Have you ever wondered what really happens between the moment you press the power button and the moment your login screen shows up? That gap—usually some seconds—hides one of the most intricate initialization sequences in computing. Today I want to walk you through it. This is the first article in a series where I’ll try to make sense of the Linux kernel internals together with you. We’ll talk about how Linux boots, how it manages processes and memory, how it deals with hardware, and so on. If you’ve ever been curious about what’s happening under the hood, you’re in the right place. ⚠️ Quick disclaimer I’m not a kernel expert—I’m learning out loud. The goal here isn’t a deep, exhaustive tour but a useful map : what the main pieces are and how they fit together. For the deep dives, the source is the real teacher. This article focuses on x86_64 . The big picture applies broadly, but specifics vary on ARM, RISC-V, etc.…