System UEFI, (or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface according to abbreviationfinder), is a specification that defines an interface between the operating system and the firmware. UEFI replaces the old Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) interface standard introduced on IBM PC personal computers as the IBM PC ROM BIOS.
History
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is the firmware code of a chip on the motherboard that provides additional functionality beyond the basic input/output system (BIOS). UEFI offers a way to do things with your computer before an operating system loads.
Function
Its main function is to start the hardware components and launch the operating system of a computer when we turn it on.
Contents
The BIOS was created in 1975, and its acronym stands for Basic Input Output System or basic input and output system. The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is the successor firmware, written in C, to the BIOS.
UEFI arrives
To overcome all these limitations, in 2007 Intel, AMD, Microsoft and large PC manufacturers such as HP agreed to promote the new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification managed by the e Unified Extended Firmware Interface Forum, The vast majority of computers that are sold today use UEFI instead of the traditional BIOS.
UEFI is responsible for the same functions but offers substantial improvements from a graphical interface that is easier to use through peripherals such as mice or even touch, expanding the possibilities and flexibility thanks to its programming in C language, boot speed or new functionalities impossible to implement in BIOS as support for devices such as hard drives with a capacity greater than 2 Tbytes.
UEFI also enhances computer security with “Secure Boot” functionality, a secure boot feature that prevents unauthenticated operating system startups by forcing software signing of the boot process, protecting the boot process from malware.
Although at first there was some controversy about the impossibility of installing other alternative operating systems to Windows, the Linux Foundation published the official Microsoft Secure Boot System for Linux, which allows independent developers to implement it in any distribution to boot in this mode. safe next to Windows, in computers with the new UEFI. In any case, most manufacturers allow you to disable safe mode and enable legacy BIOS mode.
UEFI firmware can boot drives of 2.2 TB or larger, in fact the theoretical limit is 9.4 zettabytes using the GPT partitioning scheme instead of MBR. UEFI can work in 32-bit or 64-bit modes and has more BIOS address space, which means your boot process is faster.
In addition, the memory chip including UEFI is not locked to the board like BIOS, so third-party extensions such as overclocking tools or diagnostic software can be added.
To access UEFI, as with BIOS, you must press a specific key (Esc, F2, F10, delete, etc,,,) during computer boot. Very interesting functions to overcome the limitations of BIOS after a reign of more than 25 years.
