Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal2077 BSQuestion 1 of 18
What is BIOS? Briefly discuss its functions.
5 marks
Question source
- Exam year
- 2077 BS / 2021 AD
- Level
- Level 5 (Prabidhik, IT, Barishtha Sahayak)
- Paper
- Paper II – Sewa Sambandhi
- Section
- Section A
Model answer
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) — UEFI on modern PCs — is firmware in motherboard flash memory that initializes hardware before the OS loads. Terminology consistent with ASI/SI papers.
Functions:
- POST — Power-On Self Test of CPU, RAM, keyboard, disk; error beeps if failure.
- Hardware inventory — Detects SSD/HDD, USB, LAN and reports to OS.
- Boot sequence — Finds bootloader per boot order (SSD → USB) and transfers control to OS.
- Setup utility — Date/time, SATA mode, virtualization, Secure Boot, BIOS password.
- Fallback — Works without OS, allowing reinstall and diagnostics.
Without BIOS/UEFI, the system cannot locate or start the operating system.