Instead of bios, windows boot manager opens. Windows boot manager: what is it and what is it for - detailed explanation

Today, all users who work with computers know that without operating system it is impossible to do this. Thus, the operating system must first boot, and after that you can use all its functions. Considering this, the question that is related to Windows component Boot Manger.

In this article we need to try to understand in more detail what it is. In addition, you need to pay attention to some fairly common types of errors that can occur during the system startup process.

Windows Boot Manager: What is this?

You should start from the very basics. First you need to consider yourself Windows term Boot Manager. It's not hard to guess what it is. It is enough to simply translate this phrase from in English into Russian. The translation is: “manager Windows boot" In other words, this system programs, allowing you to load all the required components of any operating system in order to ensure not only its interaction with the user through its interface, but also to organize correct work all “hardware” components through their preliminary identification and configuration. Windows Boot Manager (Windows 8, 7 or 10) loaders in the IBM PC computer architecture are software, which is contained in the BIOS, and written into the computer system ROM. We should consider the main functions of bootloaders and determine how they work.

Main functions of Boot Manager Windows 7, 8, 10 As you know, loading the operating system cannot always be done only with hard drive. Most simple example are network operating systems, where the start of all components of the operating system, even on terminals that do not have their own hard drives, can be done through local network, when the main “mother” OS resides on a remote server.

When considering the main purpose of the bootloader and its functions, it should immediately be noted that when the device starts, it makes it possible to select the type of operating system desired. This is suggested when there are several of them installed. In addition, you can bring the “hardware” components of the terminal to the state that is necessary for startup, load the system kernel into RAM(RAM) and in the device ROM (if the start is made over the network), generate the basic kernel parameters.

Types of bootloaders Today, there are many types of boot managers for operating systems. For example, for network “operating systems” created on Windows based NT, these are:

NTLDR (kernel loader) service;
Windows Boot Manager itself, which is a kernel loader for systems starting with Vista, in the form of the files winload.exe and bootmgr.exe;
LILO (loading system Linux kernels);
BootX (bootloader for Mac systems OS X);
SILO (typically used with Solaris systems supporting the SPARC architecture);
Bootman (manager for BeOS) and others.

Because this article focuses on the Windows operating system, Boot Manager interacts with the boot process both at the BIOS hardware level and using system files. For example, the boot paths of operating systems with the definition of some main parameters exist in the configuration of the boot.ini file, which is known to many.

Download errors

It's a shame, but there are situations when the bootloader crashes. And that's putting it mildly. The most common error is the problem of its initialization. The message appears Windows type Boot Manager boot failed. Sometimes there are notifications like BOOTMGR is compressed or BOOTMGR is missing with a suggestion for a further restart using the standard combinations Ctrl+ Alt + Del.

Basic fixes

Next, we need to consider what can be done to correct this unpleasant situation. Thus there is Windows error Boot Manager. What can be done about this? First, it is proposed to use elementary methods that make it possible to restore the bootloader. In the most simple version there is an option to simply download from installation disk with the system or use something like a Live CD. IN in this case you just need to go to the console and select to begin system recovery with further indication of the checkpoint.

If this does not help, you must select the boot recovery partition in the same console. This usually helps. This solution is especially relevant when failures are associated with software part, and not with physical damage to the hard drive. In some cases, problems may arise due to the fact that system disk has been compressed to save space. It is worth noting that this is not advisable. In this situation, after booting (from the same Live CD), you need to go to “Explorer”, and then in properties system partition uncheck the compression option. Next, in the console menu, you need to use the command line, and then enter several commands in sequence. When the system disk is designated by the letter “C”, the sequence will be as follows:

1. From:.
2. Expand bootmgr temp.
3. Attrib bootmgr -s -r –h.
4. Del bootmgr/
5. Ren temp bootmgr/
6. Fttrib bootmgr -a +s +r +h.

