Newb needing BIOS help

[Lokki]

Hi
I'm trying to find out more about the BIOS and how it works and how it can be used by applications or the user, so I was wondering if you can help me a bit?  How could this be useful?

• Primary BIOS
  Release Date
  Serial Number
  BIOS Version
  BIOS Major Version
  BIOS Minor Version

How would any of this information be useful to me?

Thanks

Lokki

[Allan]

It wouldn't. Best thing you can do is forget the bios exists.

[soybean]

A Google search on what does computer bios do will yield plenty of informative references.  For example: http://www.howstuffworks.com/bios1.htm, or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS

I'm trying to find out more about the BIOS and how it works and how it can be used by ... the user ...

Many users never have any need to ever access the BIOS screen(s) and change settings in it.  One case where a user will need to access it is to change the boot sequence, or priority, for devices the computer can boot from.  For example, if you want to boot from a DVD/CD or a flash drive and the hard drive is set as the first boot device, you would need to change boot sequence so that the computer tries to boot from the preferred device first and then, if no media on first/preferred device is present, the computer looks to the next device, etc., until it finds a bootable device in the list (usually the hard drive). 

Changing BIOS settings should be done with great caution to avoid causing issues that are difficult to fix; changing only one setting at a time is generally the best practice.  Make a note of any changes so that you know how to reverse that change if necessary.   

If you want to get some info about the BIOS such the items in your list, I suggest using Belarc Advisor.  I haven't used it for quite some time but I know it reveals some info about the BIOS.   Would that info be useful to you?  Probably not unless you have a specific technical need or reason to know.