Booting Flashcards
What is a Power On Self Test (POST)?
A test that runs when the computer is turned on to check the CPU, memory, and basic input-output systems (BIOS) for errors and stores the result in a special memory location.
What does the computer do once the POST test has run successfully?
The software loaded in ROM (sometimes called the BIOS or firmware) will begin to activate the computer’s disk drives, wherein it finds the first piece of the operating system: the bootstrap loader.
What is the bootstrap loader?
The bootstrap loader is a small program that has a single function: it loads the operating system into memory and allows it to begin operation.
How does the boot loader work?
The bootstrap loader sets up the small driver programs that interface with and control the various hardware subsystems of the computer. It sets up the divisions of memory that hold the operating system, user information, and applications. It establishes the data structures that will hold the myriad signals, flags, and semaphores that are used to communicate within and between the subsystems and applications of the computer. Then it turns control of the computer over to the operating system.
What’s the first thing that happens when you turn on a computer?
It usually runs a set of instructions kept in the computer’s read only memory (ROM) sometimes called the BIOS or firmware.
