Windows Vista Boot Files for the A+ Certification Exams

Windows Vista utilizes four boot files, and you will need an understanding of all four of them for the A+ Certification exams. The four boot files for Windows Vista are:

• bootmgr: Operating system loader code; similar to ntldr in previous versions of Windows

• Boot Configuration Database (BCD): Builds the operating system selection menu; similar to boot.ini in previous versions of Windows, but data resides in the BCD store

• winload.exe: Loads the Vista operating system if selected from the operating system selection menu provided by BCD

• winresume.exe: Resumes the Vista operating system if the system is started from a hibernate state