Today, absolutely all people working with computers know that without an operating system, interaction between a machine and a user is impossible. It goes without saying that the “OS” must first boot, and only then can all of its functions be used. In this regard, a question often arises related to the Windows Boot Manger component. What is it, we will try to figure it out. At the same time, let's look at some of the most common types of errors that may appear during system startup.
Windows boot manager: what is it?
Let's start with the basics. First, consider the term Windows Boot Manager. What is it, it is easy to guess, if you simply translate this phrase from English into Russian - "Windows boot manager."
In other words, these are system programs that allow you to download all the necessary components of any OS to ensure not only its interaction with the user through its own interface, but also to organize the correct operation of all the "iron" components by preliminary identification and configuration.
As for the Windows Boot Manager (Windows 8, 7, or 10), such loaders in the architecture of IBM PC computers are software contained in the BIOS and written to the ROM computer system. To make it clearer, we will consider the main functions of boot loaders and determine how they work.
Key features of Boot Manager Windows 7, 8, 10
If anyone does not know, loading the operating system can not always be done only from the hard drive. The simplest example can be network operating systems, in which the launch of all components of the OS, even on terminals that do not have their own hard drives, can be done through a local network when the main "mother" OS is located on a remote server.
If we talk about the main purpose of the bootloader and its functions, it can be noted right away that when you start the computer it allows you to select the type of OS you want (if there are several of them installed), bring the “iron” components of the terminal to the state necessary to start, load the system kernel into RAM (RAM), and in the case of a network start, in the device ROM, it generates the basic parameters of the kernel, after which it transfers control to the system.
Bootloader Types
Today, there are quite a few varieties of boot managers operating systems. For example, for Windows NT-based network operating systems, this is the NTLDR service (kernel loader), in fact, the Windows Boot Manager itself (the kernel loader of systems starting with Vista in the form of winload.exe and bootmgr.exe files), LILO (boot system Linux kernels), BootX (bootloader for Mac OS X systems), SILO (mainly applied to Solaris systems supporting SPARC architecture), Bootman (manager for BeOS), etc.
Since we are considering Windows, the Boot Manager (which is probably a little clear already) interacts with the boot process not only at the BIOS hardware level, but also through system files. For example, the boot paths of operating systems indicating some basic parameters are contained in the configuration of the familiar boot.ini file (boot initializer).
Loading errors
Unfortunately, very often there are situations when the bootloader, to put it mildly, “crashes”. The most common error is the problem of initializing it (message like Windows Boot Manager boot failed).
In some cases, you may find messages like BOOTMGR is compressed or BOOTMGR is missing with the suggestion of a subsequent restart using the standard combination Ctrl + Alt + Del.
The simplest fix methods
Now let's see what can be done to correct such an unpleasant situation.
So, we have a Windows Boot Manager error. What to do in this case? First of all, you can use the simplest methods to restore the bootloader. In the simplest version, you can simply boot from the installation disc with the system or use something like a Live CD.
Here you just need to go to the console and choose to start system recovery , followed by a checkpoint. If this does not help, in the same console, select the boot recovery partition. In many cases, in particular, if the failures are associated with the software part, and not with physical damage to the hard drive, this helps.
Sometimes problems may arise due to the fact that the system disk has been compressed to save space, which is generally not recommended. In this case, after booting from the same Live CD, we go to the "Explorer", and then in the properties of the system partition we remove the "bird" from the compression parameter, after which we select the command line in the console menu, and after that we will need to enter several commands sequentially.
If the system drive is marked with the letter “C”, the order will look like this: c :, then expand bootmgr temp, then attrib bootmgr -s -r –h, now del bootmgr, then ren temp bootmgr and finally attrib bootmgr -a + s + r + h.
After each command, as already clear, the enter key is pressed. The results of the actions of these commands are not presented specifically, so that the average user, as they say, simply does not load the brains. It is enough that they work and restore the bootloader.
If this does not help, we use cardinal methods in the form of the bootrec.exe / FixMbr, bootrec.exe / FixBoot and bootrec.exe / RebuildBcd commands. But this method is best used only if all of the above has not helped.
Conclusion
That, in fact, is all that can be said very briefly about what Windows Boot Manager is. What is it, the reader probably became clear after reading the material. Naturally, problems and errors, as well as methods for their correction, may be more than described in this article, nevertheless, the most common ones were described. Finally, I would like to draw the attention of users to the moment that if for some reason the boot area of the hard drive was damaged or the system folder of the “OS” was deleted (yes, this is also the case), in most cases none of the above methods will help. You will have to either test the hard drive or reinstall the system again.