Setup and Startup

  • Article

Ntldr loads the operating system files from the boot partition. If you have a multiple-boot configuration, you are prompted to choose an operating system.

Ntldr controls the operating system selection and the hardware detection process before passing control to the Windows 2000 kernel. Ntldr must be in the root folder of the startup disk.

Ntldr performs the following steps:

  • Sets the processor to run in 32-bit flat memory mode. When you first start a computer, it runs in real mode, which is similar to an 8088 or 8086 CPU. Because Ntldr is a 32-bit program, it must switch the processor to 32-bit mode so that it can continue to load the operating system.

  • Starts the NTFS file system or the file allocation table (FAT) 16 or 32 file system. The code to access the appropriate file system is built into Ntldr.

  • Reads Boot.ini, which displays the operating selections on the boot loader screen. If you select an operating system other than Windows 2000 Professional, Ntldr loads and passes control to the Bootsect.dos file, and the selected operating system starts. If you select Windows 2000 Professional, Ntldr starts Ntdetect.com, which gathers information about the computer hardware.

  • Asks you to choose a hardware profile if you have one or more hardware profiles on your computer.

  • Loads and passes the information from Ntdetect.com to Ntoskrnl.exe, starting the startup screen.