Which component stores programs that control basic hardware and booting?

Which component stores programs that control basic hardware and booting?

• A. ROM
• B. RAM
• C. CPU
• D. GPU

Answer: (A)

Boot-time programs that control basic hardware are stored in firmware memory, which is non-volatile. This means the instructions stay in place even when the power is off, so they’re ready to run as soon as the computer starts. This firmware, typically found in ROM, includes things like the BIOS or UEFI and the bootloader that initializes hardware, runs a power-on self-test, and locates the operating system. RAM, by contrast, is volatile and holds data and programs only while the machine is on, not for booting. The CPU and GPU are processing units that execute instructions, not places where boot code is stored.

Boot-time programs that control basic hardware are stored in firmware memory, which is non-volatile. This means the instructions stay in place even when the power is off, so they’re ready to run as soon as the computer starts. This firmware, typically found in ROM, includes things like the BIOS or UEFI and the bootloader that initializes hardware, runs a power-on self-test, and locates the operating system. RAM, by contrast, is volatile and holds data and programs only while the machine is on, not for booting. The CPU and GPU are processing units that execute instructions, not places where boot code is stored.