Task 3

Introduction
The purpose of this summary is to have a clear understanding of ow a
computer powers up internally.
Since most people nowadays use computer’s mostly for their daily
activities so it would be crucial that all of its components are working
properly without any issues from taking place.
The following summary explains how a computer powers up internally
through six different steps of what is known as boot process.

Booting process
Booting is the process which is initiated once the computer system
starts and executes small sets of instructions present in the ROM which
will setup system hardware by testing them and load the operating
system so that the computer can carry out further tasks.
Whenever we press the power button of a computer all the devices get
the power and they are initialized.
Our main memory which is responsible to hold the instruction will be
initially empty because the RAM is the volatile memory so there will be
a small set of instruction present in the Non-volatile memory called the
ROM.
These instructions will be passed to the CPU and the execution of
instructions takes place which checks all the hardware connected to the
system.
If any problem with the hardware one will get an alert by getting a beep
and on the screen there will be a feedback regarding any issue with any
component or hardware within the computers.
An example is when one is on the laptop and the laptop battery is
almost expiring, during the POST there will be a notification that there
is an issue with the power so one needs to either change the battery
etc.
After the testing of the hardware is completed the booting process
continues and the loading of the operating system happens.
Steps on how a personal computer boots.
1. Pressing the power button which allows for the power supply to
send signals to components in the system unit. (Power supply)
2. Processor accesses the BIOS to start the computer.
3. BIOS runs test called the POST to check components such as
mouse, keyboard and adapter cards.
4. Results of POST are compared with data in CMOS chip. (CMOS
chip)
5. BIOS looks for system files in floppy disk drive or CD/DVD drive,
and then hard disk depending on where the booting instructions
are stored.
6. Kernel (core) of operating system loads into RAM.
7. Operating system loads configuration information and displays
desktop on screen.
Initiating the boot process.
The boot process focuses on successfully running both the hardware
(physical parts of the computer) and software (programs being used
on the computer.
This is controlled by BIOS or software stored on a flash memory chip
found in the motherboard that enables information to be processed
through the computer’s input and output system.
When a computer is powered on, the only thing it can do is ROM
(read-only memory or non-volatile memory that is used for
permanent storage making the computer function slower.
BIOS (basic input output system) is the small set of instructions
present on the ROM which is loaded into the computer memory and
the CPU execute those instructions.
BIOS is lightweight and it will just load the bootloader which can load
the complex set of libraries required for loading the Operating
system.
BIOS cannot directly load the heavy weighted set of instructions
responsible for loading the Operating system.
Basically the purpose of the BIOS is to take care of the hardware and
whether they are working well.
During POST each device included on the boot list loads its own
unique BIOS
During this process the hardware being booted communicates
directly with the motherboard and provides all the information
needed to ensure that it can transmit and receive messages to other
connected hardware and to the motherboard itself.
Post (Power-on self-test).
After the power supply is activated, the PC moves on to the next
stage known as POST which is a small computer program within BIOS
used to evaluate hardware and ensure that these physical parts are
not experiencing any setbacks.
POST can easily detect problems from all of the hardware
components including the processor or central processing unit,
monitor, power supply, hard drive, motherboard, RAM memory
modules, video card, system fan and more.
It is designed to ensure that all internal hardware in the computer is
fully operational and capable of continuation of the boot up process.
So if the POST process is not successful the booting cannot proceed.
How the power on self-test works.

During the POST various elements of the computer such as the

hardware drive the memory are checked for any apparent errors or
problems.
If the specified hardware isn’t detected or operating properly, the
firmware usually stops the boot process and issues an error
message.
The message might be displayed on the computer’s screen, sent as a
series of coded beeps or both, depending on the nature of the
problem.
Because the POST operation runs before the computer’s graphics
card is initialized, it might not be possible to display error
information on the screen, I which case, the computer uses only
beeps.

The pattern of beeps depends on the system architecture, the type

of firmware installed and vendor choices.
In general, the pattern is meant to reflect the type of error or at least
provide a general sense of where to look for he error.
For example, the system might emit three long beeps if there is a
problem with the keyboard card or one long and two short beeps if
the problem is related to the adapter.
An error found during POST operation is usually fatal and will halt
the boot process.
This is because the hardware being checked is essential for
computer’s functions.
For the same reason, other types of electronic devices might also run
POST operations when they start up.

Visual display of boot process.

