Boot Process

Booting may be defined as the process of loading the Operating System onto the
RAM.

Once the computer system is turned on, the BIOS performs a series of activities
called Power on Self Test (POST) that checks to see whether the peripherals in the
system are in perfect order.

This Pre Boot Sequence consists of a series of steps that starts with the execution
of software stored in the ROM called firmware. These activities are actually known as
POST. After the BIOS is done with the pre boot activities, it searches for the Master Boot
Record in the first physical sector of the bootable disk. Note that a floppy disk cannot be
partitioned and hence does not contain the MBR. Hence, if the bootable disk is floppy,
this process is skipped and the boot strap loader is loaded in the memory.

If the bootable disk is not the floppy, the MBR finds and searches the partition
table to load and scan all the extended partitions to find the primary partition that is
marked as “active”. When it finds one, it implies that it is the bootable partition, and, the
Operating System loader, also called the boot strap loader is loaded from that partition
onto the memory. A boot strap loader is a special program that is present in the boot
sector of the bootable drive.

MS DOS Operating system comprises of the following files: ---

1.IO.Sys
2.MSDOS.Sys
3.Command.Com
4.Config.Sys
5.Autoexec.bat

Note that the first three files are mandatory while the rest two are optional.
Further, the first three files should be present in the bootable drive of the disk and in the
same sequence as shown above for the operating system to function properly. If any of
these three files are not found, then the message, “"Non-system disk or disk error -
Replace and press any key when ready" is displayed in the console, else the boot process
continues.

The boot strap loader first loads the IO.Sys file. The IO.Sys file as the name
suggests, is responsible for Input Output in the DOS environment. The next file that is
loaded is the MSDOS.sys which is the core of the DOS operating system. The
MSDOS.Sys file is mainly responsible for Memory management and Processor
Management in the DOS environment. The MSDOS.Sys file now searches to find the
name of the command interpreter in the Config.Sys file and when it finds one, it loads the
same onto the memory. If no command interpreter is specified in the Config.Sys file, the
Command.Com file is loaded as it is the default command interpreter of DOS Operating
system. You can load a different command interpreter by specifying the following in the
Config.Sys file.

Command = C:\Test.com

Here, Test.com is a command interpreter that would be used as the command interpreter
in lie of the default command interpreter Command.Com.

The last file to be loaded and executed is the Autoexec.bat file that contains a sequence of
DOS commands. Now, the prompt is displayed and you can see the drive letter of the
bootable drive displayed on your screen indicative of the fact that the Operating System
has been loaded successfully from that drive.

The Boot Process: -

In computer terms, boot up means to start or get going. The computer loads software that
tells it how to run. This software is the operating system (OS). The boot sequence for
operating systems will vary. Several steps are involved in the MS-DOS system startup
process:

The ROM BIOS looks for an operating system. It checks for the presence of IO.SYS and
MSDOS.SYS, first searching the A (floppy disk) drive and then the C drive.
The operating system processes the CONFIG.SYS file (if present). The CONFIG.SYS
contains information to configure the system environment including special memory
management overlays and hardware drivers.
COMMAND.COM is loaded.
The operating system processes the AUTOEXEC.BAT file (if present). The
AUTOEXEC.BAT loads programs and user-defined settings.
If no programs (such as Windows) have been invoked, COMMAND.COM presents the
active-drive prompt and waits for a command.
The process of starting from a no-power condition is called a cold boot. Occasionally, a
system might require a reset—for instance, when the computer locks up or runs out of
memory. Resetting can be accomplished without turning off the computer by holding
down the CTRL, ALT, and DEL keys at the same time. This is called a warm boot.