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Encyclopedia > Ntldr
An NTLDR boot menu.

NTLDR (abbreviation of NT Loader) is the boot loader for Windows NT, including some of its later versions (2000/XP/Server 2003). NTLDR does not appear in Windows Vista, which divides the functionality of NTLDR between two new components: winload.exe and the Windows Boot Manager. NTLDR can be run from either portable storage (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive), floppy disk, or even the primary hard disk. NTLDR can also load a non NT-based operating system given the appropriate boot sector in a file. Image File history File links NTLDR_selection_menu. ... Image File history File links NTLDR_selection_menu. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In computing, booting (booting up) is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. ... Windows NT (New Technology) is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. ... Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible, graphical and business-oriented operating system that was designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor 32-bit Intel x86 computers. ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ... This refers to the boot components for Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn. The Windows Vista Startup Process is the process by which Microsofts Windows Vista operating system initializes. ... This refers to the boot components for Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn. The Windows Vista Startup Process is the process by which Microsofts Windows Vista operating system initializes. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... “JumpDrive” redirects here. ... A hard disk drive (HDD), commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk or fixed disk drive,[1] is a non-volatile storage device which stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. ... An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. ... A boot sector is a sector of a hard disc, floppy disc, or similar data storage device that contains code for bootstrapping programs (usually, but not necessarily, operating systems) stored in other parts of the disc. ...


NTLDR requires, at the minimum, the following two files to be on the system volume: NTLDR, which contains the main boot loader itself, and boot.ini, which contains configuration options for a boot menu. To load an NT-based OS, ntdetect.com must also be present. (Strictly speaking, only NTLDR is actually required. If boot.ini is missing, NTLDR will default to C:Windows on the first partition of the first hard drive. Many desktops in the home are in this configuration and a missing boot.ini file will simply generate an error stating it is missing, then boot into Windows successfully.) It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Booting. ... ntdetect. ...


The Volume Boot Record written to disk by the Windows NT format command attempts to load and to run the NTLDR program. A Volume Boot Record (also known as a volume boot sector or a partition boot sector, although the latter is not strictly correct) is a type of boot sector, stored in a disc volume on a hard disc, floppy disc, or similar data storage device, that contains code for bootstrapping... Formatting a hard drive using MS-DOS Disk formatting is the process of preparing a hard disk or other storage medium for use, including setting up an empty file system. ...

Contents

Startup process

When booting, the loader proper portion of NTLDR does the following in order:

  1. Accesses the file system on the boot drive (either FAT or NT File System NTFS).
  2. If hiberfil.sys is found, and it finds a hibernation image, its contents are loaded into memory and the system resumes where it left off.
  3. Otherwise, reads boot.ini and prompts the user with the boot menu accordingly.
  4. If a non NT-based OS is selected, then NTLDR loads the associated file listed in boot.ini (bootsect.dos if no file is specified or if the user is booting into a DOS based OS) and gives it control.
  5. If an NT-based OS is selected, then NTLDR runs ntdetect.com, which gathers information about the computer's hardware. (If ntdetect hangs during hardware detection there is a debug version called ntdetect.chk which can be found on Microsoft support[1].)
  6. Starts Ntoskrnl.exe, passing to it the information returned by ntdetect.com. [1]

File Allocation Table (FAT) is a partially patented file system developed by Microsoft for MS-DOS and was the primary file system for consumer versions of Microsoft Windows up to and including Windows Me. ... NTFS is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista. ... ntoskrnl. ...

boot.ini

NTLDR allows the user to choose which operating system to boot from at the menu; for NT and NT-based operating systems, it also allows the user to pass preconfigured options to the kernel. The menu options are stored in boot.ini, which itself is located in the root of the same disk as NTLDR.


For NT-based OSs, the location of the operating system is written as an Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) path. An ARC console screen on an Alpha AXP system Advanced RISC Computing is a specification promulgated by a defunct consortium of computer manufacturers (the Advanced Computing Environment project), setting forth a standard MIPS RISC-based computer hardware and firmware environment. ...


boot.ini is protected from user configuration by having the following file attributes: system, hidden, read-only. To make it editable, you must first unlock it with the following command under a console attrib -s -h -r boot.ini. A more secure fashion to edit the file is to use the bootcfg command from a console. bootcfg will also relock the file (setting the file back to system, hidden and read-only). Additionally, the file can be edited within Windows using a text editor if the folder options "Show hidden files and folders" and "Hide protected operating system files" are selected, and if "Read-only" is unchecked under file properties. A file attribute is a piece of data that describes or is associated with a computer file. ...


bootsect.dos is the boot sector loaded by NTLDR to load DOS. If there is no file specified, NTLDR loads bootsect.dos


Example

This boot.ini produces the boot menu in the screenshot above.

 [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect C:bootsect.dos="Microsoft Windows 98"

If the boot loader timeout option in boot.ini is set to 0, the NTLDR boot menu does not appear.


NT Kernel switches

NTLDR Bootloader's Advanced Option Menu

A full explanation of all these is available from [2] Image File history File links A screenshot of the NTLDR Boot loader when being asked to choose a special startup mode, such as Safe Mode. ... Image File history File links A screenshot of the NTLDR Boot loader when being asked to choose a special startup mode, such as Safe Mode. ...

