1000 | Bios

Here’s the one setting you need to know:

Named in 1975 by Gary Kildall (yes, the same guy who arguably lost the PC-OS war to Microsoft), the BIOS is the first software your computer runs. It’s burned onto a chip on your motherboard—not stored on your hard drive. bios 1000

That handoff is why you see a manufacturer logo for a few seconds, then your login screen. You can enter the BIOS setup menu by pressing a key during startup—usually Del, F2, or F12 . Inside, you’ll find a blue (or gray) text-based interface that looks like it’s from 1995. Here’s the one setting you need to know:

And no, that’s not a typo for “BIOS 1000” as in a college course. But by the time you finish this post, you’ll know enough to pass the final exam. Basic Input/Output System. You can enter the BIOS setup menu by

And that’s BIOS 1000. Class dismissed. Have a BIOS horror story or a weird boot issue? Drop it in the comments—I’ve probably heard the beep code before.