All computers need a place to temporarily store information while other pieces of information are being processed. In digital computers, information storage is normally conducted at two different levels: primary memory (made up of semiconductor RAM and ROM chips) and mass storage (usually involving floppy and hard disk drives).
Most of the system’s primary memory is located on the mother board and typically exists in two forms:
- _ Read Only Memory (ROM)-which contains the computer’s permanent startup programs
- _ Random Access Memory (RAM)-which is quick enough to operate directly with the microprocessor and can be read from and written to as often as desired
ROM devices store information permanently and are used to hold programs and data that do not change. RAM devices only retain the information stored in them as long as electrical power is applied to the IC. Any interruption of power will cause the contents of the memory to vanish. This is referred to as volatile memory. ROM, on the other hand, is nonvolatile.
Every Mother Board contains one or two ROM ICs that hold the system’s Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) program. The BIOS program contains the basic instructions for communications between the microprocessor and the various input and output devices in the system. Until recently, this information was stored permanently inside the ROM chips and could only be changed by replacing the chips.
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