Windows Booting Process

Every day we are using an operating system and most specifically a Windows operating system but most of us are not aware of the process or procedures involved in the starting of Windows. Here we are going to learn the step by step processes involved in the booting procedure of a Windows operating system.

What is booting?

Before checking the booting procedures we should know the meaning of booting. Booting is just the process of starting or resetting the computer. There are two types of booting: cold booting and warm booting. Cold booting is the booting process happening when we first turn on computer and warm booting is the processes happening when we reset the computer. During the booting process the computer loads the operating system to its memory and prepares it for use.

Booting procedure of Windows operating system:

Functions of BIOS

The first process starting when you turn on your computer is BIOS i.e, Basic Input Output System. BIOS has two functions, to conduct POST and read MBR.

a) POST – POST stands for Power On Self Test. POST checks all the hardware devices connected to a computer like RAM, hard disk etc and make sure that the system can run smoothly with those hardware devices. If the POST is a failure the system halts with a beep sound.

b) Now BIOS checks the boot priority. We can set the boot priority as CD drive, hard disk or floppy drive.

c) MBR – The next duty of BIOS is to read the MBR. MBR stands for Master Boot Record and its the first sector on a hard disk. MBR contains the partition table and boot loader.

Functions of Boot loader

Now BIOS has passed the control to boot loader and boot loader is a small program which loads kernel to computers memory. Actually there are two stages of boot loaders, stage 1 boot loader and stage 2 boot loader. MBR contains the stage 1 boot loader and stage 1 boot loader is a link to the stage 2 boot loader. The stage 2 boot loader resides in the boot partition and it loads the kernel to memory.

Boot files and functions

There are three boot files in a Windows operating system and they are NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and Boot.ini. The boot files are found in the active partition of hard disk and its normally C drive in a Windows machine.

NTLDR – NTLDR stands for NT Loader and its the second stage bootloader. The path of NTLDR is C:\Windows\i386\NTLDR.

Boot.ini – Boot.ini contains the configuration files of NTLDR. When the operating system is loaded we cannot pass any arguments to kernal, so those arguments are passed through boot.ini. You can edit boot.ini by opening through notepad. The path of Boot.ini is C:\boot.ini.

[boot loader]
 timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
 [operating systems]
 multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
 multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

NTDETECT.COM – This file detect hardware’s and passes information to NTLDR. Using the collected information the NTLDR creates a hardware key and this key is used to detect hardware’s. A new hardware key is generated after each reboot of the operating system and that’s why system asks to reboot after installation of a new hardware. The hardware keys created by NTLDR can be found in Windows registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> HARDWARES.

Kernel and its functions

After executing the functions of boot files the control is passed to Kernel. ntoskrnal.exe is the kernel file in a Windows machine and its path is C:\Windows\system 32\ntoskrnal.exe. Kernel acts as a layer between software and hardware. The library file hal.dll (C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll) helps Kernel to interact with hardware’s. HAL stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer and this hal.dll file is machine specific. Now the drivers for hardware’s are loaded from the file C:\Windows\system32\config\system and the Kernel is loaded to primary memory.

Services and log in procedure

When kernel is loaded in the primary memory services for each process is started and the registry entry for those services can be found at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – System – Current control set – Services. Winlogon.exe (C:\Windows\system32\winlogon.exe) is the last service started during this process. Winlogon.exe starts the log in procedures of windows machine. It first calls the library file msgina.dll (C:\Windows\system32\msgina.dll). MSGINA stands for Microsoft Graphics Identification and Authentication and it provides the log in window. Now msginal.dll passes the control to LSA (Local Security Authority), it verifies the username and password from the SAM file. SAM (Security Accounts Manager) contains the information about all users created in a Windows operating system.

Google Doodles

Doodles are the fun, surprising and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries and the lives of famous artists, pioneers and scientists.

How did the idea for doodles originate? 

In 1998, before the company was even incorporated, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. They placed a stick figure drawing behind the 2nd "o" in the word Google, and the revised logo was intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were "out of office". While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating the company logo to celebrate notable events was born.

Two years later, in 2000, Larry and Sergey asked current webmaster Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time, to produce a doodle for Bastille Day. It was so well received by our users that Dennis was appointed Google's chief doodler, and doodles started showing up more and more regularly on the Google homepage. In the beginning, the doodles mostly celebrated familiar holidays; nowadays, they highlight a wide array of events and anniversaries from the Birthday of John James Audubon to the Ice Cream Sundae.

Over time, the demand for doodles has risen in the US and internationally. Creating doodles is now the responsibility of a team of talented illlustrators (we call them doodlers) and engineers. For them, creating doodles has become a group effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring smiles to the faces of Google users around the world.

