what's the diff between cmos and BIOS

[fire400]

can you also scan these two for viruses or known failures? 'cuz I'm tryin' to fix an HP laptop and trying to figure out what's wrong wid it

 

[LTC8K6]

CMOS is the type of chip the BIOS is stored in.

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.

 

[CrispyFried]

in the computer world, they refer to the same thing. they dont have virii as the virus would need to be custom for each bios, of which there are thousands. there was a regular virus that tried to erase the bios iirc.

there are many ways for a bios to fail though. 1st try resetting it. if no go check the cmos battery. or it may need to be flashed .

whzt problem to you have?

 

[zephyrprime]

Here is the history of cmos as it relates to the bios:

quote:
The "CMOS" on PC motherboards

In computing, the term CMOS is often used to refer to the non-volatile memory component that stores BIOS information on the motherboard of a personal computer. This was called the CMOS RAM or just the CMOS because it traditionally used a low-power CMOS memory chip, powered by a small battery. The term remains common, but has become a misnomer, as nearly all modern computer components except the "CMOS memory" are constructed in CMOS technology. For the "CMOS" in modern computers, EEPROM memory is now usually employed. There is still a backup battery involved, but its role is not to maintain the data stored in the RAM, only to keep the RTC chip operational.

from zephyrprime:
More specifically, the eeprom used nowadays is what is commonly called "flash ram". The same sorta stuff in your digital cameras.