CMOS : Computer Hardware Buyers’ Glossary

by Roedy Green ©1997-2008 Canadian Mind Products
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CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide On Silicon. A tiny 128 byte memory that does not lose its contents when the power is off. There is a battery to keep it working. It stores crucial configuration information such as the types and sizes of your hard disk, floppies, and RAM. If you use ordinary dry cells, you will lose the memory after a year. If you use a lithium battery it should last about 5 to 7 years. CMOSSave makes a copy of your CMOS on floppy and hard disk so that if it is ever corrupted or lost, you can restore it.

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