There is probably no need to remind you that after each command you need to press the enter key. The results of these commands should not be given so that the average user does not strain his brain. For the average user, it is enough that they function and are able to restore the bootloader. If such methods do not help, you will have to use drastic methods in the form of the commands bootrec.exe /FixMbr, bootrec.exe /FixBoot and bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd. However this method It is better to use only if all of the above does not help.

Thus, this is all that can be briefly described about what Windows Boot Manager is. Surely, the reader will immediately understand what’s what after reading this material. Of course, there may be many more problems and errors, as well as ways to fix them, than described in the article, but the methods described are the most common. Finally, it should be noted that if for certain reasons the boot area of ​​the hard drive is damaged or deleted system folder operating system, which is also quite common, usually none of the above options helps. Thus, it remains or execute hard testing disk, or reinstall the operating system again.

The article answers the questions: Windows Boot Manager: what is it? The main concepts, errors and ways to correct them are considered. Perhaps this material will be useful for large number users who will learn valuable lessons that can be useful in life when using a computer.

The first versions of Windows did without a bootloader, since they could only be called full-fledged operating systems conditionally. Essentially it was graphical shells– programmable add-ons for MS-DOS. The bootloader that appeared in systems based on NT technology (Windows 2000 and Win XP) was called NTLDR and had an additional configuration file boot.ini, which listed all the operating systems loaded on the machine and indicated the order in which they would be loaded. The boot.ini file is a regular one text file With clear structure, easy to edit.

New Windows boot loader received with exit Vista versions. It is called “Windows boot manager” and has one interesting feature - it writes information about itself in the Bios boot section. This information looks like an indication of the name of the service itself and the name of the partition from which the operating system is loaded. Approximately as shown in the figure below:

As usual, when the computer starts, the BIOS reads this information and creates a menu for selecting the operating system, which is ultimately presented to the user. After a number of reinstallations of an OS such as Windows, this list becomes cluttered, and it becomes difficult to figure out which system corresponds to a specific line in the start menu.

In addition, a long list of unused operating systems looks extremely unaesthetic and annoying by its very presence. In XP and Win 2000 this problem The solution was very simple: you opened the boot.ini file in notepad and deleted unnecessary lines. After saving the edit, the items corresponding to the deleted entries disappeared from the boot menu.

It could have been done differently: use the system tools for editing the download list, but both of these options are completely equivalent and come down to adjustments to the specified file.

In older versions Windows file Boot.ini is missing. And we, obviously, will have to deal with the BIOS, since this is where entries similar to those previously written to the file are contained. How can I edit this list?

BCD and its parameters

If you delve into the depths file system seniors Windows versions, then you can find a hidden small partition with a Boot folder in it. This is where the so-called boot configuration data store is located, represented by a file called BCD. Unlike boot.ini, this file does not allow direct manual editing.

To manage the data it contains, a command line interface is used. But before you start entering commands into the console, you need to at least get acquainted with the structure of the storage.

For each loading point there is a separate BCD record containing the following fields (we will describe only the parameters that are significant for us):

• Item ID – individual number in GUID format, which uniquely identifies each OS installed on the disk.
• The partition of the hard drive from which Windows starts (device parameter).
• Relative path to the bootloader (path parameter).
• The name of the menu item visible to the user when the computer starts (description parameter).
• The language used by the menu (locale parameter).
• ID of the OS booted by default (default parameter).
• The order of the line in the menu (displayorder parameter).
• Timeout for waiting for user selection (timeout parameter).

Instead of viewing storage records on the console screen, you can view them in a more comfortable environment. To do this, you need to enter a command like BCDEDIT > C:\bcd.txt to redirect the output to a text type document, and then view its contents with any editor. Please note, edit BCD in text editor it is forbidden!

Editing BCD in the console

Now let's see how we can delete an entry from the BCD without affecting all the others. This is a common task: let’s say we no longer use the OS located on a particular partition (it may even be damaged), but a record about it remains in the storage, and therefore in boot menu the corresponding line remains. Approximately the same information remains in Computer BIOS. If we enter the command: bcdedit ID, where ID is the identifier of the Windows being removed, then all this information will be lost. We will no longer see them either in the menu or in the BIOS, and this is exactly what we are trying to achieve. An example of such a command.

