SHRI SANT GAJANAN MAHARAJ COLLEGE

OF ENGINEERING, SHEGAON
(DEPT. OF CSE)

REPORT ON

BOOTING SEQUENCE

Presented By

Abhijit Nimbhorkar (36)

Rajesh Kumar Parmanik (56)
Ravindra Prasad Mahto (58)
Rushikesh V. Sangamkar(60)
Tushar S. Panpaliya(67)
 INDEX

 Introduction 3

 Bootstrapping 4

 The Master Boot Record 5

 Structure: Master Boot Record 6

 Boot Loader 7

 Types of Boot Loader 7

 NTLDR 8

 LILO 9

 GNU GRUB 9

 Steps in Booting 10

 Pre Booting Sequence 10

 Boot Sequence 11

 Initial Boot Loader Phase. 11

 Operating System Selection Phase. 12
 Hardware detection Phase. 12
 Configuration Selection Phase. 12

 Kernel Load Stage 13

 Kernel Initialization Stage 13

 Hardware Key Is Created 14

 Clone Control Set Is Created 14
 Device Drivers Are Loaded & Initialized14
 ErrorContol Value & Action 14
 Services Started 15

 Logon Stage 15
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 Flow Chart 16

 Reboot 17

 Shutdown 18

 Dual Booting 20

 Changing Boot Sequence 21

 References 22

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INTRODUCTION:
Each time a computer boots up, it goes through an initial series of
processes. This sequence of events is aptly named a "boot sequence." During
the boot sequence, the computer activates the necessary hardware components
and loads the appropriate software so that a user can interact with the machine.
The boot sequence starts by accessing the the computer's BIOS on
Windows PCs or the system ROM on a Macintosh. The BIOS and ROM contain
basic instructions that tell the computer how to boot up. These instructions are
then passed to the computer's CPU, which begins loading information into the
system RAM. Once a valid boot disk or startup disk is found, the computer
begins loading the operating system into the system memory. After the
operating system finishes loading, the computer is ready to be used.

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HISTORY:
The computer word boot is short for 'bootstrap' (short for
'bootstrap load'). The term bootstrap began as a metaphor derived from
pull straps sewn onto the backs of leather boots with which a person
could pull on their boots without outside help. In computers in the 1950s,
pressing a bootstrap button caused a hardwired program to read a
bootstrap program from a punched card and then execute the loaded boot
program which loaded a larger system of programs from punched cards
into memory, without further help from the human operator. In a
computing context, that word has been used since at least 1958.

The GE 645 (c. 1965) had a 'BOOT' button– it could be that the
contraction started as a way to label the button with fewer letters than the
full word.

The Multics operating system (c. 1967) had a boot command. Multics
documents also refer to 'boot tapes', but it is hard to determine exactly
when that term was first used.

In the Unix operating system, the earliest reference for 'boot' is probably
in The Unix Programmer's Manual, first edition 1971.11.03.

The bootstrap concept was used in the IBM 701 computer (1952-1956)
which had a "load button" which initiated reading of the first 36-bit word
from a punched card in a card reader, or from a magnetic tape unit, or
drum unit (predecessor of the hard disk drive). The left 18-bit half-word
was then executed as an instruction which read additional words into
memory.

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BOOTSTRAPPING:
Bootstrapping refers to a process where a simple system
activates another more complicated system that serves the same purpose.
The term is most often applied to the process of starting up a computer, in
which a mechanism is needed to execute the software program that is
responsible for executing software programs.

Booting: - Bootstrapping was shortened to booting, or the process of

starting up any computer.

Software Bootstrapping: - Bootstrapping can also refer to the

development of successively more complex, faster programming
environments.

Compiler Bootstrapping: - In compiler design, a bootstrap or

bootstrapping compiler is a compiler that is written in the target language,
or a subset of the language, that it compiles.

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MASTER BOOT RECORD:
When you turn on your PC, the processor attempts to begin
the process of processing data. But, since the system memory is empty,
the processor doesn't really have anything to execute, or even begin to
know where to look for it. Every hard disk must have a consistent
"starting point" where key information is stored about the disk, such as
the number of partitions and what type they are. There also must be
someplace where the BIOS can load the initial boot program that starts
the process of loading the operating system. The place where this
information is stored is called the master boot record (MBR).

Structure Of Master Boot Record:

Master Partition Table: This small bit of code that is
referred to as a table contains a complete description of the partitions that
are contained on the hard disk. Master Boot Code: The master boot
record is the small bit of computer code that the BIOS loads and executes
to start the boot process. This code, when fully executed, transfers control
to the boot program stored on the boot (active) partition to load the
operating system.

