Owner`s manual
CHAPTER 3
GETTING STARTED
This chapter contains two types of information: basic concepts about the way your computer is
set up and operates, and general procedures for working with it. Specific topics include:
Booting the computer.
Device names and the System Disk.
Disk accounts and user names.
Logging on to the computer and transferring between disk accounts.
Your terminal keyboard.
Working with diskettes and streamer tapes.
BOOTING THE COMPUTER
Booting is the process the computer goes through whenever you turn the power on or
press the reset button. When you boot, a pre-programmed circuit built into the
computer, called a PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), tells the CPU where to
look on the disk for the software necessary to get the computer up and running. The
CPU reads this software from the disk, loads it into the computer’s internal storage area,
its "memory," and executes its instructions.
Among the files transferred into system memory when you boot is the system
initialization command file. The system initialization file is a special command file
containing commands that define to the operating system (AMOS) all the hardware
connected to your system. As the computer boots, it reads these commands and
"builds" the operating system in memory correctly for your configuration of hardware.
You can change the system initialization file whenever you want to add more hardware
to your system.
If you want to learn more about the system initialization file and how to modify it, read
Chapter 5 of this book. Read the
System Operator’s Guide to System Initialization
for
more details.
Eagle Series Computer Owner’s Manual, Rev. 03