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    BIOS to EFI migration.

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Rahul, Jan 19, 2008.

  1. Rahul

    Rahul Notebook Prophet

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    So I hear EFI is the successor to BIOS but in consumer computers at least, it seems to be only in Intel Macs, I haven't heard of it in any other PCs.

    I am wondering why PC manufacturers are still using BIOS instead of EFI and what are the big differences and benefits of EFI? When will PCs migrate to EFI or is there a reason to stick with old BIOS?

    Sorry for my total lack of knowledge in this subject.
     
    Rahul, Jan 19, 2008
    #1
  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    PCs will migrate, when Windows finally supports it. That's why we're still on BIOS...not that it really matters right now though. Not yet at least.

    The OS has to be compatible, that's the big thing.
     
    Greg, Jan 19, 2008
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  3. Rahul

    Rahul Notebook Prophet

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    Would it be possible to upgrade our current PC's with BIOS to EFI if the manufacturer supports it or wait for new models?
     
    Rahul, Jan 19, 2008
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  4. Jalf

    Jalf Comrade Santa

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    As I recall, Vista 32 bit supports EFI, and with SP1, 64-bit supports it as well.

    I don't know if it's possible to upgrade a chipset from BIOS to EFI. I'd imagine not (EFI is bigger and more complex, so if nothing else, requires more space than is probably available on the BIOS chip)

    As for advantages, EFI makes it possible to run a web browser, mp3 player or stuff like that without booting an OS. It also gets rid of the silly limitation of 4 primary partitions per harddrive and a lot of other old cruft.
     
    Jalf, Jan 19, 2008
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  5. moon angel

    moon angel Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    What has electronic fuel injection got to do with laptops?
     
    moon angel, Jan 19, 2008
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