
	Where results make sense

Topic: Extensible Firmware Interface

In the News (Sun 3 Jun 12)

EXECUTIVE POWER

Iran

ANALYSIS

Pakistan

Family compact

	Extensible Firmware Interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is a Specification developed by Intel aimed to replace the old Firmware Interface historically used by all IBM PC compatible personal computers.
		EFI is a significant departure from this structure.
		In that sense, it is similar to Open Firmware, the hardware-independent firmware used in PowerPC-based Apple Macintosh computers and Sun Microsystems SPARC computers, amongst others.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface (916 words)

	More Power To Firmware
		Firmware may be defined as software residing in (or embedded in) hardware, such as some kind of a programmable read-only memory.
		The firmware implementation of PAL is supplied by the processor vendor, and it resides in OEM flash memory.
		The UGA model would work as follows: the UGA firmware may reside on the graphics device, may be a part of the system firmware in case of an onboard graphics device, or may even come from a regular storage device.
	www.osxbook.com /book/bonus/chapter4/firmware (5742 words)

	ACM News Service (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Firmware is an oft-neglected sector of the PC industry that typically does not get the same press that rollouts of new processors and operating systems attract.
		The transition is expected to gather steam this summer, when Microsoft releases Windows Vista, which is expected to be compatible with firmware based in both BIOS and EFI.
		The new interfaces also have such appealing features as a boot manager, which enables PCs to boot from multiple devices and toggle between operating systems, as well as a network stack that links a PC to a network before its operating system has loaded.
	www.cs.mun.ca /~wlodek/technews/technews-2006/tn-firmware-06-02-03.html (301 words)

	Introducing the Intel Platform Innovation Framework for the Extensible Firmware Interface
		The task of boot firmware (whether the BIOS or firmware based on the Framework) is to make a collection of hardware before the boot look like a complete system after the boot.
		These systems rely heavily on the boot firmware to prepare the system to boot the operating system, provide services to the operating system (particularly early in the boot process), and provide manageability data on the system.
		The Extensible Firmware Interface provides an opportunity to have a common operating system loader across different platform architectures, such as IA32 and Intel Itanium processor-based platforms.
	deviceforge.com /articles/AT8747644820.html (1533 words)

	Description of Extensible Firmware Interface
		The Extensibile Firmware Interface specification defines a model for the interface between operating systems and platform firmware.
		The interface consists of data tables that contain platform-related information and boot and runtime service calls that are available to the operating system and its loader.
		The System Abstraction Layer is a firmware layer that isolates the operating system and other higher-level software from implementation differences in the platform, while the Processor Abstraction Layer is the firmware layer that abstracts the processor implementation.
	support.microsoft.com /?kbid=303956 (357 words)

	EFI - Mactel-Linux (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is the name for a system developed by Intel that is designed to replace the aging BIOS system used by personal computers.
		A firmware update could enable EFI on these motherboards, although no such update has been released at the time of writing (probably because there is no EFI-capable 32-bit version of Microsoft Windows.)
		In January 2006, Apple Computer shipped their first Intel-based Macintosh computers with EFI instead of Open Firmware, which had been used on their previous PowerPC-based systems.Apple Computer.
	www.mactel-linux.org /wiki/EFI (895 words)

	EFI Programming on Mac OS X
		The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) can be traced back to 1998 to the Intel Boot Initiative (IBI) program.
		The EFI specification, which was developed and maintained by a consortium of companies (including Intel and Microsoft), defines a set of APIs and data structures to be exported by a system's firmware, and to be used by a variety of clients such as the following.
		Some details about EFI and its origins, along with a juxtaposed discussion of Open Firmware, can be found in More Power to Firmware.
	www.osxbook.com /book/bonus/chapter4/efiprogramming (1242 words)

	Feature: Boot your PC faster with EFI (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Bios, one of the last relics of the early PC, is being replaced by Extensible Firmware Interface.
		For users, the advantages of this new technology, the EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface), are that their PC will boot faster, and system tools, which previously had to be run from a Dos boot disk, are already built in.
		When the operating system is up and running, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) remains the mechanism for the EFI to communicate with the operating system in order to recognise hardware, configure devices and control power management.
	www.vnunet.com /articles/print/2154039 (1338 words)

