Windows: What exactly happens when booting?

What happens when booting under Windows can, simply put, be described as loading the necessary information to start the computer.

Windows: What happens when booting step by step

As soon as you turn on your computer, the “booting” process begins. The system is loaded with all the necessary information to ensure proper operation. That’s why booting is so important: if there are errors, the computer won’t work.

• When you turn on the computer, it is supplied with power. All components with a certain amount of intelligence now work through their usual procedure.

• First of all, the BIOS routine starts. The information that the BIOS needs for these processes is located on a non-volatile ROM chip on the main board of the main board.

• The first step is the “Power On Self Test”, or “POST” for short. During this process, all connected hardware components, such as the graphics card and the hard disk, are recognized and checked for functionality.

• Once the hardware is ready for use, the BIOS searches for the start sector. This start or boot sector contains a “master boot record” that contains the essential information for starting Windows.

The BIOS hands over to Windows

When the process is complete, the Windows interface appears on the screen and you can start working.

• After the BIOS has completed the start-up process, it hands over to Windows.

• The first information can be found in the NTLDR file. This contains all the important information that the computer needs to load Windows.

• The kernel is then loaded. This contains the central components of Windows and brings the system to life.

• Now the drivers and all the important system files are loaded, until you finally get to the Windows login screen. Data is still being loaded, but the boot process has now been successfully completed.

That’s why turning it on is called “booting”

The term “booting” for starting up a computer is no coincidence. Here is the explanation:

• The PC needs information, i.e. a program, to initiate the boot process, i.e. the start-up. In the past, this command had to be entered via the keyboard. Today this is done automatically.

• Since English terms are used for everything, the “bootstraps”, translated “boot loops”, are used at this point. These bootstraps allow you to pull out or put on. In this case, booting up.

• Therefore, the process of booting a computer was called “booting”.

UEFI replaces the BIOS

For several years, computers have been delivered with the new UEFI boot system.

• UEFI is a firmware that is installed on the main board by the manufacturer. Like the old BIOS, it is the first program to be started after switching on.

• With this new method, the components of the computer are checked. If everything is OK, control is passed to the operating system and work can begin.

• The predecessor BIOS often caused problems that are avoided with UEFI. For a period of time, both systems were supported by new products, but by 2020, almost all new products should have switched to UEFI.