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BOOT LOADER:
The computer's hardware alone cannot perform complex
actions such as loading a program from disk, so an apparent paradox
exists: to load the operating system into memory, Boot Loader’s only job
is to load other software for the operating system to start. The boot loader
would then read the operating system in from an outside storage medium
such as paper tape, punched card, or a disk drive.A boot loader loads the
operating system. When your machine loads its operating system, the
BIOS reads the first 512 bytes of your bootable media which is known as
the master boot record, or MBR. You can store the boot record of only
one operating system in a single MBR.

Types of Boot Loader’s:

i. NTLDR
ii. LILO(Linux Loader)
iii. GNU GRUB

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 NTLDR

Abbreviation of NT Loader Used for Windows NT,including some of its

later versions (2000/XP/Server 2003). 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. NTLDR
requires, at the minimum, the following two files to be on the system
volume:

1) NTLDR: which contains the main boot loader

itself.

2) Boot.ini: which contains configuration options

for a boot menu?

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LILO(LInux LOader):
A versatile boot manager that supports:

 Choice of operating systems / kernels

 Boot time kernel parameters
 Booting non-Linux kernels
 A variety of configurations

Characteristics:

 Lives in MBR or partition boot sector

 Has no knowledge of file system structure so…
 Builds a sector “map file” (block map) to find kernel

/sbin/lilo – “map installer”

 Builds map file, boot sector

 Run after change to kernel or /etc/lilo.conf

GNU GRUB:
More recently, the GRand Unified Boot loader (commonly
known as GRUB) seems to have somewhat taken the boot loaders crown
from LILO. GNU GRUB is actively developed by the Free Software
Foundation and based on the original GRUB program.

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 STEPS IN BOOTING:
The Boot process occurs in five stages:

 Pre-boot sequence
 Boot sequence
 Kernel load
 Kernel initialization
 Logon

1. Pre-boot sequence:
The computer runs power-on self test (POST) routines.The
POST routines determine the amount of physical memory, the presence
of hardware components, and so on. If the computer has a Plug and Play
BIOS, enumeration and configuration of hardware devices occur at this
stage. The computer BIOS locates the boot device and loads and runs the
master boot record (MBR).

The MBR:
1.Scans the partition table to locate the active partition.
2.Loads the boot sector on the active partition into memory .
3.Executes the boot sector

The computer loads and initializes the NTLDR file, which is the
operating system loader.

The first thing that the BIOS does when it boots the PC is to
perform what is called the Power-On Self-Test, or POST for short. The
POST is a built-in diagnostic program that checks your hardware to
ensure that everything is present and functioning properly, before the
BIOS begins the actual boot. It later continues with additional tests (such
as the memory test that you see printed on the screen) as the boot process
is proceeding.

The POST runs very quickly, and you will normally not even
noticed that it is happening--unless it finds a problem (amazing how
many things are like that, isn't it?) You may have encountered a PC that,
when turned on, made beeping sounds and then stopped without booting

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up. That is the POST telling you something is wrong with the machine.
The speaker is used because this test happens so early on, that the video
isn't even activated yet! These beep patterns can be used to diagnose
many hardware problems with your PC.

2. Boot Sequence:
The second stage of the boot process is the boot sequence.
After the computer loads NTLDR into memory, the boot sequence
gathers information about hardware and drivers to prepare for the load
phases.

The boot sequence has four phases:

i. Initial boot loader phase

ii. Operating system selection
iii. Hardware detection
iv. Configuration selection
v. Kernel Load

NTLDR switches the microprocessor from real mode to 32-

bit flat memory mode, which NTLDR requires to carry out any
additional functions. NTLDR starts the appropriate minifile system
drivers, which Are built into NTLDR Enable NTLDR to find and load
operating system from partitions formatted with file allocation table
(FAT), FAT32, or NTFS file systems.

Initial Boot Loader Phase:

NTLDR switches the microprocessor from real mode to 32-
bit flat memory mode, which NTLDR requires to carry out any additional
functions.
NTLDR starts the appropriate minifile system drivers, which

 Are built into NTLDR

 Enable NTLDR to find and load Windows XP Professional
from partitions formatted with file allocation table (FAT),
FAT32, or NT file system (NTFS)

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 Operating system selection:
During the boot sequence, NTLDR reads the BOOT.INI file.
If more than one operating system selection is available in BOOT.INI, the
Please Select The Operating System To Start screen appears. If no
operating system is selected before the timer reaches zero, NTLDR loads
the operating system specified by the default parameter in BOOT.INI. If
there is only one entry in BOOT.INI, the default operating system is
automatically loaded. If BOOT.INI is not present, NTLDR attempts to
load Windows XP Professional from the first partition of the first disk,
typically C:\.

