Unit 7 Research Paper 1 CMOS

NT1110

Unit 7 Research Paper 1: CMOS

1. Search the internet for information on “CMOS memory” and answer the

following questions:

How has CMOS memory changed over the years?

Has the size of the CMOS memory increased, decreased, or stayed the

same?

CMOS memory was originally used in the early days to store semi-permanent

data stored in chips. The speeds have increased and the noise has been reduced it also

went from analog to digital. With technological advancement over the years, it now uses

flash memory, which is a form of EEPROM instead of chips. The size of the CMOS

memory changes on how it is set. It either can be added or reduced from the computer.

However, these changes cause the computer to report a memory size mismatch. The

size of the CMOS memory has also pretty much stayed the same because there is no

need to increase the size. There was never any need to store more than 512 bytes in

the memory as it holds the absolute basic boot settings for the system. The typical size

is still 512 bytes currently.

2. Determine if the CMOS still utilizes RAM, requiring a battery on the

motherboard, or has evolved into using EEPROM.

There are still CMOS that use a battery on the mother board but EEPROM is

more popular today. CMOS has since evolved from using a RAM to using EEPROM. It's

a long name for a small chip that holds bits of data code that can be rewritten and

erased by an electrical charge, one byte at a time. Its data cannot be selectively

rewritten; the entire chip must be erased and rewritten to update its contents.