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POST
The self-check a computer runs the instant it powers on, before loading anything, to confirm the hardware works.
Power-On Self-Test is the very first thing firmware does at boot: verify memory, CPU, and essential devices are present and functioning. Only after POST passes does control hand off to the next boot stage. Here the BIOS layer is described as 'the POST-and-handoff stage' — it checks the machine and then passes control to the OS loader.
See also
- QEMUSoftware that emulates a whole computer, so an operating system can boot and run inside a window instead of on real hardware.
- relocationFixing up a program's internal addresses when it gets loaded into a different memory spot than it was built for.
- program counter (PC)The CPU register that holds the address of the instruction currently being executed.