UEFI - what is it?

It creeps in relatively quietly and unnoticed by many: UEFI. But what exactly is the somewhat futuristic name and to what extent are Windows, OS X and Linux affected by it?

Boot the computer faster thanks to UEFI

The words UEFI hide the words: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. To put it another way: Behind the abbreviation UEFI is the firmware of the mainboard, which in turn forms the interface between the hardware and the software during the boot process.

• So far, this important task had always been taken over by the bios. However, since this is getting old and can no longer do justice to modern hardware, a successor was needed.
• This BIOS successor is the UEFI, which has been used in computers for some time - albeit with some start-up difficulties. Unfortunately, it meant technical knockout for some computers last year after trying to start the Windows 8 computers with UEFI and Linux.
• Apple has taken on a pioneering role in the introduction of UEFI. The UEFI has been used in Mac computers for some time.
• Since Windows 8, Microsoft has also started to change from BIOS to UEFI, but UEFI only works with 64-bit systems.
• The Linux community is still somewhat skeptical because Microsoft is able to use the UEFI Secure Boot. This means that there is no longer any possibility of running another operating system, such as Linux, in addition to Windows. In the meantime, Microsoft has assured that it will not use this option.
• The advantages of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface definitely include the significantly faster boot time and the support of much larger hard drives.

If you still have a "conventional" bios and want to update it, it's not that easy. You can find out how to best do this in the entry BIOS update: With these instructions it works.