Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

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Chapter 23: Exploring the Windows Boot Environment

way operating system features are used. Windows Vista doesn’t use these boot facili-

ties. Instead, startup is controlled using the parameters in the BCD data store:

• Entries in the BCD data store identify the boot manager to use during startup

and the specific boot applications available.

• Windows Boot Manager controls the boot experience and enables you to choose

which boot application is run.

• Boot applications load a specific operating system or operating system version.

For example, a Windows Boot Loader application loads Windows Vista.

Because BCD abstracts the underlying firmware, you can boot BIOS-based and EFI-

based computers in much the same way—just as you can computers based on other

firmware models. The BCD store is contained in a file called the BCD registry.On

BIOS-based operating systems, the BCD registry file is stored in the \Boot\Bcd direc-

tory of the active partition. On EFI-based operating systems, the BCD registry file is

stored on the EFI system partition.

The BCD store contains multiple entries. On a BIOS-based computer, you’ll see the

following entries:

• One Windows Boot Manager entry. There is only one boot manager, so there is

only one boot manager entry.

• One or more Windows Boot Loader application entries, with one for each

Windows Vista operating system or later versions of Windows installed on the

computer.

• One legacy operating system entry. The legacy entry is not for a boot applica-

tion. This entry is used to initiate Ntldr and Boot.ini so that you can boot into a

pre-Windows Vista operating system. If the computer has more than one pre-

Windows Vista operating system, you’ll be able to select the operating system to

start after selecting the legacy operating system entry.

Working with Boot Configuration Data

Several tools are available to work with and manage the BCD, including the following:

• Startup and Recovery

• System Configuration utility

• BCD Editor

The sections that follow discuss how these tools are used.

Using the Startup and Recovery Dialog Box

The Startup and Recovery dialog box enables you to select the default operating system

to start if you have multiple operating systems installed on your computer. You can also

specify timeout values for operating system selection lists and recovery options.

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You can access the Startup and Recovery dialog box by following these steps:

1. Click Start

➝ Control Panel. In the Control Panel, click System and Mainte-

nance and then click System.

2. In the System utility, click “Advanced system settings” in the left pane.

3. On the Advanced tab of the System properties dialog box, click Settings under

Startup and Recovery. This displays the Startup and Recovery dialog box, as

shown in Figure 23-1.

4. Use the “Default operating system” drop-down list to specify the default operat-

ing system.

5. Set the timeout interval for the operating system list by selecting the “Time to

display list of operating systems” checkbox and specifying a timeout in seconds

in the field provided.

6. Set the timeout interval for the recovery options list by selecting the “Time to

display recovery options when needed” checkbox and specifying a timeout in

seconds in the field provided.

7. Click OK.

Figure 23-1. Setting startup and recovery options