Does firmware drivers get completely replaced by OS drivers after boot in OS X and Windows?

[rodion15]

To my knowledge, when an OS such as Windows 8.1 is booted, all firmware/bios drivers are replaced by more appropriate OS drivers in the boot drive during start up. I learnt this happens for the latest versions of Windows. Am I right? Do all bios drivers get replaced? Does this happen with the latest versions of OS X as well?

If this is so, then you can discard firmware as suspected of causing problems on a computer that's already booted up. Unless there's a problem that's causing a driver to remain in RAM after boot.

 

[Tmagic650]

No...

 

[DelJo63]

Firmware (ie the BIOS) does not get update or replace upon booting in any system I am aware of {Linux, Unix, OS2, Windows, Mac}. 'Flashing the Bios' is a standalone activity.

Motherboard drivers (usb, mouse, keyboard, camera) get 'installed' at boot time, so there's literally no replacement. These can be updated dynamically online, but do not take effect until the next boot.

 

[rodion15]

Firmware (ie the BIOS) does not get update or replace upon booting in any system I am aware of {Linux, Unix, OS2, Windows, Mac}. 'Flashing the Bios' is a standalone activity.

Motherboard drivers (usb, mouse, keyboard, camera) get 'installed' at boot time, so there's literally no replacement. These can be updated dynamically online, but do not take effect until the next boot.

Many thanks for your answer

 

[cliffordcooley]

Drivers are basically a translation layer between OS and Firmware. Firmware is not really associated with being called drivers. Firmware is the code stored on hardware that is needed to make it function. This code rarely ever needs to be updated, because it is a basic level of functionality. Any tweaking done is usually in drivers which are stored and updated elsewhere.

There are Firmware updates, but this is one area where the user still has full control of when and how to update. A bad Firmware update could brick your hardware. That is not something OS makers want giving bad PR for them.