Many users who do not particularly understand the settings of operating systems developed by Microsoft Corporation specialists quite often encounter a situation where, when starting the OS, instead of the usual fast loading systems on screen computer monitor or laptop, a window for selecting start options appears with triggering Windows services Boot Manager. Few people imagine what this component of the system is, and they complain that loading the OS becomes not only slow, but sometimes does not occur at all. The situation, of course, can cause shock to any user, especially when a black screen appears with lines like MOOTMGR is compressed or Boot Manager is missing. You can fix the problem using several simple methods, but first you need to figure out what kind of component it is and what it is needed for.

Windows Boot Manager: what is it?

If you simply translate this term from English into Russian, it is not difficult to guess that this service is a unified client for loading an operating system, giving the user the right to choose a modification of the OS or even a version of the same system.

However, if earlier this component was responsible specifically for choosing the preferred OS, subject to several modifications, then over time it turned into a means of loading the system kernel after an initial check of the hardware in the BIOS/UEFI with subsequent transfer of control to the operating system. Even at the normal stage Windows start 10 after installation latest updates You can see the boot selection screen appear: either start the OS, or go to the toolkit to troubleshoot problems with the system. Windows Boot Manager is responsible for all this. What this is from the point of view of loading the OS is a little clear. Now a few more theoretical information and solutions for troubleshooting boot errors.

Bootloader types

Initially for any operating room Windows systems It is possible to use several types of loaders, which differ in their capabilities and functions.

For example, the standard Windows Boot Manager, presented in the form executable files and corresponding system processes bootmgr.exe and winload.exe, relate exclusively to starting the OS with the ability to select the system version if two or more are installed. This, by the way, also applies to those situations when some virtual machine like Hyper-V, which allows you to select the version of the operating system to boot when you start your computer.

For operating systems other than Windows (Linux, Mac OS, Solaris), other types of bootloaders can be used (LILO, BootX, SILO with SPARCS architecture, etc.). Because in this case we're talking about specifically about Windows systems; other types of bootloaders will not be considered. We will focus on malfunctions in the Windows manager, since it is very often the stumbling block.

Actually, even Windows operating systems themselves can use other boot options, installed through the settings of the primary BIOS systems(for example, PXE to start the system on terminals over the network that do not have hard disks, and the start is made from a central server), or if the computer has an OS other than Windows (the same Linux). Here the Windows Boot Manager loader, located on the server that manages the client machines, can already work.

The most common mistakes

However, the service itself, which is responsible for starting the OS, is also not immune to errors and failures. The messages listed above appear most often. Why is this happening?

Among the main, so to speak, global reasons for the emergence of such situations, as a rule, special emphasis is placed on hard mistakes disk and damage to the Boot Manager bootloader itself (Windows 7 or another system is installed, does not matter), boot sectors and records. In most cases, such errors can be corrected only by starting from removable media and then calling the command line (by the way, in this option a similar bootloader also works). But sometimes you can get by using the bloodless method (although this does not always help).

Windows Boot Manager crashes: what to do first?

If the inability to boot the system was caused by short-term disruptions in operation, there is nothing easier than simply rebooting. If starting in normal mode is impossible, you can try to boot Windows from the latest good configuration or in Safe mode Mode.

After this, you should call the command console and check the hard drive for errors by specifying the command chkdsk /x/f/r or its variations. Please note that the built-in scan tool, called through the properties of a disk or partition, may not give the desired effect (even if the option is enabled automatic elimination malfunctions).

Checking system components

If the Boot Manager (Windows 10, for example) still refuses to work, it is worth checking the system components.

To do this, use the same command line (or standard download, or when starting from optical disk or USB drive) in which it is written sfc team/scannow. If the system can be started without using removable media, the console should be launched as an administrator.

