The Post-BIOS Boot Process
Chapter 3, "The x86 BIOS: Its Limits and Capabilities," presented information on the x86 PC's basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls the early stages of the boot process and provides ongoing services to 16-bit OSs such as DOS. This chapter investigates the boot process in more detail, particularly as it's handled in a multi-OS environment.
When you have only one OS installed on a computer, the boot process is fairly straightforward because you don't need to direct the computer to perform one action or another. When you install two or more OSs, however, you must provide some means of selecting between them. This isn't a trivial proposition because it means the computer must present information on the screen, ...
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