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the self checkout machines at Walmart need a reboot. syslinux 6.03 (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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[–] 7 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Doesn't every computer have a bios? Genuinely asking

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  • [–] 32 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I think (not 100% sure) that UEFI is a replacement for BIOS. All modern computers use UEFI.

    People still colloquially call it "BIOS" because it serves a similar purpose, but there is a technical difference.

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  • [–] 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That is correct, it's been quite awhile now since UEFI became standard but almost everyone still calls it the BIOS. Although I've noticed the word firmware is starting to be used more as well.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    which is funny because firmware is a legacy term for what evolved into what is honestly software.

    You don't need to socket any new chips nowadays.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago*

    You are in fact correct. UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is the modernized version of the very very old BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).

    It brought a parade of improvements including the GPT (GUID [Global Unique Identifier] Parition Table) partition table replacing the old MBR (Master Boot Record) partition table.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Yes, though I think the exception is (some?) ARM based PCs don't run UEFI, in which ARM in general doesn't have a universal standard for booting which adds complexity to it. Perhaps that's already changed though, I haven't kept up too well in the ARM space.

    Not sure if maybe the Walmart self checkout terminals aren't x86 machines, perhaps they're ARM or another embedded type of system.

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