Disk errors

Hard drive errors are worse. Let's assume that checking even using command console had no effect. What to apply in this case?

If the hard drive has software errors(accordingly, Windows Boot Manager does not work), it is best to scan it Victoria utility, which is by far the most effective. If the hard drive, as they say, crumbles, you can use HDD program Regenerator. It is believed that it can revive a hard drive by reversing magnetization.

Restoring boot via the command console

But in most cases you can use more simple methods boot recovery. One of the universal ones is the use of the command line with booting from removable media.

In this case, the Bootrec.exe tool is used, for which additional commands are entered via a space and a right slash (FixMBR, FixBoot and RebuildBCD). The first two eliminate bootloader, sector and record errors, the third completely rewrites the entire boot area.

How to disable the boot selection system?

Finally, let's look at how to remove Windows Boot Manager so that it is not activated at the operating system startup stage or does not cause problems with the appearance of failures and errors.

This is done quite simply through the same command console, in which the following lines are written:

• with: expand bootmgr temp;
• attrib bootmgr -s -r -h;
• del bootmgr;
• ren temp bootmgr;
• attrib bootmgr -a +s +r +h.

Without going into the principles of operation of these attributes and the execution of commands, which most users do not need at all, we can only note that this method eliminates the bootloader problem. It's enough.

Instead of a total

That's it for the Windows Boot Manager service. What this is, I think, is already clear, as well as what methods are used to eliminate the main failures and errors in its work. If none of the above has any effect, perhaps the reason is work hard disk or even in conflicts when accessing strips random access memory. There shouldn’t seem to be any difficulties with tools applied to hard drives. But the RAM will have to be checked using the Memtest86+ utility or, if possible, remove the strips from the slots on motherboard, and after identifying a non-working or faulty strip, replace it.

However, if bootloader errors are not related specifically to physical damage hardware, you can disable the bootloader in the BIOS or edit the boot.ini file by removing unnecessary lines(Windows Vista and below).

Finally, when booting the Shell from removable media, you can use the bcdedit ID line, which disables the bootloader (the bootloader ID can be found by entering only the main command).

The operating system on any computer boots, provided that a number of sufficient steps are performed correctly. complex processes.

The launch and correct execution of such processes is controlled by a special subroutine - this is the operating system boot manager.

Definition

The download manager is not just one thing specific program.

This concept refers to a set of executed programs and processes through which interaction occurs between the computer and the user at the system boot stage.

This set of components helps activate the operating system so that it can subsequently interact with the user by using its own interface.

But such a service not only helps to download the actual software components.

It also initializes all hardware components, synchronizing the operation of processors and boards, and helping them install functional connection with the system.

He also carries out the initial adjustment of such components.

From a technical point of view, such a manager is a component created on the IBM PC architecture.

For this reason, it works exclusively on those devices and operating systems that are built on this architecture.

More early versions operating systems of this brand were based on a different architecture, therefore the operating principle of their bootloader was completely different.

BIOS

Does the average user encounter this component, and in what cases does this happen?

This is the technical menu for loading and initializing the system and its components.

You can call such a menu by pressing certain buttons on the keyboard while the computer is booting.

But why do this?

The user may need to interact with the technical menu in case of loading failures, when certain components do not work correctly.

This menu It also allows you to make some changes and settings in the operation of many components of the operating system and computer hardware.

After such settings and changes It is possible to fix loading problems, as well as optimize the operation of the device, increasing its performance.

Many users who are well versed in working with this service are able to significantly improve the functioning of their computer with its help, which they do.

Thus, each time interacting in one way or another with the BIOS, the user interacts with Windows Boot Manager.

Older versions of Windows operating systems (XP version and even earlier) were based on a different type of bootloader, since they had a different architecture, as already mentioned above.

Therefore, even though they also had a BIOS, it had different functionality and a different menu than the one present in the Windows boot manager.

They differ from each other even visually, in design and color scheme.

