Prerequisite Vocabulary:
- Motherboard
- Flash Memory
- BIOS
- Boot Loader
Motherboard :
This is a circuit board or the main logic board where different components which are required to setup a computer are slotted and soldered together. This is one of the most crucial and complicated parts of the computer hardware.
Some components attached to it are: RAM, ROM, FLASH Memory, USB Ports etc.
FLASH Memory :
This is a non-volatile memory, Flash memory was made from EEPROM memory (1 bit) to the conventional FLASH memory (1 bit). 25 billion FLASH memory units are shipped each year. It take 50 to 100 ns to write 1’s to 0’s.
BIOS :
The first program that run on any laptop or PC is BIOS (basic Input/Output system). It examines all the devices and drivers and also helps in maintaining data flow from OS to attached devices and vice-versa.
BIOS is a hardware dependent program so it is provided by the manufacturer.
Boot Loader :
Boot loader is a program which finds the operating system and load it to start.
b>How does computer boot ?
- Step-1:
Power Button ON. - Step-2:
Power to Motherboard and Other hardware components. - Step-3:
Flash memory get power and BIOS present on Flash run a program called POST stands for Power On Self Test. This program check for hardware failure, if there is a single beep sound then hardware is OK but if there is a sequence of beep sound i.e. hardware failure.
Figure – POST Program - Step-4:
BIOS search for Boot Loader in the first sector of the storing device like HDD. If it get Boot Loader, BIOS load this Boot Loader to RAM. - Step-5:
Boot Loader now search for Operating System and load it to get started. - Step-6:
OS loads in the hands of USER.
This is how any computer or laptop boots and start.
