MULTI-CORE MICROPROCESSOR THAT DYNAMICALLY DESIGNATES ONE OF ITS PROCESSING CORES AS THE BOOTSTRAP PROCESSOR

A microprocessor includes an indicator and a plurality of processing cores. Each of the plurality of processing cores is configured to sample the indicator. When the indicator indicates a first predetermined value, the plurality of processing cores are configured to collectively designate a default one of the plurality of processing cores to be a bootstrap processor. When the indicator indicates a second predetermined value distinct from the first predetermined value, the plurality of processing cores are configured to collectively designate one of the plurality of processing cores other than the default processing core to be the bootstrap processor.