Functions

At the very initial stage of work, immediately after activating the manager, it offers to select the operating system that you want to load for this session of working with the computer, if HDD There are several of them installed.

After selecting downloadable software components, this manager begins perform the following functions in the system and hardware:

• Hardware, that is, “hardware” components are initialized and “turned on,” that is, they come to the state necessary to start the entire system;
• After this, the manager loads the functional core of the system into RAM (or ROM, depending on the type of device), in which all processes in the device subsequently take place;
• Then the main operating parameters of the kernel are formed and the starting processes in it are initialized;
• After this, the boot manager transfers control of the system to the kernel, and itself goes into standby mode.

During the entire operation of the operating system, as well as its shutdown, the bootloader is no longer activated.

Its subsequent activation occurs only when new download, that is, turning on after completely turning off.

Thus, a boot manager, for example, is not required to wake the device from sleep mode or, since in this case the operating system is already loaded, the components are initialized, and control of them is transferred to the system kernel.

It’s just that while the device is sleeping, all these components and processes are in a passive state.

Interesting feature bootloader is that it is available on many types of systems, even those that do not have own hard disk.

For example, if there is no hard drive in any terminal connected, then its systems are also loaded using such a boot manager.

But located on mother computer network, that is, such a component allows you to launch it, including remotely, over the network.

Bootloader types

There are many types of bootloaders - among them, for example, LILO for, BootX for, SILO for Solaris systems on Sparc architecture, Bootman for BeOS.

But even for Windows systems different boot loaders can be used, for example, for network operating systems based on Windows principle NT, NTLDR kernel loader is used.

But on personal computers Windows Boot Manager is always used with a physical hard drive.

Important! Such a bootloader appeared on computers only starting with the implementation of the Windows Vista operating system. Previously, there were other components that performed this function.

Some bootloaders interact with the system only based on the initialization of hardware components. But the manager in question is not one of these, since it is capable of adjusting software components for loading.

In its main boot.ini file contains the prescribed main paths for loading the operating system, according to which this component works.

U different architecture, various download managers, and therefore Various types and loading algorithms.

For this reason, operating systems different developers loading different time, and they also contain various errors and failures.

Because all the information information given in this material is correct only for operating systems Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10.

Errors

It is clear that, as in any technical process on a PC, errors may occur in the bootloader.

It is worth noting that this happens quite rarely, since this is practically the main system of the entire device. Therefore, it is debugged much better than others in terms of speed and reliability.

In addition, this process is always the only one on the computer, which means it can use all hardware resources.

But despite all this, several types of errors may occur.

They are shown in Table 1. It also indicates the messages that the user sees when errors of one type or another occur.

Table 1. Errors in the operating system loader and corresponding notifications for the user

Notification	The essence of the problem
Windows Boot Manager boot failed	The bootloader crashes and the user sees a corresponding message when the OS starts loading. This phenomenon is associated with the problem of component initialization, that is, when you turn on the computer this component did not start automatically as it should have
BOOTMGR is compressed	Occurs at the same stage as the previous notification. It means that when automatic system launch of the component was able to contact it and began to load it, but at some stage of this process an error occurred that prevented its further progress
BOOTMGR is missing	This notification appears almost immediately after turning on the computer. At its core, it means that when automatic start boot manager when the hardware started, the device could not contact it, could not find it

What ultimately happens to the computer in this case?

In the first case, the notification that appears that the system has not started remains on the screen for some time.

After this, the screen goes dark, and all processes that managed to start on the computer stop, that is, it turns off completely.

The other two notifications are accompanied by a suggestion to restart the system using . And depending on the initial PC settings, the screen may go dark or the restart will be performed automatically.

Important! Most situations where the system does not boot at all and crashes can also be associated with the boot manager. But the notification will not appear if an error occurred during the transfer of control from the manager to the kernel. Therefore, in this case, before reinstalling the system, it makes sense to try to restore the boot manager using the methods described below.