What is firmware?

ianuarie 23, 2013

Firmware is the basic software embedded in a hardware device.

Firmware – essential software routines contained in ROM memory  of a hardware device. Firmware is always responsible for basic operations, such as starting or input / output.

We can say, without fail, that any electronic device  needs firmware to operate. Firmware range from a reduced set of instructions in simple devices such as electronic alarm from the car, to more complex instructions in the case of sophisticated equipment such as smart tvs, video players, mobile phones, cameras / video equipment, medical equipment etc.

Below we can see memory chip containing the firmware of a DVD player:

Firmware unui DVD-Player

Sometimes we need the latest version

Original firmware is serving a a product mostly over its lifetime. Sometimes, however, the need arises to replace the current firmware version with one improved. If the firmware is stored in a memory chip EEPROM or flash, the user can be rewritten using a special program.

The new version of firmware and software programming EEPROM or flash memory chip can usually be obtained from the hardware device manufacturer’s website.

Firmare upgrade de pe site-ul producatorului

Update procedure

PC procedure of the firmware update can be performed directly from Windows or may require booting the computer in DOS mode.

Rewriting the BIOS of a motherboard in Windows:

Rescriere BIOS Windows

Rewriting the BIOS of motherboards in DOS:

Rescriere BIOS

Firmware and BIOS

The BIOS of a computer, acronym that comes from the Basic Input Output System, is for a computer what is the firmware for other electronic equipment.

However, the BIOS of a PC is more than just a regular firmware because it allows us to interact with it,  while a regualr firmware is a software that has no user interface. (It is there but we do not „see” it.)

BIOS interactionare

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