Conceptual Framework -- Week 4 continued

Describe what actions a computer takes from power-on to log-in screen.  

First you hit the power button which turns the computer on.  When the power button is pushed the BIOS starts.  The BIOS will check to be sure that all the components of the computer are working (which is called the POST).  The BIOS looks to see if the computer is starting with a warm or cold boot.  If the computer is starting a warm book the BIOS doesn't do as many checks. When it's a cold boot the BIOS checks the RAM, the peripherals connected to your computer, and then the hard drive.  The BIOS then looks for the boot drive in the operating system.  This process gets the operating system working.