Long ago, I could swear I'd read a paper (or a TM, or something) that
described the process of a Unix system booting. It presented a timeline
describing the sequence of how the boot blocks are loaded, the kernel
is loaded, MMU turned on, etc.
However, other than that, I can't recall a thing about it - can't remember
the title, the author, or where I found it. I don't remember if it talked
about this process on a Bell Labs Unix system, or a BSD system (though it
had to be one of those - either 7th Edition or BSD). The timeframe was
probably mid to late 1980's, though I could be wrong about that.
Does this ring a bell with anyone? I really wish I could find it again...
The book "The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD Unix Operating System" by Leffler et al has a lengthy explanation of booting 4.3BSD on the VAX towards the beginning of the book. Could that be it? I thought I had a copy in my office, but don't see it on my bookshelf at the moment. Bach's, "The Design of the Unix Operating System" contains a brief and very high-level overview in the chapter on process control, but I recall Leffler et al having significantly greater detail.
- Dan C.