Hardware Detection Phase:

NTDETECT.COM and NTOSKRNL.EXE perform
hardware detection.NTDETECT.COM executes after you select the
operating system on the Please Select The Operating System To Start
screen (or after the timer times out).NTDETECT.COM collects a list of
currently installed hardware components and returns this list to NTLDR.

NTDETECT.COM detects the following components:

i. Bus/adapter type
ii. Communication ports
iii. Floating-point coprocessor
iv. Floppy disks
v. Keyboard
vi. Mouse/pointing device
vii. Parallel ports
viii. SCSI adapters
ix. Video adapters

Configuration Selection Phase:

NTLDR does the following:

 Starts loading the operating system.

 Collects hardware information.
 Presents the Hardware Profile/Configuration Recovery
menu .

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The first hardware profile on the Hardware Profile/Configuration
Recovery menu is highlighted.

 Press Enter to select the highlighted hardware profile.

 Press the down-pointing arrow key to select another
profile.
 Press L to invoke the LastKnownGood configuration.

If there is only a single hardware profile on the menu, NTLDR

 Does not display the Hardware profile/Configuration

Recovery menu.
 Loads the operating system using the default hardware
profile configuration.

Kernel Load Stage

During the kernel load stage, NTLDR does the following:

 Loads NTOSKRNL.EXE but does not initialize it

 Loads the hardware abstraction layer file (HAL.DLL)
 Loads the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM
registry key from
%systemroot%\System32\Config\System
 Selects the control set it will use to initialize the computer
 Loads device drivers with a value of 0x0 for the Start
entry .

Kernel Initialization Stage

When the kernel load stage is complete, the kernel
initializes, and NTLDR passes control to the kernel. The system displays
a graphical screen with a status bar indicating load status.

Four tasks are accomplished during the kernel initialization stage:

I. The Hardware key is created.

II. The Clone control set is created.
III. Device drivers are loaded and initialized.
IV. Services are started.

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The Hardware Key Is Created:-
On successful initialization, the kernel uses the data
collected during hardware detection to create the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE
The key contains information about

 Hardware components on the system board

 The interrupts used by specific hardware devices.

The Clone Control Set Is Created:-

The kernel creates the Clone control set by copying the
control set referenced by the value of the Current entry in the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select sub key of the registry.
The Clone control set is never modified because it is
intended to be an identical copy of the data used to configure the
computer and should not reflect changes made during the startup process.

Device Drivers Are Loaded and Initialized:-

After creating the Clone control set, the kernel initializes the
low-level device drivers that were loaded during the kernel load stage.
The kernel then scans the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services sub
key of the registry for device drivers with a value of 0x1 for the Start
entry. A device driver’s value for the Group entry specifies the order in
which it loads. Device drivers initialize as soon as they load.

Errors Control Values And Action:

 If an error occurs, the boot process proceeds based on the value

specified in the ErrorControl entry for the driver.
 ErrorControl Values and Action
 0x0 (Ignore): the boot sequence ignores the error and proceeds
without displaying an error message.
 0x1 (Normal): the boot sequence displays an error message but
ignores the error and proceeds.
 0x2 (Severe): the boot sequence fails and then restarts using the
LastKnownGood control set.

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If the boot sequence is currently using the LastKnownGood control set, it
ignores the error and proceeds.

0x3 (Critical): the boot sequence fails and then restarts using the
LastKnownGood control set. However, if the LastKnownGood control set
is causing the critical error, the boot sequence stops and displays an error
message. Error Control values appear in the registry under the sub key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
name_of_service_or_driver\ErrorControl

Services Are Started.Session Manager (SMSS.EXE) does the

following:

 Reads and executes the commands specified in the BootExecute

data item before it loads any services
 Reads the Memory Management key and creates the paging file
information required by the Virtual Memory Manager
 Reads the DOS Devices key and creates symbolic links that direct
certain classes of commands to the correct component in the file
system
 Reads the SubSystems key and starts the Win32 subsystem, which
controls all input/output (I/O) and access to the video screen and
starts the WinLogon process.

Logon Stage:
The logon process begins when kernel initialization ends.
The Win32 subsystem automatically starts WINLOGON.EXE.
WINLOGON.EXE starts the Local Security Authority (LSASS.EXE) and
displays the Logon dialog box. The Service Controller executes and
makes a final scan of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\Services sub key and starts the following services:

 All services with a start entry of 0x2

 Workstation service
 Server service

A operating system startup is not considered good until a

user successfully logs on to the system.After a successful logon, the
system copies the Clone control set to the LastKnownGood control set.

