The Boot Process
August 28 (Day); August 22 (Night)
The boot process is everything that occurs from when the power button on the computer is
pressed until the operating system’s desktop appears on the screen.
Read Only Memory:
oRead only memory (ROM) is a type of memory with two distinctive characteristics:
It is permanent and nonvolatile.
It is unchangeable or requires a special operation to change.
oBasic data about hardware is typically stored in ROM.
Basic Input / Output System:
oBasic input / output system (BIOS) is special built-in software that gives instructions
to a piece of hardware or entire computer without having to access the hard drive or
temporary memory.
oBIOS is typically stored on a ROM chip.
oThe System BIOS is stored on a chip on the motherboard and contains all of the code
necessary to control the keyboard, monitor, disk drives, and a number of other basic
functions.
oThe System BIOS is typically stored on flash ROM (p. 104).
oThe BIOS information is typically the first thing you see upon turning on your
computer (p. 105).
oAward and Phoenix are the two most prominent BIOS manufacturers (p. 102).
ROM Chip for System BIOS
