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The Boot-Up Process (for Windows machines)

See this site for Mac process.

"Boot": (from "bootstrap" or "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps") To load and initialize the operating system on a computer.

Operating system: (OS) The low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running.

Software: The instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device on which they run (the "hardware").

Divide class into 6 groups of 2 or three; each group takes one step in the process and uses these resources (and others) to understand the step and prepare a 5 minute overview fot the class.

NOTE: these links primarily discuss the boot-up process for XP, but most apply to Vista. To learn the differences in Vista, click here.

1 Power-on Self-Test (POST)

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=power+on+self+test

http://www.techexams.net/technotes/cmos.shtml

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/mbsys/bios/bootPOST-c.html
2 System initialization (including running BIOS and reading settings from CMOS, Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor)

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=bios

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/mbsys/bios/bootStartup-c.html

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=CMOS

http://www.geocities.com/micksmix2000/cmosentry.html

http://www.techexams.net/technotes/cmos.shtml
3 Loading Disk Operating System (DOS), found in "master boot record" either on drive "A:" or drive "C:"

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?disk+operating+system

http://www.nondot.org/sabre/os/files/Booting/mbr.txt

http://malektips.com/windows_xp_and_dos_help_and_tips.html
4 Configuring system with config.sys

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=config.sys

http://www.computerhope.com/ac.htm

http://www.ids.net/~jimwy/config.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/CONFIG_SYS.html
5 Running autoexec.bat

http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=autoexec.bat

http://www.computerhope.com/ac.htm

http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci214058,00.html
6 Running Windows (including settings in system.ini, win.ini, etc.); access these using msconfig.exe

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/w/winini.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/systemin.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/msconfig.htm

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/

 

 

Random tidbit: "If "Macintosh" were an acronym, some say it would stand for "Many Applications Crash, If Not, The Operating System Hangs". While this was true for pre Mac OS 9 systems, it is less true for Mac OS 9, and totally incorrect for Mac OS X, which has protected memory, so even if one application crashes, the system and other applications are unaffected." http://www.johnsguide.com/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=macintosh

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