Possible Duplicate:
How does a computer restart itself?
How does a computer's reboot command actually work?
How is the computer told that it shouldn't stay down after powering off, and that it should actually start itself again? Are rebooting and shutting down very different?
I have looked into sys/reboot.h and found cryptic codes (and easter eggs) for LINUX_REBOOT_CMD_RESTART, but I still don't know how it actually works. I want to know how it happens on other operating systems, not just Linux.
