In legacy Windows boot processes, which file is responsible for reading the boot configuration and loading the kernel components?

In legacy Windows boot processes, which file is responsible for reading the boot configuration and loading the kernel components?

• A. Ntldr
• B. Gdi32.dll
• C. Kernel32.dll
• D. Boot.ini

Answer: (A)

In legacy Windows boot, the component that reads the boot configuration and starts the kernel is Ntldr. It sits on the system partition and, when the boot process begins, reads the boot.ini file to determine which Windows installation to boot. Based on that information, Ntldr loads the kernel image (ntoskrnl.exe) and the hardware abstraction layer (hal.dll) into memory and then hands control to the kernel to continue the startup sequence. Gdi32.dll and Kernel32.dll are user-mode DLLs loaded after the system is up, so they aren’t involved in the initial boot loading. Boot.ini is simply the configuration file Ntldr reads to know what options exist; it isn’t the loader itself.

In legacy Windows boot, the component that reads the boot configuration and starts the kernel is Ntldr. It sits on the system partition and, when the boot process begins, reads the boot.ini file to determine which Windows installation to boot. Based on that information, Ntldr loads the kernel image (ntoskrnl.exe) and the hardware abstraction layer (hal.dll) into memory and then hands control to the kernel to continue the startup sequence.

Gdi32.dll and Kernel32.dll are user-mode DLLs loaded after the system is up, so they aren’t involved in the initial boot loading. Boot.ini is simply the configuration file Ntldr reads to know what options exist; it isn’t the loader itself.