Windows Recovery Environment

Advanced Options menu

 

·         a Windows menu that appears when you press F8 when Windows starts. The menu can be used to troubleshoot problems when loading Windows. In Windows 7/Vista, the menu is called the Advanced Boot Options menu.

 

Bcdedit

 

·         a command used to manually edit the BCD.

 

Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file

 

·         a Windows 7/Vista file structured the same as a registry file and contains configuration information about how Windows is started. The BCD file replaces the Boot.ini file used in Windows 2000/XP.

 

Boot.ini

 

·         a Windows 2000/XP hidden text file that contains information needed to start the boot and build the boot loader menu.

 

Booting

 

·         The process of starting up a computer and loading an operating system.

 

Bootrec

 

·         a command used to repair the BCD and boot sectors.

 

cold boot

 

·         See hard boot.

 

Diskpart

 

·         a Windows command to manage hard drives, partitions, and volumes.

 

emergency repair disk

 

·         In Windows 2000, a record of critical information about your system that can be used to fix a problem with the OS. The ERD enables restoration of the Windows 2000 registry on your hard drive. (2) In Windows XP, a bootable floppy disk that can boot the system, bypassing the boot files stored in the root of drive C.

 

FDISK

 

·         a Windows 9x/Me command used to create and manage partitions on a hard drive.

 

Fixboot

 

·         a Windows 7/Vista command that repairs the boot sector of the system partition.

 

Fixmbr

 

·         a Windows 7/Vista command to repair the MBR

 

hard boot

 

·         Restart the computer by turning off the power or by pressing the Reset button. also called a cold boot.

 

Last Known Good Configuration

 

·         In Windows, registry settings and device drivers that were in effect when the computer last booted successfully. These settings can be restored during the startup process to recover from errors during the last boot.

 

Ntldr

 

·         The Windows XP program responsible for starting Windows XP, called the boot loader program.

 

OS boot record

 

·         The first sector in the active partition. Windows XP uses this sector during the boot, but Windows 7/Vista does not.

 

POST (power-on self test)

 

·         a self-diagnostic program used to perform a simple test of the CPU, RAM, and various I/O devices. The POST is performed by startup BIOS when the computer is first turned on, and is stored in ROM-BIOS.

 

Recovery Console

 

·         In Windows XP, a lean bootable command-line operating system on the Windows XP setup CD that can be used to troubleshoot an XP boot problem.

 

recovery image

 

·         a backup of the Windows volume.

 

soft boot

 

·         To restart a PC without turning off the power, for example, in Windows 7, by clicking Start, pointing to Shut down, and clicking Restart. also called warm boot.

 

system repair disc

 

·         a disc you can create using Windows 7 that can be used to launch Windows RE.

 

warm boot

 

·         See soft boot.

 

Windows Boot Loader (WinLoad.exe)

 

·         One of two programs that manage the loading of Windows 7/Vista. The program file is stored in C:\ Windows\System32, and it loads and starts essential Windows processes.

 

Windows Boot Manager (BootMgr)

 

·         The Windows 7/Vista program that manages the initial startup of Windows. The BootMgr program file is stored in the C:\ root directory and has no file extension.

 

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)

 

·         a lean operating system installed on the Windows 7/Vista setup DVD and also on a Windows 7 hard drive that can be used to troubleshoot problems when Windows refuses to start.