Ask Leo!: Firmware en-us 2008 Leo A. Notenboom and Puget Sound Software, LLC Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:47:32 -08:00 Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:47:32 -08:00 720 http://img.askleomedia.com/altile144.jpg Ask Leo! http://ask-leo.com 140 140 Tech Questions? Get Answers! Ask Leo! Do green bars in the defragger mean my BIOS has a virus? http://ask-leo.com/do_green_bars_in_the_defragger_mean_my_bios_has_a_virus.html My local advisor tells me I have a virus in my BIOS, which cannot be removed; at least, not by Norton. Proof of the virus, he insists, is that I have two green columns in the dialog box of my disc defragmenter. He further insists that the green will continue to expand until my PC fails completely. A second advisor insisted the second green column could be eliminated by going to Systems, Performance, Virtual Memory and clicking "No page file". I tried several times. As soon as I restore the page file, the second green column reappears. Then, he suggested Page Dfrag.zip. It also failed to eliminate the second green column. At that point, his confidence failed and he too leaned to the virus as the most probable explanation. Is this a situation which should worry me? My PC is five years old and is running fine. I have Norton 360 v4 on Windows XP. My C: drive has 290 GB cap and 280 GB free space at present.

]]> I think it's time to find new advisors.

Those green bars are normal and expected. They don't indicate a virus at all, BIOS or otherwise. And the advisor who suggested that they do is just plain wrong.

I'll show you what they do indicate.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:47:32 -08:00 Technology Do I need to backup my BIOS? What about backwards compatibility? http://ask-leo.com/do_i_need_to_backup_my_bios_what_about_backwards_compatibility.html Ever since I got my computer with Win 7 Pro in Dec 09, I've been faithfully backing up and making system images with the built-in Backup and Restore feature. When I got my laptop it had BIOS version A04 installed by the factory. I've since upgraded to version A08 based on a recommendation by the built-in Dell diagnostics utility. On the Dell support website (drivers and downloads) version A08 is the only listed BIOS for the Vostro 1520.

If I understand things correctly (not always the case!) the BIOS resides as flash software within the CPU which is on the motherboard. It's the BIOS that kick-starts the operating system. If the BIOS becomes corrupted or fails, your computer becomes a paperweight. During a backup, system image, or creating a restore point, only the hard drive is copied. The BIOS is NOT included. I can verify this if I use the Dell Recovery Manager and return my computer to factory settings or use one of my earlier system images. All of the junkware returns, but the BIOS still shows as A08 at startup.

When a person updates his/her BIOS, will it be backwards compatible? In other words, if a computer experiences issues and the BIOS is updated as part of the corrective action, and then the computer has to be returned to it's original factory state, or to an earlier system image, will the newest BIOS always be compatible? If there's a chance the BIOS will not be compatible how does one make a backup of the earlier BIOS(es) if they're no longer supported or available at the Dell website?

]]> You have a very good understanding of what a BIOS is, where it lives and how it's not backed up. In fact, I feel like you've written half my article for me. Smile

But you also raise a very important question about backwards compatibility. I'll address that, and clarify a couple of the items you mention.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:42:54 -08:00 Technology Can a virus infect my computer's BIOS? http://ask-leo.com/can_a_virus_infect_my_computers_bios.html Is there a virus that cannot be destroyed by re-formatting the hard drive it has infected? For example, it might have infected the BIOS on the system board.

]]> Possible? Sure. I know there have been "proof of concept" demonstrations, and I'm certain it's happened in the wild as well.

Is it likely?

I don't believe so. Further, I believe that when faced with a virus infection you're probably wasting your time worrying about the BIOS.

I'll explain why.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:54:50 -08:00 Technology What's a BIOS? http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_bios.html I keep hearing people talk about something called a BIOS in my computer. What is it?

]]> Your computer's BIOS is perhaps one of the oldest legacies of PC computers. It's special software that's on your computer before you take it out of the box, and before you even turn it on.

Even before the computer has a hard disk installed, the BIOS is there.

It's software that has a critical role in getting your computer started.

It's a little like my morning coffee that way.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:18:32 -08:00 Technology Does a BIOS password protect the contents of my laptop? http://ask-leo.com/does_a_bios_password_protect_the_contents_of_my_laptop.html As far as safeguarding access to your PC or laptop, won't entering a username or password in the boot menu protect others from getting into your PC at all?

]]> By "boot menu" I'm going to assume you mean the menu that may be presented by your BIOS immediately after it performs its self-test, and before the operating system is loaded.

In short: with one exception, no.

To be fair, it makes things more difficult - sometimes quite difficult - but ultimately we have to return to something I've been saying for a long time:

If it's not physically secure, it's not secure.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:46:51 -08:00 Technology