BIOS is a program located in a personal computer that acts start the operating system when you turn on your computer. Also called the system firmware, BIOS, as well as part of the computer's hardware. You are probably very familiar with two different types of software:
-The operating system - The operating system provides a set of services for the applications running on your computer, and it also provides the fundamental user interface for your computer. Windows 98 and Linux are examples of operating systems. (See How Operating Systems Work for lots of details.)
-The applications - Applications are pieces of software that are programmed to perform specific tasks. On your computer right now you probably have a browser application, a word processing application, an e-mail application and so on. You can also buy new applications and install them.