BIOS

The **Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)**, also known as the **System BIOS**, is a standard in defining a firmware interface. 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, and floppy disk and other hardware. This is to prepare the machine 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.