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FLOW CHART

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REBOOT:

Hard reboot: - A hard reboot is when power to a computer is cycled or a

special reset signal to the processor is triggered. This restarts the
computer without first performing any shut-down procedure.

Soft reboot: - A soft reboot is restarting a computer under software

control, without removing power or triggering a reset line. It usually,
though not always, refers to an orderly shutdown and restarting of the
machine.

Random reboot: - Random reboot is a non-technical term referring to an

unintended reboot for which the cause is not immediately evident to the
user. Such reboots may occur due to a multitude of software and
hardware problems, such as triple faults.

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SHUTDOWN/BOOTING DOWN:
Any user issued command to the kernel to shutdown
should result in a “graceful” termination of services.Prevent any further
creation of user processes.Flush any pending I/O the kernel may be
buffering.

Especially key for maintaining file integrity.The kernel process (idle)

sends a terminate signal to all processes in the system.Remember: It is the
overall parent!Hardware oriented shutdowns may not be as graceful
CTRL-ALT-DEL or power switchThis is dependent on how the kernel
handles the hardware interrupt.
CTRL_ALT_DEL is often serviced as a regular shutdown user
command.Power switch is often a “hard” shutdown!

Important to offer both hard and soft shutdown mechanisms to support

user needs!

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NETWORK BOOTING:
The central idea is that the computer has some bootstrap
code in non-volatile memory, e.g. a ROM chip, that will allow it to
contact a server and obtain system files over a network link. One goal is
to avoid the use of a hard disk for booting. With network booting the files
are held at a central server and can be updated at one location. Another
goal is to use computers in locations where hard disks are not robust
enough. Network booting often co-exists with disk booting. For example,
a system could run Windows from disk but sometimes boot Linux from
the network. In order to boot over the network, the computer must get An
identity, An operating system image and Usually, a working file system.

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DUAL BOOTING:
Step1: Defrag : -Before you can begin to reallocate the hard drive to
multiply partitions, you have to run Microsoft Defrag to move all of your
files to the front of the drive. This is the most important step to not losing
files during a dual-boot creation.

Step2 : Restarting in Ranish :- Next, you need a program to edit the

partition table, and that tool is ranish. Ranish does not work when running
in Windows, so you need to make a DOS boot disk to run ranish in DOS.
Copy the following to a disk.

command.com

IO.sys

scandisk.exe

part240.exe

Step3 : Starting ranish: - Once the computer comes up to the prompt,

A:\ , type in “part240.exe ”.The GUI will load, and you can now edit the
partition tables. If you areusing a single partition computer running
windows, your only partition will be a FAT32 partition.

Step4 : Resizing: - using your arrow keys, select the partition you wish
to resize, most likely it’s “Windows FAT32 LBA”. Now move over to the
Ending columns, specifically “Cyl”.

Step5 : MBR resizing: - If you got an error message at the top of the
screen, then you are doing it right. The error message means that you
have successfully changed one of two partition tables. Now you can
always discard the changes at this point if you messed up by hitting esc a
few times.

Step6 : Done: - Almost. All you have to do is exit out of ranish and make
sure it is saved. What about the linux partition? Well, from my own
experience, it is better to leave unused space so linux can partition it how
it likes instead of how you want it.

Closing : -Once you have finished the process to dual-boot your

computer. you have to do is place the linux install disk in your CD drive
and boot to it. If your computer can not boot from the CD drive, then you
will have to make a boot disk.

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CHANGING BOOT SEQUENCE:
Direct after the power-up sequence, your Com/PC is booting the
Windows XP operating system from the internal hard disk drive (HDD).
It is also possible to boot a second operating system (e.g. the SSV
Embedded Gateway Linux) from a Compact Flash card in the Com/PC
front panel.

Step 1: Restart your Com/PC and enter the BIOS Setup Utility. Then
select the Boot item from main menu. Change the Boot Device Priority to
the following values:

1st Boot Device the Compact Flash card

2nd Boot Device the internal HDD

Step 2: Select the Exit item from the main menu and save the current
BIOS setup.

Step 3: Turn the Com/PC off and insert a bootable Compact Flash card
into the Compact Flash socket. After the next power-up sequence, the
Com/PC tries to boot an operating system directly from the Compact
Flash card.

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REFERENCES:
 http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/unknownreference/articles/1228
4.aspx

 http://www.pctoday.com/Editorial/article.asp?article=articles/
2004/t0206/06t06/06t06.asp&guid

 http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/arch_boot.html

 http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~gerbal/BootX.pdf

 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/

 http://www. pcworld.com/

 http://www.google.co.in/

 http://www.wikipedia.org/

THANK YOU!!!

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