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News Tech

BIOS and Everything You May Want to Know about It

Not only professionals but also ordinary users know what the BIOS is. At least, they know that there is such thing as the BIOS and that its settings can be tweaked to optimize or speed up their PC’s certain components. Undoubtedly, you need a more exhaustive answer to the question “​what is BIOS​,” which, by the way, is covered thoroughly on RocketFiles.com. From our article, you’ll learn some general information about the BIOS firmware.

If you take a closer look at your motherboard, you’ll notice a small chip on it. That’s home to what we call the BIOS, which stands for the Basic Input Output System. As its very name suggests, this software helps initialize your hardware and provide runtime services for your operating system, all programs, and applications currently installed on your PC. There are plenty of reasons that may prompt you to access your BIOS. Through the BIOS, you can optimize your hardware and troubleshoot some errors your system may throw from time to time.

Since it’s the BIOS that is responsible for the ​POST ​(Power-on self-test) routines and it acts as the first software to run during the boot process.

The BIOS boasts non-volatile memory, which means that you can save its settings and retrieved the stored information when your system or standby power is off.

  • Note! The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is often confused with ​the Basic Integrated Operating System or Built-In Operating System. Be sure to distinguish between the terms and software when dealing with the BIOS.

BIOS’ Main Functions

As we have already noted, the BIOS performs the ​initialization of your PC’s hardware and tests all hardware components. It’s also responsible for loading a boot loader from an MSD, which, in its turn, performs the initialization of your OS.

You may also need to access the BIOS, when it’s necessary to initialize or configure such components as memory, processor, floppy drive, optical drive, hard disk, and lots of others.

Accessing the BIOS on Your Computer

You will need to access the BIOS Setup Utility prior to incorporating any changes into your BIOS settings. In contrast to the majority of installable software, such as operating systems that come on disks or other storage devices, the BIOS is pre-installed firmware, which means that it possesses default settings and functions the way it was predetermined by a manufacturer.

BIOS Availability

You can find the BIOS on the majority of modern personal computers as part of motherboard hardware. Regardless of the Windows or Linux version you’re running on your PC, the BIOS will function independent of it.

Popular Manufacturers

Presently, there are not some many reliable and time-tested manufacturers of the BIOS firmware. Among the most popular are Phoenix Technologies, BYOSOFT, Gateway, IBM, American Megatrends, Insyde Software, Dell, and Asus.

How to Use BIOS

You already know that the BIOS allows you to configure required software through the setup utility. To do it, you need to access the BIOS, save the new changes, and reboot your machine. When you computer loads, the changes will come into effect and your BIOS will start instructing the hardware differently.

Other things you can do in most BIOS systems include:

  • Change the Boot Order
  • Load BIOS Setup Defaults
  • Create or change a BIOS Password
  • Change the Date and Time
  • Change Hard Drive Settings
  • View your Memory capacity
  • Enable or Disable the Quick POST
  • Enable or Disable the CPU Internal Cache
  • Enable or Disable the Caching of BIOS
  • Change CPU Settings
  • Change Memory Settings
  • Change System Voltages
  • Enable or Disable Onboard USB
  • Enable or Disable Onboard Audio
  • Enable or Disable ACPI
  • Change the Power Button Function
  • Change Power-on Settings
  • Change Which Display is Initialized First on Multi-Display Setups
  • Enable or Disable BIOS Control of System Resources
  • View CPU and System Temperatures
  • View System Voltages

How to Reset the BIOS

Experienced users sometimes resort to resetting their BIOS to restore factory settings.  Resetting the BIOS settings is more of a necessary measure you may need to take if facing critical errors, problems with the entire system, or some specific hardware component.

So, to reset the BIOS, you’ll need to locate the following jumpers on your motherboard:

CCMOS, Clear CMOS, or Clear RTC. Make sure that the power is off when resetting the BIOS.

Once you locate the required jumper, ​move it to the other two pins. For example, if the jumper is covering the first and second pins, move it so that it is covering the second and third pins.

Make sure to pull the jumper straight up to remove it. After you boot up your PC, you’ll discover the BIOS has been reset.

It’s also possible to reset your BIOS by removing the CMOS battery. To do it, unplug your PC from any power sources, open your case, and remove the CMOS battery that’s usually located next to your PCI slots. If you’re unable to locate the battery, make sure to check under expansion cards and cables. If the battery don’t remove, which is also possible, don’t use force to pull it out. Instead, opt for the jumper tweak described above.

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Games News

Red Dead Redemption 3 Release Date, Trailer, and Other Predictions

Red Dead Redemption 2 was released to universal acclaim from critics and players less than a year ago. The game received many awards, and a stable version of Red Dead Online will be released in the following months. Now, even though it might be too early to talk about it, let’s see when Red Dead Redemption 3 might come out.

While the title was quite successful, many fans are already looking forward to the next entry series. Rockstar, which is also renowned for the famous GTA series (and other smaller titles) is known for the amount of time which is spent on working on incredible details. The studio spent eight years on the development of Red Dead Redemption 2. This means that a significant amount of time will pass until an announcement is offered on Red Dead Redemption 3.

Possible release date of Red Dead Redemption 3

In the past, Rockstar used to release one game every year. This cycle began in 1999 and lasted until 2013. Fans of the studio remember that the Red Dead series required a significant amount of development time.

Red Dead Revolver, the first title in the series, was released in 2004. Six years passed before Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010. And eight years were needed for Red Dead Redemption 2. By looking at these dates, it is easy to infer that the shortest development period will last for six years, while eight years appears to be the upper limit. The closest date that can be calculated by following this pattern is 2025.

It is essential to take into account that Rockstar Games may also opt to work on the new GTA 6 title before they begin to develop Red Dead Redemption 3.

