Bootstrap?
Ok so today while I was reading a post, I saw the word bootstrap. This would not be the first time I've seen this. I have yet to find out exactly what a bootsrap is and how it relates to programming.
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The term bootstrapping comes from from the idiom of "pulling oneself up by ones one shoe laces" - and implies
something/someone that can get going under their own steam - i.e self starting.
A "bootstrap" program is a program held in NON-VOLATILE memory (ROM/PROM/EPROM) that the CPU starts
executing when a computer is turned on. This program usually checks the system integrity and possibly logs what hardware it finds , looks for an Operating system to load - if it finds one it loads it - and from then on the Operating system takes over.
So you "Boot-up" computers
something/someone that can get going under their own steam - i.e self starting.
A "bootstrap" program is a program held in NON-VOLATILE memory (ROM/PROM/EPROM) that the CPU starts
executing when a computer is turned on. This program usually checks the system integrity and possibly logs what hardware it finds , looks for an Operating system to load - if it finds one it loads it - and from then on the Operating system takes over.
So you "Boot-up" computers
Interesting. Could you explain system integrity? When the bootstrap checks the system integrity is it checking to see if the system is eligable to continue on the with starting the OS?
Thanks!
Thanks!
I was basically thinking RAM tests, CMOS checks, etc.
As you know PC's give out a 'beep' code when it finds something wrong during the POST (Power On Self Tests)
As you know PC's give out a 'beep' code when it finds something wrong during the POST (Power On Self Tests)
On the subject of computers making noises, do you know what's worse than a beep? A click in the hard drive :|
A single short beep usually indicates success btw.
And some hard drives do make noises for some reason or another...
And some hard drives do make noises for some reason or another...
closed account (z05DSL3A)
| On the subject of computers making noises, do you know what's worse than a beep? |
The small pop followed by silence. The small pop is the kind that makes your ears resonate and the silence, temporary deafness ...that is the sound of a rather large capacitor in the power supply of a £20K image analysis computer giving up it's grip on reality.
So replace the PSU?
What do you use these for? Do you work in forensics or something?
What do you use these for? Do you work in forensics or something?
closed account (z05DSL3A)
The Capacitor was about the size of a small can of coke (150ml), the resulting spike in the power lines did a lot of damage to the components and the engineer took the whole unit away for repair and testing. This thing was BIG and old (it had two 8 inch floppy drives)
It was used for various microscopic analysis tasks on carbon fiber and its precursor, this was back in the days when I worked in a QA Lab of a Carbon fiber manufacturer.
It was used for various microscopic analysis tasks on carbon fiber and its precursor, this was back in the days when I worked in a QA Lab of a Carbon fiber manufacturer.
I'm old enough to remember when Hard Disks hold a whopping 5 meagabytes.
When the head used to get stuck we would open them up, give the disk a good flick to get it going again.
When the head used to get stuck we would open them up, give the disk a good flick to get it going again.
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