What is the difference between BIOS and UEFI and which one should you use? You should consider asking this question if you are interested in learning how PC hardware works.
Although both perform the same task, they differ in some ways. Let’s discuss what these two firmware are and take a closer look at what features they offer.
Here in this article, safepedia will also explain the common similarities between these two firmware by exploring their advantages and disadvantages.
Are BIOS and UEFI the same thing?
As PCs became more sophisticated, the BIOS that controlled them in the first place was replaced by a more advanced option, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Although they look similar at first glance, there are a few things that distinguish UEFI from BIOS.
One major difference is that UEFI uses a graphical user interface (GUI), while BIOS relies on text commands.
This makes UEFI easier to use and navigate, even for those who are not very tech savvy. In addition, UEFI boot times are generally shorter than BIOS boot times.
What is BIOS?
The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is a chip that controls how information is passed between the various hardware components of a computer.
The BIOS is also responsible for booting the computer. It is stored on a read-memory chip(ROM), which means it cannot be changed or deleted.
When the computer is turned on, the BIOS checks to see if all the necessary hardware components are present and working properly. If everything looks good, the BIOS then gives control to the operating system.
The BIOS also provides a set of tools that allow you to change certain settings, such as the order in which the computer boots its various hardware components.
What is UEFI?
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification that defines the software interface between the operating system and platform firmware.
UEFI is intended to replace the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) firmware interface present in all IBM PC-compatible PCs.
In practice, most UEFI firmware images provide legacy BIOS compatibility by including code to execute BIOS calls.
UEFI can support remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even if the operating system is not available. Platforms that use UEFI firmware can boot faster than BIOS.
What is the difference between BIOS and UEFI?
BIOS is the traditional method of starting a PC. It’s been around for decades, and it’s easy to use.
However, the BIOS has some limitations. It can only be used to boot from a drive connected to the motherboard. This means you cannot boot from a USB drive or external hard drive.
UEFI is a modern firmware, UEFI offers many advantages over BIOS, including the ability to boot from a drive that is not connected to the motherboard. This means you can easily boot from a USB drive or external hard drive.
The BIOS or UEFI interface acts as a translator between the computer’s operating system and firmware. When the computer starts up, these two interfaces are used to configure components as well as load the operating system from the hard disk.
The BIOS is responsible for determining how to initialize the boot device for the operating system to run. It’s been around for so long that it still runs in 16-bit mode, so it can only access a limited amount of code.
In contrast, UEFI has slight differences from BIOS and performs similar functions. The Program stores startup and initialization data in a file .efi instead of firmware files.
The EFI system partition is a separate partition on the hard drive where the files are located. The EFI system partition contains the bootloader for the OS installed on the computer.
That’s the difference between BIOS and UEFI. I hope this article was helpful to you! Thank you for visiting.
