can any one explain about Bootstrap loader?

Answer 1

after an OS is generated, it must be made available for use by the hardware. but how does the hardware know where the kernel is, or how to load it? the procedure of strating a computer by loading the kernel is known as booting the system.on most systems, there is a small piece of cade, stored in ROM, known as the bootstrap program or bootsrap loader. this code is able to locate the kernel, load it into memory, and start its execution. some systems, like IBM PCs running MS-DOS, turn this into a two step process by having a very simple bootstrap loader load a more complex boot program, which in turn loads the kernel.

Answer 2

The bootstrap is a short program loaded by the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) upon system startup. The BIOS has no information about the environment required by the operating system and therefore can do nothing to initialize the system beyond putting the hardware into a known state. This is where the bootstrap program comes into play. The BIOS loads the bootstrap from a known location and transfers control. Operating system specific bootstraps either load the operating system itself or perform a multi-stage boot by loading a more advanced initialization program. It is the bootstrap's responsibility to load code and build an appropriate operating environment.

Bootstrap Basics
A bootstrap is loaded from the first sector on a disk, track zero, head zero, sector one. Which disk the bootstrap is loaded from is dependent upon the BIOS configuration saved in NVRAM (NonVolatile RAM). This single 512 byte sector is loaded into memory at physical address 0000:7C00. The BIOS will then examine the final two bytes of the bootstrap (offset 1FEh) for the value AA55h. This flags the bootsector as a valid, bootable disk instead of just storing disk information. A bootstrap must be exactly 512 bytes long because of the two byte check and the one sector limitation. After this verification, the BIOS will jump to 0000:7C00 and turn control over to the bootstrap.

Answer 3

Bootstrap loader

Also known as bootstrapping or boot loader, a bootstrap loader is a program that resides in the computers EPROM, ROM, or other non-volatile memory that automatically is executed by the processor when the computer is turned on. The bootstrap loader reads the hard disk drives boot sector to continue the process of loading the computers Operating System. A short program that loads other loaders in a computer. An especially small program which enables the loading of larger, more complex programs, such as the boot loader for an operating system.
The boot loader has been replaced in computers that have an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). The boot loader is now part of the EFI BIOS.

Answer 4

It's the first thing that the computer does when turned on. Its a simple set of instructions telling the computer how and what to loade to boot up properly.

Answer 5

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/b/bootload.htm