Bios Updates

With the information gathered in step 1 it is now possible to visit the manufacturer’s website and see if new Bios versions are available. The computer manufacturer above is Gigabyte and the motherboard is the EP35-ds4. A good start would be to enter the name of the manufacturer followed by the motherboard model into a search engine.

That usually leads straight to the page dedicated to the motherboard model. The Bios version shown in the screenshot above was F2, a check on the Gigabyte EP35-DS4 website shows that the latest Bios version is F5. Most manufacturers display information about changes and additions that have been introduced with each new Bios version. In this case support for the Update CPU ID Intel Yorkfield QX9770 CPU has been added as well as a fix for an ICH9R RAID issue.

After identifying the Bios updates it would now be time to make a decision if the update would be useful. In the case of the above Bios it would be useful if the ICH9R Raid was used in the current configuration or if the user had plans to build in the Intel Yorkfield QX9770 CPU.

Step 3: Updating the Bios

Step 3 is the actual update process. Every motherboard manufacturer has his own way and software to update the Bios. Methods range from booting to DOS, to updates directly in Windows to updates in the Bios itself.

In the case of the Gigabyte Bios the Bios was provided with a Dos executable and a batch file. A boot disk would have to be created and the files placed on it. Other manufacturers are offering applications that update the Bios from within Windows which is more comfortable obviously.

The best way is to search the manufacturer’s website for information on how to apply the Bios update. It’s always a good idea to backup the old Bios before applying the new one. That option is usually offered in the software that updates the Bios.

Most users will probably run the application in Windows. To do that they need to access the command line and install a driver that gives “direct port I/O access for specified ports to user-mode process (ring 3) using Ke386SetIoAccessMap and Ke386IoSetAccessProcess kernel functions.” The driver is located in the Windows directory of the software package after unzipping it to the computer.

The command ioperm.exe -i is used to install the driver which can be uninstalled with ioperm.exe -u after the bios password has been revealed. Once the driver is installed the bios password can be revealed with the command Cmospwd_win.exe which displays a list similar to the one below.

The application requests the password for all known bioses. Only one hit will be found obviously which in the case of my bios was test in the Award 6.0 line. Reseting the bios can be initiated in DOS with the command cmospwd /k. Please note that the cmospwd.exe file is located in the DOS directory of the application. It can also be reset with the cmospwd_win /k in Windows.

Most notebooks store the bios password in an eeprom which can only be retrieved with an eeprom reader.

Support will be added to Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 and is already available for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and first motherboards supporting UEFI are already available on the market (MSI P35 Neo3). One of the main differences between BIOS and UEFI is the way applications are coded. Assembler was used if functions or applications had to be coded for the BIOS while a higher level language code will be used to program the UEFI.

The memory footprint is about 10 times smaller as well. The main benefits for customers are a better presentation and (probably) motherboards that are more stable. When will the transition be complete ? Insiders suggest that it might take between two or three years.

The UEFI specification defines a new model for the interface between personal-computer operating systems and platform firmware. The interface consists of data tables that contain platform-related information, plus boot and runtime service calls that are available to the operating system and its loader. Together, these provide a standard environment for booting an operating system and running pre-boot applications.

The second reason was related. He wanted to check if a BIOS upgrade was available to see if an update to a newer version would add support for faster CPUs.

Finding out which BIOS is installed in a computer is not complicated at all. You could pay attention to the boot sequence but a far better and easier way is to use a software that ships with Windows anyway.

To find out you simply have to type ‘msinfo32′ in a command prompt. Once you know which BIOS is installed you can search for updates on the Internet. If you can remember the motherboard manufacturer and version it would be even easier of course, but if you can’t remember this is your best choice.

CmosPwd is a free program that is able to display information about the bios once it is executed. You do need to create a bootable disk to be able to execute the program in dos mode. To create a bootable disk in windows right-click the disk drive and select format from the list of options. It is important that you enable the option Create an MS-DOS startup disk.

Once the disk is created copy the contents from the dos folder of cmospwd to the disk and restart the computer. You will have to remove all hard drives from the system if you do not automatically boot from disk drive. Type cmospwd.exe in the command line and the password should appear. Ignore the information about the other bios manufacturers and take a look at the one your computer is using.

Another possible method would be to start the computer in safe mode with command prompt which could work as well. You still need to access the files somewhere so make sure that the hard drive is accessible.