Compaq in the context of "BIOS"


Compaq in the context of "BIOS"

Compaq Study page number 1 of 1

Answer the Compaq Trivia Question!

or

Skip to study material about Compaq in the context of "BIOS"


⭐ Core Definition: Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers, being the second company after Columbia Data Products to legally reverse engineer the BIOS of the IBM Personal Computer. It rose to become the largest supplier of PC systems during the 1990s. The company was initially based in Harris County, Texas.

The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill Murto, all of whom were former Texas Instruments senior managers. All three had left the company in 1991 due to an internal shakeup, and saw Eckhard Pfeiffer appointed as president and CEO, who served throughout the 1990s. Ben Rosen provided the venture capital financing for the fledgling company and served as chairman of the board for 17 years from 1983 until September 28, 2000, when he retired and was succeeded by Michael Capellas, who served as its last chairman and CEO until its merger.

↓ Menu
HINT:

👉 Compaq in the context of BIOS

In computing, BIOS (/ˈbɒs, -s/, BY-oss, -⁠ohss; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is a type of firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the booting process (power-on startup). On a computer using BIOS firmware, the firmware comes pre-installed on the computer's motherboard.

The name originates from the Basic Input/Output System used in the CP/M operating system in 1975. The BIOS firmware was originally proprietary to the IBM PC; it was reverse engineered by some companies, such as Compaq, Phoenix Technologies, AMI and others, looking to create compatible systems. The interface of that original system serves as a de facto standard.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier