In computer, BIOS stands for:

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Basic Input/Output System. BIOS is the firmware permanently held on a non-volatile chip (ROM/flash) on the motherboard. The moment a PC is switched on, the BIOS runs the POST (Power-On Self-Test), initialises the basic input and output hardware — keyboard, display, drives — and then loads the bootloader, handing control to the operating system. The name describes exactly that job: the basic routines through which the processor talks to input/output devices.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) 'Binary' sounds plausible because computers work in binary, and that is precisely why this is the most-chosen wrong option — but there is no firmware standard by this name. The B in BIOS is 'Basic'.  (c) Not a real term. A bit is the smallest unit of data; it has nothing to do with what the boot firmware is called.  (d) Not a real term either. A byte (8 bits) is a unit of storage, not the name of the motherboard's start-up firmware.

Concept: BIOS is firmware — software burned into a hardware chip — that sits between the physical machine and the operating system. It is stored on a non-volatile ROM/flash chip on the motherboard so it survives power-off, unlike anything held in RAM. On power-up it performs the POST, detects and initialises attached hardware, and then reads the boot sector and passes control to the operating system's loader. User-changeable settings (boot order, system time, hardware toggles) are kept in a small CMOS memory powered by a button-cell battery on the board.

State PCS 2026 Q36 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q36 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer