Boot Process For XP

Windows XP boot up process:

    System is powered on
    The CMOS loads the BIOS and then runs POST
    Looks for the MBR on the bootable device, and loads NTLDR
    The BIOS/CMOS transfers control to the NTLDR
    NTLDR first looks for Hiberfil.sys ( if present, the system resumes from where it was hibernated)
    if the hiberfil.sys is not present, NTLDR looks for boot.ini
    If you have more than one operating system installed on your computer, Boot.ini will give you the option to choose the operating system to boot from.
    The selected operating system then boots, in windows XP involves the loading of the kernel
    After system services and user required DLLs are loaded, finally msgina.dll brings up the login screen.
    When the user logs on, the system checks for the user’s credentials in the SAM, if the credentials are correct, the user profile is loaded from documents and settings folder.
    This brings up the desktop and at that point, the ControlSets are copied to the CurrentControlSet in the registry. Now, the system is considered booted.