	Linus On The Extensible Firmware Interface \| tuxmachines.org (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Linus went on to explain, "the original EFI code in the kernel basically duplicates all the BIOS interfaces (ie everything that looks at a memory map comes in two varieties: the normal and tested BIOS e820 variety, and the usually broken and hacked-up EFI memory map variety).
		Some of us smart, made a standard out of firmware interface that is extensible.
		EFI is for soft firmware, but hardware firmware do not need interface standards.
	www.tuxmachines.org /node/8521 (648 words)

	Documentation (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Check the firmware release notes for the release that you are trying to update for information on what you need to update.
		When used in conjunction with /upload, the firmware version in the hex file is not checked.
		The BIOS is implemented as firmware that resides in the processor board and I/O riser flash ROMs.
	support.dell.com /support/edocs/systems/pe7250/en/PG/g4277c30.htm (5680 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Instead, they use Intel's newer Extensible Firmware Interface, which is not supported under Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows.
		Open Firmware performs many of the same functions as a BIOS, but its shell interface is more arcane, and it is rarely used by Mac owners.
		Open Firmware is only used on PowerPC, POWER, and SPARC systems current, which meant that Apple would have to use something else unless it wanted to do the yeoman's work of getting Open Firmware up and running on Intel machines.
	arstechnica.com /news.ars/post/20060112-5962.html (698 words)

	Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) Boot Manager (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) is an OS and platform-independent boot and pre-boot interface.
		EFI lies between the OS and platform firmware, allowing the OS to boot without having details about the underlying hardware and firmware.
		EFI variables provides system firmware a boot menu that points to all the operating systems, even multiple versions of the same operating systems.
	docs.hp.com /en/AB430-96005/ch04s01.html (738 words)

	ComputerBase - Lexikon: Extensible Firmware Interface
		Das Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI, deutsch: Erweiterbare Firmware-Schnittstelle) beschreibt die zentrale Schnittstelle zwischen der Firmware, den einzelnen Komponenten eines Computers und dem Betriebssystem.
		Den eigentlichen Nachfolger für das BIOS stellt der Firmware Foundation Code dar, der zu den Bedingungen der CPL (Common Public License) freigegeben wird und das Extensible Firmware Interface implementiert.
		Damit sind, wie bei Open Firmware, systemunabhängige Treiber möglich.
	www.computerbase.de /lexikon/Extensible_Firmware_Interface (759 words)

	PRESS RELEASE American Megatrends Supports UEFI 2.0 Specification (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The UEFI specification, aimed at improving interoperability between platforms and add-in cards, supersedes the Extensible Firmware Interface 1.1 specification, originally published by Intel Corporation.
		The Extensible Firmware Interface, at the base of AMI's Aptio firmware offering, introduces a new firmware paradigm based on modular drivers that aims to modernize the BIOS technology that has been utilized to hand off system control to personal computer's operating system for more than 20 years.
		AMI is a member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) and an Associate Member with the Intel®; Communications Alliance, a community of communications and embedded developers and solution providers.
	www.marketwire.com /mw/release_html_b1?release_id=110899 (468 words)

	Cannot See Contents of a CD-ROM from the Extensible Firmware Interface Shell with DIR or LS Commands
		When you run the DIR or LS command on the contents of your CD-ROM drive from the Extensible Firmware Interface shell, the contents of the CD-ROM may not be displayed.
		The FAT partition is "seen" from the Extensible Firmware Interface shell.
		The CDFS partition contains all of the remaining Windows Setup files and is not seen in the Extensible Firmware Interface shell.
	support.microsoft.com /default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304011 (344 words)

	The Future of the BIOS: Modular, Scalable, Driver-Based Framework for EFI
		When used with Intel's Extensible Firmware Interface, the Framework completely eliminates the need for a traditional BIOS interface.
		Intel's answer to BIOS limitations has been the Extensible Firmware Interface and the Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI, referred to here as the Framework.
		The Extensible Firmware Interface is a set of modular interfaces that replaces the traditional set of BIOS interfaces.
	www.deviceforge.com /articles/AT4903582708.html (1742 words)

	Ace's Hardware
		Far more complex than the BIOS software found in today's x86 PCs, Itanium's firmware consists of three distinct layers: the Processor Abstraction Layer (PAL), the System Abstraction Layer (SAL), and the Extensible Firmware Inferface (EFI).
		Intel will provide the core PAL firmware layer, but the SAL and EFI layers are to be developed by OEMs themselves, in order to allow them to implement proprietary features to differentiate their products.
		According to an Intel technical document, "The PAL layer is developed by Intel and delivered with the processor." The SAL and EFI firmware are developed by the platform manufacturer and provide a means of supporting value-added platform features from different vendors.
	www.aceshardware.com /read_news.jsp?id=10000249 (278 words)

