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Phoenix Super Fast Bios

I can't believe people aren't going nuts over this? Loading Windows in just over a second! That's a HUGE reduction in boot times, for pretty much any computer. Combine with an SSD, and hibernation (almost) becomes redundant. My next laptop WILL have this in it!
 
Pretty neat, but this will suck when you're mashing the keyboard to get into the BIOS setup menu (It's NEVER just 'F1' to enter setup -- sometimes it's F2, ESC, F10, F12, or even DEL)
 
You'll probably be able to hold a key down when you boot, instead of rapid-clicking it during POST
 
Bear in mind the guy said they were using UEFI instead of BIOS. UEFI is something that I'm not seeing a ton of support for on even the most modern motherboards.
 
I really hope this can be a drop-in upgrade for my T400s. Otherwise I felt like I just wasted my money.
 
Soujiro said:
I really hope this can be a drop-in upgrade for my T400s. Otherwise I felt like I just wasted my money.
Click to expand...

According to this source, Phoenix is offering it to OEMs as an update to existing systems. We'll have to see if any put in the effort to make that happen though. I would love to have it on my T61!

http://blog.laptopmag.com/phoenixs-1-second-instant-boot-bios-really-works

And while its true UEFI has been relatively obscure so far, there is a lot of push by companies such as Microsoft and Intel to boost adoption. Its being positioned as a replacement to BIOS.
 
Peteman100 said:
I can't believe people aren't going nuts over this?
Click to expand...

Not that I'd want to stop progress (and that SSD laptop is really amazing...), but what are we talking about here? 5? 10 seconds? lol...I mean...it is "neat", but we're talking a few seconds. I think my old IBM T22 started loading windows in under 10 seconds. I'd go nuts if they could get my directTV box to start up as quick as my laptop.
 
Intel's boards have had UEFI support for quite some time now. So they are ahead of the curve. MSI also supports it on several board models.
 
Is EFI something that needs to be supported by the chipset or just the OS (Win 7 does for example)? Also, doesn't EFI introduce it's own set of problems since there is more software involved?
 
bigdogchris said:
Is EFI something that needs to be supported by the chipset or just the OS (Win 7 does for example)? Also, doesn't EFI introduce it's own set of problems since there is more software involved?
Click to expand...

Both the motherboard and the OS need to support it. It isn't a chipset level thing as far as I know. As for problems, well the biggest problem is that few operating systems support it. I believe Vista does with a patch and I know Windows 7 supports it as do some versions of Mac OS X.
 
UEFI is good stuff, we use alot of them at work. vista supports it out of box as does win7.
this is using a modded efi that does not load a few of the "drivers" used for a few things such as lagacy I/O like serial DB9 and LPT and most likely also not loading old IDE drivers. this is a huge speed boost to post times.
 
Mac OSX uses EFI, at least on Macs.
Vista and Win7 support it out of the box.
It's not a chipset limitation, it's whether or not the mobo manufacturers are willing to drop the BIOS on a board and go EFI. This will pretty much drop support for XP on that mobo, or at least make it very difficult to load XP. I think that with the release of Win7 this particular issue will fade away into the past fairly quickly.

I think we are almost to the point where this should start becoming common, I mean I think I see two more things that need to happen:
-The big OEMs (Dell, HP, etc) need to start using it.
-One of the tier 1 mobo manufactures needs to come out with a EFI board and make a big deal about it, make a lot of press and get people informed that it even exists, and excited about it.

OEM's using it will 'prove' that it works and should pave a path of compatibility/stability/etc.

Then the tier 1 mobo maker making a big deal about it will get the enthusiasts on board, spread the word, and potentially make it a big new feature that people want.

I think it's about time to move on past the trusty old BIOS. It's a bit long in the tooth these days...
 
