The term boot describes the process taken by the computer when turned on that loads the operating system and prepares the system for use. Booting, boot up, and start-up are all synonymous terms and generally describe the long list of things that happen from the pressing of the power button to a fully-loaded and ready-to-use session of an operating system, like Windows. When the power button turns the computer on, the power supply unit gives power to the motherboard and its components so they can play their part in the whole system. The next step is controlled by BIOS or UEFI and begins after the POST. This is when POST error messages are given if there's a problem with any of the hardware. Following the display of various information on the monitor, like the BIOS manufacturer and RAM details, BIOS eventually hands the boot process over to the master boot code, that hands it to the volume boot code, and then finally to the boot manager to handle the rest. This is how BIOS finds the right hard drive that has the operating system. It does this by checking the first sector of the hard drives it identifies. When it finds the right drive that has a boot loader, it loads that into memory so that the boot loader program can then load the operating system into memory, which is how you use the OS that's installed to the drive.
This boot sequence isn't always the same since you can change the boot order to make your computer start from something else first instead of a hard drive, like a disc or flash drive. In newer versions of Windows, BOOTMGR is the boot manager that's used. That boot process explanation you just read is a very simplistic version of what happens, but it gives you some idea of what's involved. A cold boot is when the computer starts up from a completely dead state where the components were previously without any power at all. A hard boot is also characterized by the computer performing a power-on-self-test, or POST. However, there are conflicting perspectives on what a cold boot really involves. For example, restarting a computer that's running Windows may make you think it's performing a cold reboot because the system appears to turn off, but it might not actually shut down the power to the motherboard, in which case it would be applying a soft reboot.
Hard reboot is also the term used to describe when the system isn't shut down in an orderly way. For example, holding down the power button to shut the system down for the purpose of restarting, is called a hard reboot. Problems that occur during the boot process aren't common, but they do happen. See our How to Fix a Computer That Won't Turn On guide for help figuring out what's wrong. For something like an operating system stored on a flash drive to be bootable, so that you can install it to the hard drive, requires the flash drive to have specific files on it. Boot files, however, aren't the same as bootable files. You can read more about boot files here. Here are some other boot-related articles you might be looking for:
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Tell us why! Booting: When we start our Computer then there is an operation which is performed automatically by the Computer which is also called as Booting. In the Booting, System will check all the hardware’s and Software’s those are installed or Attached with the System and this will also load all the Files those are needed for running a system. In the Booting Process all the Files those are Stored into the ROM Chip will also be Loaded for Running the System. In the Booting Process the System will read all the information from the Files those are Stored into the ROM Chip and the ROM chip will read all the instructions those are Stored into these Files. After the Booting of the System this will automatically display all the information on the System. The Instructions those are necessary to Start the System will be read at the Time of Booting. There are two Types of Booting1) Warm Booting: when the System Starts from the Starting or from initial State Means when we Starts our System this is called as warm Booting. In the Warm Booting the System will be Started from its beginning State means first of all, the user will press the Power Button , then this will read all the instructions from the ROM and the Operating System will b Automatically gets loaded into the System. 2) Cold Booting: The Cold Booting is that in which System Automatically Starts when we are Running the System, For Example due to Light Fluctuation the system will Automatically Restarts So that in this Chances Damaging of system are More. and the System will no be start from its initial State So May Some Files will b Damaged because they are not Properly Stored into the System.
A boot causes the computer to start executing instructions. PCs and Macs contain built-in instructions in a ROM or flash memory chip that are automatically executed on startup. These instructions search for the operating system, load it and pass control to it. Booting a computer today means turning it on or selecting Restart. In the early days of computing, booting required pressing several buttons at the console. Put Your Boots On!The term comes from "bootstrap." Since bootstraps help you get your boots on, booting the computer helps it get its first instructions. The term is often used erroneously for application software. For example, you might hear someone say "let's boot Excel," whereas the correct usage is "launch Excel" or "load Excel." See cold boot, warm boot, clean boot, boot loader and first boot sequence.
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To boot (as a verb; also "to boot up") a computer is to load an operating system into the computer's main memory or random access memory (RAM). Once the operating system is loaded (and, for example, on a PC, you see the initial Windows or Mac desktop screen), it's ready for users to run applications. Sometimes you'll see an instruction to "reboot" the operating system. This simply means to reload the operating system (the most familiar way to do this on PCs is pressing the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys at the same time). On larger computers (including mainframes), the equivalent term for "boot" is "initial program load" (IPL) and for "reboot" is "re-IPL." Boot is also used as a noun for the act of booting, as in "a system boot." The term apparently derives from bootstrap which is a small strap or loop at the back of a leather boot that enables you to pull the entire boot on. There is also an expression, "pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps," meaning to leverage yourself to success from a small beginning. The booting of an operating system works by loading a very small program into the computer and then giving that program control so that it in turn loads the entire operating system. Booting or loading an operating system is different than installing it, which is generally an initial one-time activity. (Those who buy a computer with an operating system already installed don't have to worry about that.) When you install the operating system, you may be asked to identify certain options or configuration choices. At the end of installation, your operating system is on your hard disk ready to be booted (loaded) into random access memory, the computer storage that is closer to the microprocessor and faster to work with than the hard disk. Typically, when an operating system is installed, it is set up so that when you turn the computer on, the system is automatically booted as well. If you run out of storage (memory) or the operating system or an application program encounters an error, you may get an error message or your screen may "freeze" (you can't do anything). In these events, you may have to reboot the operating system. How Booting WorksNote: This procedure may differ slightly for Mac, UNIX, OS/2, or other operating systems. When you turn on your computer, chances are that the operating system has been set up to boot (load into RAM) automatically in this sequence:
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