Customizing Your Computer's Firmware Interface

The way a firmware interface operates and the tasks it performs depend on the type of firmware interface and the type of central processing unit (CPU). Most computers built today have CPUs based on 32-bit x86 architecture or 64-bit extensions to this architecture referred to as x64 architecture.

Generally, computers with 32-bit x86 architectures use the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) as their firmware interface, whereas computers with x64-based architectures use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which is wrapped around BIOS (but can also be wrapped around standard Extensible Firmware Interface, or EFI). For our purposes, a computer that uses UEFI wrapped around BIOS is BIOS-based, as is a computer that uses BIOS by itself.

CAUTION:
Only change firmware interface settings when you fully understand the possible repercussions of doing so. Improperly configuring a computer's firmware interface may prevent it from booting and starting the operating system.

You should document every change you make to your computer's firmware interface in a notebook. If you get into trouble, you may be able to restore your computer's factory default settings by using an option in the firmware interface. Keep in mind, however, that the factory default settings may not be the same as the settings configured when your computer was delivered to you.