I don't think we'll see serious market penetration or adoption of EFI solutions for at least another 3-5 years. In regard to legacy crap, the PC market just isn't willing to change. I'm only now seeing motherboards that have abandoned the floppy controller. We still have PS/2 ports on most motherboards even though every keyboard and mouse sold in the last 10 years has been primarily a USB device. Motherboards still have COM port headers and most integrate IDE controllers despite Intel abandoning such legacy hardware some time ago.
 
I could defintately find this useful on an HTPC setup, if only for the reason so it can act more like other set top boxes which load pretty fast.
 
Raxor said:
I could defintately find this useful on an HTPC setup, if only for the reason so it can act more like other set top boxes which load pretty fast.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea. The motherboard in my PC supports EFI! (Intel DX48BT2)
 
Linked to Front Page News...

Phoenix has unveiled the Instant Boot BIOS, which claims to cut POST time to about a second and can boot into Windows 7 in 10 seconds. Laptop Magazine saw the BIOS in all its glory running on a Lenovo T400. It’s being offered to OEM partners but there’s no word on who signed up or the actual release date.

However, we can’t help but be incredibly impressed. Phoenix has removed the BIOS bottleneck from the boot process and really put the ball into the OEM’s court. A system will load as fast as its operating system, and runtime software will let it. And even if 11 seconds is not quite Big Foot, it’s an extremely hairy animal!
Click to expand...
 
It will never see the light of day. It don't fit the Mac VS PC ads. Plus you know this must add to global warming with all the extra heat to make some thing boot so fast. (its like when the car companies took the hand crank off the front of the car to start it )
 
Dan_D said:
Bear in mind the guy said they were using UEFI instead of BIOS. UEFI is something that I'm not seeing a ton of support for on even the most modern motherboards.
Click to expand...

Last I heard XP didn't support it, while OS X and Vista (as well as "7") do. Why would you want to create a motherboard that would be incompatible with at least many of the new installs?

After XP is truly killed, we'll finally get UEFI.
 
Peteman100 said:
I can't believe people aren't going nuts over this? Loading Windows in just over a second! That's a HUGE reduction in boot times, for pretty much any computer. Combine with an SSD, and hibernation (almost) becomes redundant. My next laptop WILL have this in it!
Click to expand...
Would help for me - jus finished a job building 2000 T400's for a gov organisation here in the UK
 
extide said:
Mac OSX uses EFI, at least on Macs.
Vista and Win7 support it out of the box.
It's not a chipset limitation, it's whether or not the mobo manufacturers are willing to drop the BIOS on a board and go EFI. This will pretty much drop support for XP on that mobo, or at least make it very difficult to load XP. I think that with the release of Win7 this particular issue will fade away into the past fairly quickly.

I think we are almost to the point where this should start becoming common, I mean I think I see two more things that need to happen:
-The big OEMs (Dell, HP, etc) need to start using it.
-One of the tier 1 mobo manufactures needs to come out with a EFI board and make a big deal about it, make a lot of press and get people informed that it even exists, and excited about it.

OEM's using it will 'prove' that it works and should pave a path of compatibility/stability/etc.

Then the tier 1 mobo maker making a big deal about it will get the enthusiasts on board, spread the word, and potentially make it a big new feature that people want.

I think it's about time to move on past the trusty old BIOS. It's a bit long in the tooth these days...
Click to expand...

How does the new, work with tweaking the motherboard, or will it all be done by software, I think that some bios tweaks won't be carried forward.
 
Cutting 5 seconds off the boot time is huge for me. I dislike waiting and this shaves a significant percentage of the boot time.
 
GushpinBob said:
Pretty neat, but this will suck when you're mashing the keyboard to get into the BIOS setup menu (It's NEVER just 'F1' to enter setup -- sometimes it's F2, ESC, F10, F12, or even DEL)
Click to expand...

Wont you break the keyboard by mashing it?

Anyway this kind of bios would be sweet in my rig. My Rig first goes through POST , Then finds JMicron IDE , Then Raid and finally windows which takes forever. I am thinking of going I7 but if its still like this I will go back to AMD even though its not as fast but this slow boot is annoying.
 