If no errors have been detected in the computer thus far, it will show
specific details pertaining to the boot process on the monitor.
The information consists of the manufacturer and revision of the
BIOS.
 BIOS software, professor specs, the drives detected, and the amount
of RAM or volatile memory used for temporary storage that reads
and writes data making the computer act faster.
As long as there are a set of words and numbers displayed on the
screen that reveal necessary information about the computer itself,
all of its components are continuing to work well without any issues.

Regulating a boot device.

The BIOS software is virtually used throughout the entire process
and has continued to cause the PC to respond in a particular way.
The following software is important because it regulates how
communication is processed between multiple hardware
components.
It attempts to access the first available storage address in the first
sector of the boot disk or hard disk that runs the operating system.
The storage addresses are typically ordered chronologically and they
are accessed in the particular sequence that is used.

Boot manager
This is a software program that is responsible for the management of
the booting process of the computer.
It is primarily responsible for selecting the Operating system to be
loaded from multiple available options.
Further, it also loads the bootloader to perform the actual loading of
the operating system.
Boot manager is the program that manages the available” bootable”
operating systems.
In a multi-boot system, Boot manager is the program that runs at the
very first in the booting process.
It allows us to select the operating system to be loaded from the
available systems on the machine.

The task of the boot manager is to ask users which operating

systems they want to load into the machine or choose the default if
not selected specifically.
You may also recollect that timer which when runs out of time,
automatically selects the default operating system.
Once the “to-be-loaded” operating system is selected, boot manger
loads the boot manger and passes control to it.
A boot manager does not load operating system directly on its own.
This is done by boot loader.
Some examples of boot managers are;
 The BIOS boot manager
 UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) boot manager.
Grub (Grand Unified bootloader) it is both a boot loader and boot
manager and it is popularly used for LINUX-based systems

Boot loader
After BIOS software identifies a particular storage address in the
boot disk, it will apply the boot loader.
The boot loader or boot manager is generally a small program that
places the operating system of a computer into memory or RAM.
It focuses on loading and starting the boot time tasks and processes
found within the operating system.
After the BIOS has completed the computer is always ready to begin
launching the operating system.
An Operating system is an integrated software application that
provides a platform for the computer’s most fundamental and basic
functions.
These are tasks that must often occur following a request from the
computer users such as launching an application or accessing the
function stored in a specific peripheral device.
Without an operating system it is impossible for majority of users to
interact with the hardware.
The BIOS is responsible for transferring the OS in the computer RAM
from its original storage and the hardware.
The difference between the OS and the boot up process is regardless
of the operating system a computer uses the process of launching it
within the context of a computer boot up process is relatively similar
so the only snap that can happen is during the POST space.
So during the phase of boot process there may be specific command
or executable routines include with the operating system that must
run.
 These are initiated before the boot up process continues aiding any
further.
Following are a series of tasks that a typical boot loader is expected
to perform:
1. Loading and parsing the boot configuration file.
2. Loading and initializing the OS’s kernel into the main memory.
3. Loading and initializing the other system components and
system drivers.

4. Finally, finish up the system environment setup and transfers

the control to the kernel.
Some examples of boot loaders are:
 LILO (Linux loader): most popular Boot Loader for Linux – Based
Machines
 Windows Boot loader: specific up to windows Machines.
 Grub (boot Loader part): it is a sub-part of Grub boot manager.
Possibilities of a combination of Boot loader and Boot manager may
vary from system to system and according to requirements.
The specific combination that will be used will also depend on the
hardware configuration and availability of other system components.

Transferring control.
Once the boot loader has successfully placed the PC into memory,
the operating system seizes control from the boot process.
The operating system will then finalize any remaining tasks left such
as executing pre-configured startup routines.
 The moment that there are no more tasks left to be completed, a
visual with content will be displayed on the monitor.
Pre-configured start up routines like the anti-virus starts after the
operating system has booted.
Summary of the booting process.
1. BIOS is loaded.
2. Power on self-test (POST) is completed.
3. Operating system is loaded.
4. System configuration is accomplished.
5. System utilities are loaded. (anti-viruses)
6. User is authenticated.

Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor.

