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DISCUSSION The BIOS code is actually stored as a resource in the PC Setup control panel and loaded into CMOS on the card when the booted. Because of this design, it is possible to update the BIOS by installing a new BIOS resource into the PC Setup control panel. The CMOS on the card is volatile. Therefore, every time the Macintosh is shut down the CMOS on the card is erased. Note that just shutting down the PC or restarting the Macintosh is not sufficient to drain CMOS. The Macintosh must be completely powered off. Also note that it may take several minutes for the memory to be lost. When the Macintosh is powered up again, the CMOS is restored by the PC Setup control panel. There is no user support for changing BIOS settings, such as adding password protection and the like. If you were able to actually look at the settings you would see that there are no drives. Further, if you were to change the BIOS so that drive A: is a floppy and drive C: is something else, the floppy drive would not work and the PC might not boot. This article was published in the 14 April 1997 "Information Alley." Article Change History: 14 Apr 1997 - Added Information Alley statement. |
| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Computers |
| Category: | DOS Compatible |
| Sub Category: | DOS Compatibility Cards; PC Compatibility Cards |
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