CODEWITHSUNDEEP
bootloader
Sajith Dilshan Jamal
Sajith Dilshan Jamal

Reputation: 331

where does the bootloader run?

I want to know on which hardware the bootloader runs? Does it run on the RAM, or the processor of the motherboard, etc, and if it does not run on the processor what would be the use of the processor when loading up an os, like loading the OS's kernel into the processor(if its' done like that) and things like that. Any references to papers, tutorials and such are also appreciated

Yours in Faith

Upvotes: 3

Views: 1103

Answers (2)

adriann
adriann

Reputation: 446

At power up, the CPU executes by default the BIOS located in the flash memory. This means that the POST process takes place and the BIOS itself is copied to RAM. The BIOS then checks the first boot device set in the BIOS settings, and copies the first sector of that device (first 512 bytes) to RAM at location 0x7C00 and instructs the CPU to jump to that memory address. Those 512 bytes contain the bootloader and are executed by the CPU.

So, in short, the CPU reads instructions from memory and executes them. You should also check this page and this page.

Upvotes: 6

David Schwartz
David Schwartz

Reputation: 182885

When you drive to the store in a car, do you use the engine, steering wheel, seats, or brakes? The computer runs the bootloader the same way it runs any other software. All the parts work together, each performing their particular functions to achieve the coordinated result.

Since you talk about "loading the OS's kernel into the processor", it sounds like you don't have a basic understanding of what the parts of a computer do. You may wish to read some basic articles on how computers work.

Upvotes: 0

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