Red Dead Redemption 3 trailer and supported platforms

Trailers are a big thing for Rockstar as the studio takes pride in the quality of the trailers which advertise their upcoming date. A Red Dead Redemption 3 trailer could surface before 2025, but that remains to be seen.

Since the PS4 and Xbox One are close to the end of their lifespan, the future Red Dead Redemption 3 game could be released for the upcoming generation of consoles. Until an official announcement is released, we can only hope that Red Dead Redemption 3 would be much better than RDR 2.

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News Tech

How To Download YouTube Videos On PC and Android

YouTube is an excellent platform, offering millions of videos which can be seen for free. In some cases, you may want to download YouTube videos for offline viewing. Users will be able to save valuable energy and data bandwidth since the videos will be accessible without an active internet connection.

Below you can find a selection of tutorials. Follow the steps, and you will have your favorite content at your fingertips in just a few minutes.

A word of advice

The use of third-party apps to download YouTube videos is deemed to be a violation of YouTube’s terms of service, as it is clearly stated that the only way to view the content is to stream it on your device by using the website or the official site.

While some creators allow users to download their content without problems, others will try to limit the practice, and you will need the express permission of the copyright owner to download it. It is advised to use a reliable VPN service to avoid any potential issues.

Download YouTube videos on PC

There are a few methods to download YouTube videos on PC, and below, you’ll find two of the most reliable ones.

4K Video Downloader

4K Video Downloader is one of the most reliable ways to download YouTube videos. The program is available for free, and users have the option to download regular videos, playlists and other types of content.

After the program is installed, you can start the process by pasting the URL of your desired content. Select your desired resolution and format and click on the download content.

YouTube Premium

Users who have a YouTube Premium subscription have the option to download videos. Open your favorite video and look for the download button which should be placed below the player. Choose a quality setting tap/click on the download button.

How to Download Videos on Android

You can download videos on Android devices by using third-party apps. If you own an Android device, you can choose from several third-party apps which can download videos from online streaming services. Apps such as Vidmate and SnapTube are available for free as APK files, but it is important to download them from a reliable source.

Also, to avoid copyright issues, you can download YouTube videos on Android, as well as on iOS, if you’re a member of the before-mentioned YouTube Premium.

Categories
Games News

The Last of Us 2 Latest Development Updates

The Last of Us 2  is an upcoming third-person action-adventure survival video game and is a sequel to 2013’s The Last of Us. It is probably one of the most anticipated games of 2019 and it is expected to be surrounded by gossips and speculations.

A Peruvian retailer, LawGamers, has released recently a promotional poster stating that the Last of Us 2 is going to be launch sometime during the month of October, this year. However, Naughty Dog, one of the most successful and prolific game development studio who is producing the game has not yet committed to a release date.

In a recent tweet, Neil Druckmann, the Vice President of Naughty dog has confirmed that the cinematic shooting of the game was finalized giving hopes of a release in the immediate future.

However, on the PlayStation website, the game is listed as a coming soon release along with Rage 2 and Days Gone. One of the Co-Directors, Anthony Newman mentioned that they are working on “close out” the work they are doing on the game. He tweeted recently that the company is looking to hire programmers, game designers and animators and this is confirming the fact that they are indeed in the final stages of development.

As in any other company, the recruiting is only the first stage before training and then get them to work on this specific project it might take few months until these new employees will start working on finalizing the game and actually “close out”. Even though it might take another year for the release, these are nevertheless good news for the fans.

To conclude, even though the cinematic shootings were done and the company is hiring staff to finalize the game it is quite unlikely that the game will be published in October 2019.

Categories
News Tech

Adobe XD Releases New Design Systems and Game Design Features to Expand Workflows

With ongoing developments in the rapidly expanding experience design space, there are increasing expectations for the apps and digital tools we use every day – and the bar for good UX only continues to increase, putting more pressure on designers and developers to deliver stellar experiences. Today, Adobe XD released new features that help deliver on these expectations, by introducing the ability to create and maintain design systems. This new design systems support will enable UX designers to easily share brand assets and re-usable design elements in order to achieve consistency and efficiency across their organizations.

Whether at an agency, a startup or a large company, implementing a design system offers a solution when there’s a need to design at scale and ensure consistency across the end-user experience, making it easier to create efficient and seamless user experiences. Adobe will also soon be launching a new website focused on exploring design systems; we’ll check in with you later this month to share updates and content.

In addition, designers can now use keyboards and gamepad interactions when designing and prototyping experiences in XD. With this release users can assign keyboard triggers to simulate desktop-based experiences, as well as use connected XBox One and Playstation Dualshock controllers as inputs to simulate interaction for game console experiences. These new prototyping capabilities can help game designers develop and prototype specific parts of a game, such as a Settings menu or character selection, as well as design keyboard shortcuts for desktop apps and web apps to enable users to be more efficient.

Additional New Features in Adobe XD

  • New plugins to extend the power of XD – Momentum around XD’s plugin ecosystem continues to grow each month, with over 150 plugins now available. With an increasing number of plugins and a recently launched accelerator to inspire new offerings, XD has also updated the plugin manager, enabling users to see summaries and detailed descriptions, as well as search for plugins based on keywords.
  • Sharing prototypes and design specs – Users can now review each incoming request to review a design specs link and decide whether to grant access.
  • Artboard Guides – Guides can now be added to any artboard by dragging them out from the top or left side of the artboard, making it easy to align elements and have consistent positioning of elements across artboards.
  • New polygon tool makes it faster to create a multitude of shapes, including triangles, rhombus, pentagons and other polygons with up to 100 sides. When combined with auto-animate, the polygon tool makes it easy to morph between different shapes.
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