A boot device is used to start a computer. It is named after a
boot which fits on the foot. The word bootstrap is also closely
related, and means, to use something simpler to get something
more complex to make itself work better. It comes from the
English phrase "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." Before
a computer can operate normally, it must have operating system
instructions that tell it how to perform basic functions. A boot
device loads the operating system into the memory of the
computer. Devices that can boot a computer are usually boot
disks or boot drives (normally a hard drive, but can be a floppy
disk or a CD). Some network computers use boot chips that get
the operating system over a network. Web phones also use such
chips to identify the user to the cell network. Boot card
standards may let many users boot kiosk computers with full
privacy and access to all applications they own. There are also
boot boards or boot add-in cards that are more permanent than
boot cards. The boot in boot devi