1. Configuring Startup and
Troubleshooting Startup Issues

2. Agenda
– Introduction .
– Understanding the Startup Process .
– Important Startup Files .
– How to Configure Startup Settings .

3. Introduction
• Diagnosing and correcting hardware and software problems
that affect the startup process require different tools and
techniques than troubleshooting problems that occur after the
system starts because the person troubleshooting the startup
problem does not have access to the full suite of the Windows
7 operating system troubleshooting tools.

4. Understanding the Startup
Process
• To diagnose and correct a startup problem, you need to
understand what occurs during startup .Figure 29-2 provides
a high-level overview of the different paths startup can take

5. Understanding the Startup
Process
The normal startup sequence for Windows 7 is:
1. Power-on self test (POST) phase .
2. Initial startup phase .
3. Windows Boot Manager phase .
4. Windows Boot Loader phase .
5. Kernel loading phase .
6. Logon phase .
• This sequence will vary if the computer is
resuming from hibernation or if a non–
Windows 7 option is selected during the
Windows Boot Manager phase .

6. power-on Self Test phase
• As soon as you turn on a computer, its processor
begins to carry out the programming instructions
contained in the BIOS or EFI .The BIOS and EFI,
which are types of firmware, contain the
processor-dependent code that starts the
computer regardless of the operating system
installed.

7. power-on Self Test phase
• The first set of startup instructions is the POST, which
is responsible for the following system and diagnostic
functions:
– Performs initial hardware checks, such as
determining the amount of memory present
– Verifies that the devices needed to start an operating
system, such as a hard disk, are present.
– Retrieves system configuration settings from
nonvolatile memory, which is located on the
motherboard.

8. power-on Self Test phase
• If startup fails before or during POST, your
computer is experiencing a hardware failure
• Generally, the BIOS or EFI displays an error
message that indicates the nature of the problem.

9. Initial Startup phase
After the POST, computers must find and load the
Windows Boot Manager .Older BIOS computers and
newer EFI computers do this slightly differently.
• Initial Startup phase for BIOS Computers
– After the POST, the settings that are stored in the
nonvolatile memory, such as boot order,
determine the devices that the computer can use
to start an operating system .

10. Initial Startup phase
• computers can typically start an operating system
from other devices, such as the following:
– CDs or DVDs
– Universal serial bus (USB) flash drives
– Removable disks.

11. Initial Startup phase
• the following events occur at startup:
1. The computer searches the CD-ROM for bootable
media .If a bootable CD or DVD is present, the
computer uses the media as the startup device
.Otherwise, the computer searches the next device .
2. The computer searches the floppy disk for bootable
media .If a bootable floppy is present, the computer
uses the floppy disk as the startup device. Otherwise,
the computer searches the next device.

12. Initial Startup phase
3. The computer uses the hard disk as the
startup device .The computer typically
uses the hard disk as the startup device
only when the CD-ROM drive and the
floppy disk drive are empty.

13. Initial Startup phase
• If startup fails during the initial startup phase, you
are experiencing a problem with the BIOS
configuration,. The following error message is
common during this phase .It indicates that none of
the configured bootable media types was available .
– Non-system disk or disk error
– Replace and press any key when ready

14. Windows Boot Manager phase:
For computers that have a single operating
system, Windows Boot Manager never displays a
user interface .
It does, however, wait for a few moments to allow
the user to press a key to display the standard
boot menu, or to press F8 to choose Advanced
Boot Options.
.If the user does not press a key within a few
seconds of POST completing, Windows Boot
Manager starts the Windows Boot Loader, which
in turn starts Windows 7

15. Windows Boot Manager enables you to choose from multiple operating
systems or start Windows Memory Diagnostics .

16. During startup, you can interrupt the default behavior of Windows Boot
Manager to view the Advanced Boot Options .

17. Windows Boot Loader phase:
The Windows Boot Loader does the following:
1. Loads the operating system kernel, Ntoskrnl .exe, but
does not yet run it .
2. Loads the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), Hal .dll
.This will not be used until the kernel is run .
3. Loads the system registry (System32ConfigSystem)
into memory
4. Scans for device drivers and loads all drivers into
memory.
6. Passes control to the operating system kernel, which
starts the next phase

