computer boot-up process

computer boot-up process

Globally, recent technological advances wouldn’t have been much better without the use of computers. Computers have made our lives more comfortable through the improvement of internet technology. The luxuries and new learning systems that come with it makes life more exciting and fun. The boot-up process is a must for anyone desiring to understand the different aspects of a computer.

The process of initiating a computer is referred to as the boot-up process. Different from other electronic equipment, computers have six significant steps of starting up the machine. The BIOS chip is key to the boot-up process and may vary slightly depending on the manufacturers’ design. The following are the six steps of the computer boot-up process discussed in detail below.

1. Power on process

A computer can be turned on using a power button or a software command. The power-on process is the only step that requires the user to use a power button. After pressing the power button, all the power generated is circulated to the processor, BIOS, and other components of the hardware. In some circumstances, the user may be required to power off, and later power owns the computer if the hardware features remain unresponsive. This often happens when the power generated is less or is not evenly distributed within the computer system.

2. The processor’s first process

After even distribution of power to the hardware components, the processor begins to initiate its primary operation. Due to lack of memory, build up the processer wanders for a while before it shifts its control to the BIOS chip code, which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Usually, the code is almost invisible and is located in the default memory that allows the processor to start up the system operation.

3. Power-on self-test

This process is initiated by a beep after the BIOS turn on to initiate the power-on self-test. The inbuilt speakers in the motherboard start the beep, which notifies the users on the efficiency of the computer. If the systems fail to beep at this stage, it merely means that the system is malfunctioned.

4. The post-POST part

The memory is fully loaded in the processor, and the BIOS chip code initiates the communication process in the entire devices attached to the motherboard. The graphics design is first displayed after the communication of the video card BIOS. After that, the BIOS codes in the system begin to be displayed one after the other.

5.Searching

The BIOS uses the available code to determine the drive to initiate the system operation. Often, hard drives are opted for if the floppy disk is absent. After the drive is identified, the BIOS analyses the master boot record to determine the kind of information needed in the operating system drive.

5. Takedown

The verification of the master boot record takes place before the system begins to operate. During this process, the loading of memory is done by the boot sector at 0000:7C00 location thereafter, allowing the computer to transfer BIOS control tasks to the operating system. The processor screen gets ready for the user once all the operating system files are encrypted into a memory.

Computers play a significant role in improving our livelihood standards. It is fundamental for everyone desiring to use a computer to know the critical steps of the boot-up process. As a result, we can distinguish when there is a system error and when it is reliable to use a computer.