How many doodles has Google done over the years? 

The team has created over 1,000 doodles for our homepages around the world.

Who chooses what doodles will be created and how do you decide which events will receive doodles? 

A group of Googlers get together regularly to brainstorm and decide which events will be celebrated with a doodle. The ideas for the doodles come from numerous sources, including Googlers and Google users. The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google's personality and love of innovation.

Who designs the doodles? 

There is a team of illustrators (we call them doodlers) and engineers that are behind each and every doodle you see.

How can Google users/the public submit ideas for doodles?

The doodle team is always excited to hear ideas from users - they can email proposals@google.com with ideas for the next Google doodle. The team receives hundreds of requests every day, so we unfortunately they can't respond to everyone. But rest assured that they're reading them :)

Games to Improve Communication Skill

Crazy Sentence

Listening to details can be very important when trying to solve a problem or when attempting to follow complicated directions. Sometimes the details are not essential but at other times these details are the most important part of the information being conveyed. Being able to listen carefully to what is said and to all the words that a person is saying isn’t an easy task. Sometimes we must listen with our eyes and observe body language, facial expressions, and eye movement in order to get all the information needed. The better you “listen” to the details, the more you will hear and the better you will understand what is being said. 

Objective 

To use good listening skills in order to win the game.

Who

People who need to work on their ability to listen carefully to what is said so they can increase their understanding of the information given. 

Group Size

4 or more

Materials

- Paper
- Pens or pencils
- 2 Chairs

Description

Prior to this activity make up a dozen or so sentences that are complete and correct but make them crazy and random; then write each sentence on a small piece of paper. 

Some examples of crazy sentences are:
“My prom date had a large tattoo.”
“Big Bird is my idol.”
“The blue cow swam over the moon.”
“It is good to eat spiders and caterpillars for breakfast.”
“Rubber bands stick to the ceiling on Christmas day.”

Be creative and come up with many more. Also, prior to the game set up two chairs in the front of the room. For the activity select two people from the group and ask them to sit in the chairs that you have set up in the front of the room. Give each person a piece of paper with one of the crazy sentences on it. The two players must read the sentence to themselves and then engage in conversation. Each player attempts to state his/her sentence in the course of conversation. The object is to slip in the sentence without the other person guessing what it is. You may wish to give them a topic to start with such as fishing, country music, bowling, buying shoes, or anything else that has nothing to do with the sentences. Also give them a one or two minute time limit to slip their sentences in during the conversation. After the time limit, allow the people in the audience to guess what the crazy sentence is and whoever guesses correctly is given the opportunity to play the game for the next round. 

Discussion Prompts 

1. What did you have to do in order to detect the hidden sentence?
2. When do you use your best listening skills? Why?
3. When is it important for you to show good listening skills?

Variations

- Each player may tell a story, instead of engaging in conversation with one other player. 

- This game can be done with three people engaging in conversation at the same time instead of just two. 

- Play in teams and allow each team to make up sentences for the other team to use when telling a story to their own team. 

Direction Direction

In our society there is a constant transfer of information from one person to another. You must be careful when you pass information on if you want it to stay accurate. One great example shows up in rules for a game. If you check with people in different parts of the country you will find out that many of the games have different rules. Someone, something changed the rules a little bit 

In this activity someone gets a set of rules and the group gets to see how easy it can be to make mistakes in passing them on. This can be a fun way to see what can happen when information is not passed on correctly. 

Objective 

For people to recognize the importance of using good communication skills when giving directions and when receiving directions. To recognize the difficulties encountered when interpreting what someone else said. 

Who

People who believe everything they hear.
People who could benefit from listening carefully to directions and passing them along correctly.


Group Size 

2 or more


Materials

- Varies

Description

Chose a game that has a few specific rules that must be followed in order to play the game (and enough rules to make it hard to remember them all). Prior to the activity select one person and give him/her the direction for the game without telling the rest of the group. Verbally explain the game can clearly state all of the rules. 

At the time of the game, the person who has heard the rules will give the directions to the rest of the group without any help from you. Allow the group to play the game once through before having a group discussion or making any corrections or clarifications in the rules of the game. 

Discussion Topics 

1. Was there any confusion about the rules of the game?
2. Why do you think the game was explained correctly (or incorrectly)?
3. What is important to remember when listening to others and when giving directions?


Variations

- Select a game that requires two teams. Separate the two teams and select one member from each team to receive the directions for the game. Each person explains the rules to his/her team.

- Give each team a different set of directions, on purpose.