Booting the system occurs when the power to a computer is first turned on, or when the power is turned off and then back on again, in order to facilitate the loading of a program, or to clear volatile memory in order to remedy a problem. This is also called a hard boot, or a cold boot.

The term booting derived from the term bootstrapping, which refers to the loading of a program, and from the expression "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps".

Booting is done when a computer is started up or when a malfunction has occurred, causing computer functions to stall. Clearing the volatile memory is a necessary step to restore the normal performance of the computer. Another type of booting, called a soft boot or a reboot, can be done as well. A soft boot is restarting the computer without turning...