18. Kernel Loading phase:
The Windows Boot Loader is responsible for loading
the Windows kernel (Ntoskrnl .exe) and the HAL
into memory .Together, the kernel and the HAL
initialize a group of software features that are
called the Windows executive.The Windows
executive processes the configuration information
stored in the registry in
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSet and starts
services and drivers.

19. Logon phase
The Windows subsystem starts Winlogon .exe, a
system service that enables you to log on and log off
.

20. Important Startup Files
File name Disk Location Description
BootMgr Root of the system partition The Windows Boot Manager
WinLoad %SystemRoot%System32 The Windows Boot Loader .
BCD %SystemRoot%System32 A file that specifies information
required for Windows to start.
Ntoskrnl .exe %SystemRoot%System32 The core (also called the kernel) of the
Windows operating system .Code that
runs as part of the kernel.
For Windows to start, the system and boot partitions
must contain the files listed in Table

21. File name Disk Location Description
Hal .dll %SystemRoot%System32 The HAL dynamic-link library (DLL) file
.The HAL abstracts low-level hardware
details from the operating system and
provides a common programming
interface to devices of the same type .
Winlogon
.exe
%SystemRoot%System32 The Logon Process file, which handles
user logon requests.
System
registry file
%SystemRoot%System32C
onfigSystem
The file that contains information that the
operating system requires to start devices
and system services ..
Device
drivers
%SystemRoot%System32
Drivers
Driver files in this folder are for hardware
devices, such as keyboard, mouse, and
video
Important Startup Files

22. How to Configure Startup
Settings
• How to Use the Startup and Recovery Dialog Box?
the simplest way to edit the BCD registry file is to use
the Startup And Recovery dialog box .
To use the Startup And Recovery dialog box to change
the default operating system, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click
Properties .
2. Click Advanced System Settings .
.

23. How to Configure Startup
Settings
3. In Startup And Recovery, click Settings .
4. Click the Default Operating System list and
then click the operating system that you want
to boot by default .
5. Click OK twice .
The default operating system will automatically
load the next time you start the computer

24. How to Configure Startup
Settings
• How to Use the System Configuration Tool?
Some common tasks for the System Configuration
tool include:
– Temporarily disabling startup applications .
– Temporarily disabling automatic services.
– Permanently or temporarily configuring the
BCD registry file .
– Configuring a normal, diagnostic, or selective
startup for Windows .

25. How to Configure Startup
Settings
• To use the System Configuration tool, click
Start, type Msconfig, and then press Enter
.The System Configuration tool provides five
tabs

26. How to Configure Startup
Settings
• How to Configure a User account to automatically Log
On?
1. Click Start, type netplwiz, and then press Enter .
2. In the User Accounts dialog box, click the account you
want to automatically log on
to .If it is available, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name
And Password To Use This Computer check box .
3. Click OK .
4. In the Automatically Log On dialog box, enter the user’s
password twice .Click OK .
The next time you restart the computer, it will automatically
log on with the local user account you selected .

27. How to Configure Startup
Settings
• How to Disable the Windows Startup Sound?
By default, Windows plays a sound as part of the startup
process.
1. Click Start and then click Control Panel .
2. In Control Panel, click Hardware And Sound .
3. Click Change System Sounds .
4. On the Sounds tab, clear the Play Windows Startup
Sound check box .Click OK .

28. Report-2
• How to Use Built-In Diagnostics?
– How to Use Reliability Monitor.
– How to Use Event Viewer
– How to Use Data Collector Sets
– How to Use Windows Memory Diagnostics
• How to Identify USB problems Using
performance Monitor?