Module 6: Troubleshooting Windows Startup
Recovery Drive
A Windows 10/8 bootable USB flash drive that can be used to recover the system when startup fails; the drive can be created using the Recovery applet in Control Panel. The drive can hold an OEM recovery partition copied from the hard drive.
Refresh
A Windows 8 technique to recover from a corrupted Windows installation and can recover using a custom refresh image, a recovery partition, or the Windows setup DVD. Depending on the health of the system, user settings, data, and Windows 8 apps might be restored from backup near the end of the refresh operation.
bcdedit
A Windows command used to manually edit the BCD (Boot Configuration Data).
bbotsect
A Windows command used to repair a dual-boot system.
Bootrec
A Windows command used to repair the BCD and boot sectors.
Windows 8 Reset
A clean installation of Windows 8 that first formats the Windows volume. If an OEM recovery partition is present, the system is reset to its factory state. If no recovery partition is present, the installation is performed from a Windows 8 setup DVD.
System Repair Disc
A disc you can create using Windows 7 that can be used to launch Windows RE. The disc is not available in Windows 8.
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)
A lean operating system installed on the Windows 8/7/Vista setup DVD and also on the Windows 8/7 volume that can be used to troubleshoot problems when Windows refuses to start.
Repair Upgrade
A nondestructive installation of Windows 10 over an existing Windows installation; the upgrade can repair the existing installation.
Recovery Partition
A partition on a hard drive that contains a recovery utility and installation files.
Hard Boot/Cold Boot
A restart of the computer by turning off the power or pressing the Reset button.
Power-On Self Test (POST)
A self-diagnostic program used to perform a simple test of the CPU, RAM, and various I/O devices. It is performed by startup BIOS when the computer is first turned on, and is stored in ROM-BIOS.
Last Known Good Configuration
In Windows 7, registry settings and device drivers that were in effect when the computer last booted successfully. These settings are saved and can be restored during the startup process to recover from errors during the last boot.
Windows Boot Loader
One of two programs that manage the loading of Windows 8/7/Vista. The program file (winload.exe or winload.efi) is stored in C:\ Windows\System32, and it loads and starts essential Windows processes.
Fresh Start
The Windows 10 process to perform a clean installation of the OS using the most recent version of Windows 10 available from Microsoft.
wpeinit
The Windows command that initializes Windows PE and enables networking.
Booting
The process of starting up a computer and loading an operating system.
Soft Boot/Warm Boot
To restart a computer without turning off the power.
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)/Stop Error
a Windows error that occurs in kernel mode, is displayed against a blue screen, and causes the system to halt. The error might be caused by problems with devices, device drivers, or a corrupted Windows installation.