Editing Motherboard (section)

==Bootstrapping==
Motherboards contain a [[ROM]] (and later [[EPROM]], [[EEPROM]], [[NOR flash]]) that stores [[firmware]] that initializes hardware devices and [[booting|boots]] an [[operating system]] from a [[peripheral device]]. The terms ''bootstrapping'' and ''boot'' come from the phrase "lifting yourself by your bootstraps".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bootloading Basics |url=https://learn.adafruit.com/bootloader-basics/a-brief-history-of-bootloading |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Adafruit Learning System |language=en-US}}</ref>

Microcomputers such as the [[Apple II]] and IBM PC used ROM chips mounted in sockets on the motherboard. At power-up, the [[central processor unit]] would load its [[program counter]] with the address of the Boot ROM and start executing instructions from the Boot ROM. These instructions initialized and tested the system hardware, displayed system information on the screen, performed [[RAM]] checks, and then attempts to boot an operating system from a peripheral device. If no peripheral device containing an operating system was available, then the computer would perform tasks from other ROM stores or display an error message, depending on the model and design of the computer. For example, both the Apple II and the original IBM PC had [[Cassette BASIC]] (ROM BASIC) and would start that if no operating system could be loaded from the floppy disk or hard disk.

The boot firmware in modern [[IBM PC compatible]] motherboard designs contains either a [[BIOS]], as did the boot ROM on the original IBM PC, or [[UEFI]]. UEFI is a successor to BIOS that became popular after Microsoft began requiring it for a system to be certified to run [[Windows 8]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Microsoft |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/jj128256.aspx |title=Windows Hardware Certification Requirements for Client and Server Systems |date=January 2013 |quote=System.Fundamentals.Firmware.CS.UEFISecureBoot.ConnectedStandby ... Platforms shall be UEFI Class Three (see UEFI Industry Group, Evaluating UEFI using Commercially Available Platforms and Solutions, version 0.3, for a definition) with no Compatibility Support Module installed or installable. BIOS emulation and legacy PC/AT boot must be disabled. |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105003933/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/hardware/cert-program/windows-hardware-certification-requirements-for-client-and-server-systems?redirectedfrom=MSDN |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=pcmag-connected>{{cite web |title=Microsoft: All You Need to Know About Windows 8 on ARM |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400059,00.asp |work=PC Magazine |access-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227153402/https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400059,00.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

When the computer is powered on, the boot firmware tests and configures memory, circuitry, and peripherals. This [[Power-On Self Test]] (POST) may include testing some of the following things:
* [[Video card]]
* [[Expansion card]]s inserted into slots, such as [[conventional PCI]] and [[PCI Express]]
* Historical [[floppy drive]]
* [[Temperature]]s, [[voltage]]s, and fan speeds for [[hardware monitoring]]
* [[CMOS memory]] used to store [[BIOS]] configuration
* [[Computer keyboard|Keyboard]] and [[computer mouse|mouse]]
* [[Sound card]]
* [[Network adapter]]
* Optical drives: [[CD-ROM]] or [[DVD-ROM]]
* [[Hard disk drive]] and [[solid-state drive]]
* Security devices, such as a [[fingerprint reader]]
* [[USB]] devices, such as a USB mass storage device