Disaster Recovery and Troubleshooting
Understanding the Startup Process
To diagnose and correct a startup problem, you need to understand what occurs during startup.
The normal startup sequence for Windows 7 is:
- Power-on self test (POST) phase
- Initial startup phase
- Windows Boot Manager phase
- Windows Boot Loader phase
- Kernel loading phase
- Logon phase
This sequence will vary if the computer is resuming from hibernation or if a non-Windows 7 option is selected during the Windows Boot Manager phase. The following sections describe the phases of a normal startup process in more detail.