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How an x86 BIOS Works — Real Mode, IVT, and the Journey from Reset Vector to Bootloader
To understand how a PC boots, you need to dive into Real Mode — the operating mode every x86 processor wakes up in, since the 8086 in 1978. This article explains, using the Compaq Deskpro XE 466 (486, circa 1994) as a concrete example, how the BIOS brings a machine to life: from the very…
