Operating systems (OS) are the computer's cast and crew, serving as a liaison between running code and hardware devices while facilitating high-level services for users and software. Starting with the bootstrap process that loads the kernel, the OS sets up shop and takes control of a computer's memory, storage, and devices. The initial startup code usually resides on a read-only memory chip (ROM) or an electronically erasable/programmable read-only memory chip (EEPROM) (Silberschatz et al., 2014). These processes vary between platforms, but conceptually, it is similar to a shopkeeper opening up shop, starting up the machinery, and supervising the employees that run the equipment.
Figure 1: The operating system starts