  • /3gb — Allocate 3 GB of virtual address space to programs and 1 GB to the kernel; used for some programs that require more than the standard 2gb allocation for user programs.
  • /basevideo — The computer starts up using the standard VGA video driver.
  • /baudrate=nnn — Sets the baud rate of the debug port that is used for kernel debugging.
  • /bootlog — Write a log file when Windows boots.
  • /burnmemory — Amount of memory Windows is not allowed to use.
  • /channel — Use with /debug and /debugport to have kernel debugging messages sent over an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port
  • /crashdebug — Causes the kernel debugger to load, but remain inactive until a crash is detected.
  • /debug — Causes the kernel debugger to load and activate.
  • /debugport=comx —
  • /fastdetect — Turn off mouse detection
  • /HAL=filename — Define Hardware Abstraction Layer to use.
  • /kernel=filename — Use an alternate kernel on boot.
  • /maxmem=nn — Set maximum memory Windows can use (use /burnmemory recommended instead).
  • /minint — Boot windows in WinPE mode (XP and later, can be used to boot windows from CD, see [2])
  • /nodebug — Turn off debugging; can cause Stop Error if a program uses debugging.
  • /noexecute=optin (DEP)
  • /noguiboot — Don't use the bitmap progress bar when starting up. This also disables the text output used by CHKDSK and various partitioning tools, so you should use this switch with extreme caution. Those programs will actually run correctly; the only exception is when they need some text input to continue.
  • /nopae — Do Not Support Physical Address Extension.
  • /noserialmice:comx —
  • /numproc=CPUs — Set number of processors Windows is allowed to use; useful if some processors are failing or defective.
  • /onecpu — Equivalent to using /numproc=1; only lets Windows use one CPU.
  • /pae — Support Physical Address Extension.
  • /pcilock — Let the BIOS assign device addresses instead of Windows.
  • /redirect — Turn on Emergency Management Services on certain versions of Windows.
  • /safeboot — Enter Safe mode.
    • /safeboot:dsrepair — Starts a domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode.
    • /safeboot:minimal — Enter safe mode with minimal device drivers
    • /safeboot:minimal(alternateshell) — and an alternate shell
    • /safeboot:network — with network support
  • /usepmtimer —
  • /userva — Specify additional memory rules in combination with /3gb switch.
  • /sos — Display driver names while loading.
  • /w95 — Loads C:BOOTSECT.W40 as a bootsector.
  • /w95dos — Loads C:BOOTSECT.DOS as a bootsector.
  • /year — Tells Windows to ignore the system clock and use the year you specify. For example, /year=2001 was used when testing Windows 2000. [3]

The 6-pin and 4-pin FireWire Connectors The alternative ethernet-style cabling used by 1394c FireWire is Apple Inc. ... A kernel debugger is a debugger present in some kernels to ease debugging and kernel development by the kernel developers. ... Windows PE beginning to boot under Microsoft Virtual PC. It uses the same, minimal version of NTLDR(SETUPLDR.BIN) as Windows NT/2000/XP Setup. ... A blue screen of death as seen in Windows XP and Vista. ... DEP controls in Windows Vista DEP causing Windows XP to end a program Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a feature included in modern Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems that is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. ... The default Windows XP (Luna theme) display of a determinate progress bar Example of indeterminate progress bar when searching in Windows XP (Energy blue theme) Image:Progbarr. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... In computing, Physical Address Extension (PAE) refers to a feature of x86 processors that allows for up to 64 gigabytes of physical memory to be used in 32-bit systems, given appropriate operating system support. ... “CPU” redirects here. ... In computing, Physical Address Extension (PAE) refers to a feature of x86 processors that allows for up to 64 gigabytes of physical memory to be used in 32-bit systems, given appropriate operating system support. ... For other uses, see Bios. ... Emergency Management Services (EMS) provides an RS-232 accessable serial console interface to the Microsoft Windows XP bootloader menu. ... Safe Mode is a diagnostic mode used by certain computer operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, as well as other complex electronic devices. ... On Windows Server Systems, the domain controller (DC) is the server that responds to security authentication requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc. ... Windows XP loading drivers during a Safe Mode bootup A device driver, or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a computer hardware device. ... In computing, a shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users (command line interpreter). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

References

  1. ^ Microsoft (2000). Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit, 1st, Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press. ISBN 1-57231-808-2. 
  2. ^ Method and system for creating and employing an operating system having selected functionality
  3. ^ Boot INI Options Reference

Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ...

See also

The Windows NT Startup Process is the process by which Microsofts Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems initialize. ... ntdetect. ... ntoskrnl. ... Emergency Management Services (EMS) provides an RS-232 accessable serial console interface to the Microsoft Windows XP bootloader menu. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
My NTLDR is missing! - Tech Support Guy Forums (722 words)
I looked into the NTLDR missing item that shows first when I turn on the computer, and I am advised to make a floppy on a different computer - but so far have not been able to do so.
One is NTLDR, which functions the main boot loader and the other other is boot.ini, which includes configuration options for a boot menu.
Also, just for your information, the NTLDR will not be able to function with Windows Vista, because the new operating system will divide its compatibility with the winload.exe and Windows Boot Manager components.
NTLDR is missing (1156 words)
Both of these files are located in the root directory of the primary hard disk drive.
If you are unsure if the new drive is blank or not try booting from a bootable diskette and format the new hard disk drive.
If the issue continues it is also a possibility that the computer has a faulty cable, try replacing the hard disk drive cable with another cable and/or a new cable.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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