	PCQuest : Tech Trends : New Ways to Talk to Hardware
		Unlike BIOS that becomes inaccessible on a PC once the system has been booted, Open Firmware can be accessed any time by the user using pre-defined keys, even when the system is booted.
		This is a technological innovation from Intel, called the Extensible Firmware Interface or EFI for short.
		And all of this is very extensible, since developers can build their own features using a high-level C language and hook into the EFI system using 32-bit API.
	www.pcquest.com /content/techtrends/2006/106031001.asp (1253 words)

	Mackie AFAQ - PC Basics
		In computers with the Intel Itanium processor, the interface between a computer's firmware, hardware, and the operating system.
		If there is a sharing conflict with an IRQ, such as a mouse not responding or glitches in audio playback via a USB or FireWire audio interface, use Device Manager to locate and troubleshoot the problem.
		A disk-partitioning scheme that is used by the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) in Itanium-based computers.
	www.mackie.com /support/FAQ/pc_basics.html (1515 words)

	EFI - OSx86 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is a firmware technology that was designed by Intel to replace the aging PC-BIOS.
		Apple uses an EFI 1.10 compliant firmware based on Intel's reference implementation in the new Intel Macs.
		The firmware uses the ConSplitter driver from Intel's implementation.
	wiki.osx86project.org /wiki/index.php/EFI (1337 words)

	Linux: Linus On The Extensible Firmware Interface (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		EFI is a replacement for BIOS, originally designed for use on the ia64 architecture though since adopted by other computers, including Apple's Intel-based Macs.
		Hardware manufactures are talking about how they can implement drivers in the EFI firmware so that it will work on every OS.
		And it wasn't like you could start it and then come back 30 minutes later, you had to be right in front of the system to answer questions for 30 minutes.
	kerneltrap.org /node/6884 (2422 words)

	BIOS technology to give way to Extensible Firmware Interface (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Microsoft and Intel are going to start an industry forum this year to plan the official death of the BIOS and the concomitant birth of what they're calling the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI, for short).
		EFI will allegedly make it easier to transition to new technologies and to interface with hardware in a pre-boot environment.
		This could allow for greater diagnostic capabilities, more power saving features, as well as greater Digital Rights Management technologies (the latter of which no mention was made by the article, curiously).
	arstechnica.com /news/posts/1072808767.html (715 words)

	PC Industry Looks to Transform Firmware - OSNews.com
		PC firmware, a murky world of interwoven software code that dates back to the original IBM PC and its clones, is about to be modernized.
		In a move that experts say promises to lead to fewer headaches for IT staff by creating more stable and manageable desktops and notebooks, the PC industry has begun transitioning to the United Extensible Firmware Interface.
		Dubbed UEFI, the interface offers a standardized way for a PC's firmware, the underlying software that controls its hardware, to interact with the operating system.
	www.osnews.com /story.php?news_id=13530 (194 words)

	PCI-SIG - PCI Firmware 3.0
		The PCI Firmware Specification describes the hardware independent firmware interface for managing PCI, PCI-X, and PCI Express systems in a host computer.
		Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) services for supporting PCI, PCI-X, and PCI Express devices and systems.
		Note: This specification is posted for archive purposes only; be sure to reference the PCI Firmware 3.0 specification above for the most current version.
	www.pcisig.com /specifications/conventional/pci_firmware (277 words)

	Microsoft's EFI Pullback is Apple's Gain
		They are leery of using a new, more expensive firmware, something that would cut into their slim margins.
		This interface offers a standardized way for a PC's firmware—the underlying software that controls its hardware—to interact with its operating system and lets pre-boot applications run in the basement for tasks such as systems management or data recovery.
		EFI's benefits remind me of the Open Firmware booting used on the second-generation PowerPC-based Macs that were introduced about a decade ago.
	www.eweek.com /article2/0,1895,1937900,00.asp (1433 words)

	Writing an end to the bio of BIOS \| CNET News.com
		The companies will begin promoting a technology specification called EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) as a new system for starting up a PC's hardware before its operating system begins loading, a process that kicks in every time a PC is switched on or restarted.
		The companies say the Extensible Firmware Interface, or EFI, makes it simpler to add improvements to PCs and speeds up the booting process.
		Although many agree that the BIOS is out of date, a new technology isn't likely to be adopted until it's declared an industry standard.
	news.com.com /2100-1008_3-5131787.html (1450 words)

Try your search on: Qwika (all wikis)