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Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

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Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification for a software program that connects a computer's firmware to its operating system (OS). UEFI is expected to eventually replace BIOS.

Like BIOS, UEFI is installed at the time of manufacturing and is the first program that runs when a computer is turned on. It checks to see what hardware components the computing device has, wakes the components up and hands them over to the operating system. The new specification addresses several limitations of BIOS, including restrictions on hard disk partition size and the amount of time BIOS takes to perform its tasks.

Because UEFI is programmable, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) developers can add applications and drivers, allowing UEFI to function as a lightweight operating system. 

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface is managed by a group of chipset, hardware, system, firmware, and operating system vendors called the UEFI Forum.The specification is most often pronounced by naming the letters U-E-F-I. 

Continue reading about UEFI:

Andrew Regenscheid, a mathematician with the computer security division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is concerned about the security issues UEFI presents. 

Sebastian Anthony demystifies the long-overdue BIOS replacement.

Eric Parizo explains how NIST guidelines seek to minimize risk of BIOS attacks.

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky describes how UEFI enables secure boot.

This was last updated in September 2011

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My laptop HP DV6 7040tx has the both options BIOS and UEFI but my bios setup is legacy style (not GUI like UEFI). How can I update my bios setting to GUI style?
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UEFI Firmware Settings box does not appear when I click 'Advanced options'.

John Revell
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how to BIOS update in NE46Rs update available in gateway ??

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I’m currently working on a project that uses the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. The company I work for purchased this project from another company. I am in the process of updating this project by moving the application software to a new platform since the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is at EOL. However a couple of issues have come to light. The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has an issue with the battery over charging and causing the tablet to separate. Microsoft Has since issued a fix for this problem which involved going into the UEFI and Enabling Battery Limit Mode. When the company I work for purchased this particular project from it’s previous owner, we not only took ownership of the application software which enables us to move the application to another platform, but we also took ownership of their current inventory which includes about 100 Microsoft Surface Pro 4’s with the application software already flashed onto the units. These will be handed over to our sales representatives. We recently learned of the overheating issue and have since learned of the Battery Limit Mode. We actually create an ISO image which has the OS, the application software and the kickstart scripts which wipes out the OS (Windows) and installs a different OS (one of the Linux distributions) prior to installing the application. Is there a way to access the firmware and turn on the Battery Limit Mode without wiping everything out and starting completely over? Is there a way that the firmware can be updated via the application software? Any information or links to information in this area will be appreciated.
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