Boot Loaders

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Chapters: Free boot loaders, BIOS, NTLDR, GNU GRUB, Coreboot, Boot Camp, LILO, BootX, XOSL, EasyBCD, Windows Vista startup process, GPXE, SYSLINUX, Klibc, IPXE, Das U-Boot, GAG, SyMon Bootmanager, PC booter, Loadlin, SILO, RedBoot, ARCS, System Commander, Quik, BTX, EMILE, REFIt, MILO, Yaboot, Penguin Booter, Palo. Excerpt: In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system (BIOS), also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS (pronounced ), is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface. Phoenix AwardBIOS CMOS (non-volatile memory) Setup utility on a standard PCThe BIOS software is built into the PC, and is the first code run by a PC when powered on ('boot firmware'). The primary function of the BIOS is to set up the hardware and load and start an operating system. When the PC starts up, the first job for the BIOS is to initialize and identify system devices such as the video display card, keyboard and mouse, hard disk drive, optical disc drive and other hardware. The BIOS then locates software held on a peripheral device (designated as a 'boot device'), such as a hard disk or a CD/DVD, and loads and executes that software, giving it control of the PC. This process is known as booting, or booting up, which is short for bootstrapping. BIOS software is stored on a non-volatile ROM chip built into the system on the motherboard. The BIOS software is specifically designed to work with the particular type of system in question, including having a knowledge of the workings of various devices that make up the complementary chipset of the system. In modern computer systems, the BIOS chip's contents can be rewritten, allowing BIOS software to be upgraded. A BIOS will also have a user interface (or UI for short). Typically this is a menu system accessed by pressing a certain key on the keyboard when the PC starts. In the BIOS UI, a user can: The BIOS provides a small library of basic input/output functions used to operate and control the peripherals such as the keyboard, text display functions and so forth, and these software library functions are callable by external software. In the IBM PC and AT, certain peripheral cards such as hard-drive controllers and video display adapters carried their own BIOS extension Option ROM, which provided additional functionality. Operating systems