Dan_D said:
I don't think we'll see serious market penetration or adoption of EFI solutions for at least another 3-5 years. In regard to legacy crap, the PC market just isn't willing to change. I'm only now seeing motherboards that have abandoned the floppy controller. We still have PS/2 ports on most motherboards even though every keyboard and mouse sold in the last 10 years has been primarily a USB device. Motherboards still have COM port headers and most integrate IDE controllers despite Intel abandoning such legacy hardware some time ago.
Click to expand...

Floppy is dead that is for sure. You take away my PS/2 and you and I are gonna have some words. There is nothing I hate more than a USB mouse/keyboard. You would also be surprised to know how many things still plug into a serial port. Manny of us tinkerers NEED a serial port. IDE is legacy compatible thanks to USB enclosures.
 
How are they cutting such a huge time off POST and why can this not be done with the typical BIOS?
 
Phoenix makes some cool shit, too bad a lot of it never sees the light of day. At least this one is gaining some press which means its a bit further along. I saw something like this years ago by them, but it was not based on EFI and focused on their own proprietary chip. The pain was that it was not universally accepted so to get an OS to work on it required a lot of modification of the OS install. I dont believe it ever even made it to the press.

Do remember that a lot of manufactures use Phoenix, so they could be pushy with it as well ;)
 
all it does is turn on all your devices on at the same time, right after you hit the power button. im guessing its like a 'super quick boot' mode, and everything must be set correctly first before it can work properly. sounds awesome though, there is NO reason to wait for a bios to load, unless youre troubleshooting.
 
With a good fast SSD and not a lot of other junk loaded, I get Windows 7 running from cold boot on a laptop to up and with the google homepage up to start work in 25 seconds. Of that it seems about 10 seconds is the time from power on till Windows starts to load
 
James21 said:
With a good fast SSD and not a lot of other junk loaded, I get Windows 7 running from cold boot on a laptop to up and with the google homepage up to start work in 25 seconds. Of that it seems about 10 seconds is the time from power on till Windows starts to load
Click to expand...

Exactly! As SSDs get faster and Windows more optimized, BIOS times will become increasingly burdensome.
 
Peteman100 said:
Exactly! As SSDs get faster and Windows more optimized, BIOS times will become increasingly burdensome.
Click to expand...

... have been increasingly burdensome. im honestly shocked its taken this long for desktops to do this. the power available is huge, there is no reason to wait on such a simple input/output system.
 
This is great for laptops, but if you have a desktop isn't sleep mode suppose to do that. (instant on). no flaming, just curious.
 
fendee1 said:
This is great for laptops, but if you have a desktop isn't sleep mode suppose to do that. (instant on). no flaming, just curious.
Click to expand...

youre not following. sleep doesnt reload all the drivers to give you a fresh start. its not a system restart when you sleep, its just a pause. this is for totally off, totally shutdown pc's. from initial hit of the power button, in 1sec flat windows will start to load. its something that should have been adopted 10 years ago, but in any case its a big deal especially now that the bios wait time has in many cases grown longer then the windows startup itself.
 
I happen to know the CEO of Phoenix Technologies so I'm going to ask if it would be possible to get this onto my T61!
 
Peteman100 said:
I happen to know the CEO of Phoenix Technologies so I'm going to ask if it would be possible to get this onto my T61!
Click to expand...

Sure you do. Lol ;)

On topic: My question is when we will see all the computers on the pre-built market get this technology. On Wikipedia, the consortium is apparently quite extensive with over 14 companies. If Acer would join it would mean total domination. :eek:
 
Last edited:
CptFalcon said:
Sure you do. Lol ;)

On topic: My question is when we will see all the computers on the pre-built market get this technology. On Wikipedia, the consortium is apparently quite extensive with over 14 companies. If Acer would join it would mean total domination. :eek:
Click to expand...

Look up Woodson Hobbs, my friend ;)
 
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