Why not go back to having the operating software in EEPROM?

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There are some lousy definitions out there. This one works.

In computers, to bootstrap (or 'to boot') is to load a program into a computer using a much smaller initial program to load in the desired program (which is ...
Click to expand...

I can see where people who did not live through the more manual aspects of booting may think it more inclusive. But its not. Computers with all the code already in memory do not need to go through this loading process, they do not boot.

People misusing the term does not make it right.
 
In the early days, the Boot sequence was the BIOS [Basic Input Output System] located as Firmware in the BIOS ROM.

If was referred too as 'booting up',, during this sequence.

The BIOS after completing POST checking loaded the 3 files Config.cfg , io.sys & msdos.sys from the Hard Drive, then the Boot up was complete

https://www.webopedia.com/index.php/TERM/B/BIOS.html
 
It seems that you cant explain the basis of the word boot! If you are old enough and were around when computing was first developed, you will remember it was a slang word created by American computer persons to explain what happens when a computer starts up. Perhaps the wickipedia needs to be updated!
Extract from the Wikipedia, which has it right it is a slang use of the "Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps"In computing,

Quote: ' bootstrapping (from an old expression "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps") is a technique by which a simple computer program activates a more complicated system of programs'
 
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techmanx said:
It seems that you cant explain the basis of the word boot!
Click to expand...

It seems the only person here who doesn't understand it is yourself?, but at least even you seem to realise it comes from Electronics originally, and from LONG ago in Electronics.

I wasn't around in WWII when computing was invented, but I was around when microprocessors and home computers were.
 
Sorry that you happen to be so arrogant. It's your life.
 
I was around in the mid 70's prior to ROM's as we know them. The RAM core was non volatile and often corrupted by a run away program. When that happened it was back to the front panel switches to toggle in the boot loader.

That little bit of code we toggled in was the origin of the term BOOT, it has been explained and it fits the definition you quoted.

Quote: ' bootstrapping (from an old expression "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps") is a technique by which a simple computer program activates a more complicated system of programs'
Click to expand...
In early days that program was the boot strap or boot loader. On a PC it is part of the BIOS.

So we can boot a PC but not the uC in a microwave oven.
 

The term 'booting' originated MANY years before those microprocessor designs - it certainly didn't originate then.

It also didn't apply to most computers of that time, which used ROM for their OS (such as it was) - the 'load from toggle switches' were more mircoprocesser development boards rather than 'computers'.
 
I was thinking about mini computers. DEC, Data General Nova, and others. The ones I used required the user to enter a boot loader because the pre IC ROM memory was very expensive.

Just for fun

The IBM 1620 introduced in 1959 required the operator to type in a bootstrap from the front console. I used one at NDSU in mid/late 70's. The machine was purchased by the EE department in 1961, it was the first computer in the state. By the time I got my hands on it the hard disk leaked hydraulic oil and we had learned how to reset the red emergency stop switch without calling IBM.

**broken link removed**
 

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Very true!
Talking about those early days, it is easy to forget the giants of the past, and interesting to think back how primitive computers were, even the big mainframes had minute memory, matrix and a memory of just 125 or so bytes was the size of a drink tray. Hard drives were massive and heavy and one loaded a diskmodule into it when one needed access to previous written data. The massive tape stores with wizzing spools. Punched card readers, etc. It is truly amazing how far we have come in such a short time.
best regards
 
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