<s>
The	O
booting	B-Operating_System
process	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
varies	O
between	O
different	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
then	O
loaded	O
WIN100.BIN	O
or	O
WIN200.BIN	O
and	O
WIN100.OVL	O
or	O
WIN200.OVL	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
configuration	O
settings	O
file	O
WIN.INI	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
default	O
shell	O
is	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
Executive	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
3.x	I-Application
and	O
95/98/ME	O
,	O
the	O
boot	B-Operating_System
loader	O
phase	O
is	O
handled	O
by	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
boot	B-Operating_System
phase	O
,	O
CONFIG.SYS	B-Device
and	O
AUTOEXEC.BAT	O
are	O
executed	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
configuration	O
settings	O
files	O
WIN.INI	B-Protocol
and	O
SYSTEM.INI	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	O
device	O
drivers	O
are	O
also	O
loaded	O
in	O
the	O
startup	O
process	O
:	O
they	O
are	O
most	O
commonly	O
loaded	O
from	O
the	O
registry	O
(	O
HKLM	O
\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD	O
)	O
or	O
from	O
the	O
SYSTEM.INI	B-Protocol
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
is	O
logging	O
on	O
to	O
Windows	O
,	O
the	O
startup	O
sound	O
is	O
played	O
,	O
the	O
shell	O
(	O
usually	O
EXPLORER.EXE	O
)	O
is	O
loaded	O
from	O
the	O
 [ boot ] 	O
section	O
of	O
the	O
SYSTEM.INI	B-Protocol
file	O
,	O
and	O
startup	O
items	O
are	O
loaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
9x	O
except	O
ME	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
possible	O
to	O
load	O
Windows	O
by	O
booting	B-Operating_System
to	O
a	O
DOS	O
prompt	O
and	O
typing	O
"	O
win	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
some	O
command	O
line	O
switches	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
WIN	O
command	O
:	O
with	O
the	O
/D	O
switch	O
,	O
Windows	O
boots	O
to	O
safe	B-Operating_System
mode	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
/D:n	O
switch	O
,	O
Windows	O
boots	O
to	O
safe	B-Operating_System
mode	I-Operating_System
with	O
networking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
startup	O
sound	O
was	O
first	O
added	O
in	O
Windows	O
3.0	O
after	O
installing	O
the	O
Multimedia	O
Extensions	O
(	O
MME	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
enabled	O
by	O
default	O
until	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
,	O
the	O
booting	B-Operating_System
process	O
is	O
initiated	O
by	O
NTLDR	B-Application
in	O
versions	O
before	O
Vista	O
and	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Boot	I-Operating_System
Manager	I-Operating_System
in	O
Vista	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
boot	B-Operating_System
loader	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
accessing	O
the	O
file	O
system	O
on	O
the	O
boot	B-Operating_System
drive	O
,	O
starting	O
ntoskrnl.exe	O
,	O
and	O
loading	O
boot-time	O
device	O
drivers	O
into	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
all	O
the	O
boot	B-Operating_System
and	O
system	O
drivers	O
have	O
been	O
loaded	O
,	O
the	O
kernel	O
starts	O
the	O
session	O
manager	O
,	O
which	O
begins	O
the	O
login	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
successfully	O
logged	O
into	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
winlogon	O
applies	O
User	O
and	O
Computer	O
Group	O
Policy	O
setting	O
and	O
runs	O
startup	O
programs	O
declared	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Registry	I-Protocol
and	O
in	O
"	O
Startup	O
"	O
folders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
,	O
this	O
has	O
been	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
services.exe	O
program	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
load	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
system	O
services	O
before	O
a	O
user	O
logs	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
minimally	O
restricted	O
environment	O
of	O
these	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
any	O
program	O
can	O
add	O
itself	O
to	O
the	O
Startup	O
registry	B-Protocol
key	I-Protocol
or	O
system	O
folder	O
.	O
</s>