CMOS can be referred to as a real time clock, a non-volatile RAM or
CMOS RAM.
CMOS is an onboard, battery powered semiconductor chip inside
computers that stores information.
This information ranges from the system time and date to system
hardware settings for your computer.
If one goes for over 6 months without using his/her computer and turns
it on he/she will find the settings and time in sync.
It is made up of silicon with two other materials called the “substance”.
They are called complementary chips because they contain two parts:
n-type and p-type.
They are called “metal-oxide” because they contain a metal oxide.
These transistors are made up of two silicon diodes connected in
parallel with a common terminal.
The parallel connection helps to increase the current flow compared to
a single silicon diode.
The metal oxide in CMOS chips is found between the two parts; it acts
as a barrier between n-types and p-type materials.
Classification of CMOS
They are classified according to their power requirement.
They are:
 Standard CMOS
 High-speed CMOS
 Advanced CMOS

 Standard CMOS
They are the most commonly used ones.
They use a supply voltage of 2 to 5v.
The operating frequency range is from 1 to 10MHz.
 High-speed CMOS
They use a supply voltage of 3 to 5v.
The operating frequency range is from 10 to 100MHz.
They have a very high input impedance and very fast switching speed
which makes them very useful in designing circuits for high-speed
communication systems and microprocessors.
 Advanced CMOS
They use a supply voltage of 4 to 15v.
The operating frequency range is from 100MHz to several GHz.
They are mostly used in the design of digital communication systems,
microprocessors and digital signal processors(DSP).

They offer very high speeds sue to their low power consumption, high
input impedance, low output capacitance and low power dissipation by
the internal pull-up resistors.
NMOS &PMOS.
NMOS is constructed with the n-type source and drain and a p-type
substrate, while PMOS is constructed with the p-type source and drain
and n-type substrate.
In an NMOS, carriers are electrons, while in a PMOS carrier are holes.
Where CMOS is the combination of NMOS and PMOS.
CMOS technology uses less energy to operate at the same output and
produces less noise during operation.

NMOS
NMOS (nMOSFET) is a kind of MOSFET.
An NMOS transistor consists of n-type source and drain and p-type
substrate.
When voltage is applied to the gate, holes in the body(p-type substarte)
are driven away from the gate.
This allows the formation of an n-type channel between the source and
the drain, and a current is conducted from electrons from the source to
the drain through and induced n-type channel.
Logic gates and other digital devices implemented using NMOSs are
said to have NMOS logic.
There are three operating modes in a NMOS called cut-off, triode and
saturation.
NMOS logic is easy to design and manufacture.
Circuits with NMOS logic gates, however, consume static power when
the circuit is idle, since DC current flows through the logic gate when
the output is low.

PMOS
PMOS (pMOSFET) is a MOSFET type.
A PMOS transistor consists of a p-type source and drain and an n-type
substrate.
When a positive voltage is applied between source and gate (negative
voltage between gate and source), a p-type channel with opposite
polarities is formed between source and drain.
A current is passed through holes from the source to the drain through
a p-type induced channel.
A high voltage at the gate causes a PMOS to not conduct, while aa low
voltage at the gate causes it to conduct.
Logic gates and other digital devices implemented using PMOS should
have PMOS logic.
The PMOS technology is inexpensive and has good immunity to
interference.

Types of booting.
Booting is the process of switching on a computer.
There are two types of booting
 Cold booting
 Warm booting

Cold booting
This is when the user switches on a computer after it has been powered
off completely.
Also known as hard booting.
During a cold boot, the computer is powered off and its RAM is flushed
clean of any confidential data and registers that were created by the
operating systems and applications while they were in use.
It is a common practice to perform a cold boot in order to remedy
erroneous behavior exhibited by software.

Warm booting.
This is when the user restarts the computer while they were still using
it.
Done by clicking CTRL+ALT+DEL simultaneously.
When a computer is hanging and not working properly, you can restart
it so that it can function normally again.
Warm boot does not turn off and does not erase data when powered
on.
Warm booting is more prevalent than cold booting due to the fact that
consumers frequently leave their computers in a sleep mode even
when they are not using them.
The POST is skipped during warm booting, although the remainder of
the boot procedure is finished properly.
All of the software files on the system that have been updated since the
last time it was rebooted will also be loaded.

Difference between Cold booting and warm booting.

Cold booting Warm booting

Initialized by Power button Reset button or by

pressing Ctrl+Alt+del
simultaneously
Performed Frequent basis Not very common
Alternate names Hard booting, cold or Soft booting
dead start
POST Included Not included
Basic Turning a computer Resetting a computer
ON from a powerless from already in
state running state
Consequence Does not affect the Can severely affect
data or other the system causing
hardware data loss

In conclusion, this summary has provided a comprehensive

understanding of the computer booting process, highlighting its
sequence of events, the critical role of BIOS and CMOS.
The study of the boot up process underscores the importance of
efficient boot procedures for overall system performance and stability,
while also shedding light on potential areas for future optimization and
innovation in the field of computer science.