Answer:
It is a machine language program in memory (possibly in ROM).
It is a machine language program in memory (possibly in ROM).
With SPIM, exceptions are handeled by the simulator. On a real machine an exception handler might be permanently in ROM, might be loaded from a "boot sector" of the hard disk, or (in the good old days) might be entered into memory by hand.
To use the exception handler with SPIM do the following in the Simulator Settings panel. Set the options "Allow pseudoinstructions" and "Load trap file". Disable "Mapped I/O".
Now to assemble and load your program go to File Open and select the source file (just as we have been doing). Your program is loaded along with some initialization code. The initialization code starts at address 0x00400000, the address that has until now been where your programs started.
To run the program click on Simulator Go and then OK in the pop-up panel.
Can you single step starting at address 0x00400000 as before?