Cursor blinking

[Crackman]

Hi,

Maybe I'm being a bit neurotic here... but recently I noticed that after my BIOS screen, the cursor on the top left of the screen blinks once or twice, and then there comes the XP boot screen. It didn't do this before, so I was wondering what it is, that it could be doing..

I checked my boot.ini and msconfig and there's nothing that shouldn't be there. Also no abnormal services running..

I didn't change any settings in my BIOS either, so it seems there's nothing left to check.. unless someone here can help me out..

specs:

p4p800 SE

p4 3.0e

radeon9800pro

maxtor 160gig

philips dvdr

xp professional

Thanx in advance

[figgy]

My desktop has always done this. It has never bothered me.

It is probably reading some initialization files before switching from text mode to graphic mode.

[Crackman]

Thanx Figgy

hmm well.. that's probably it then.. still strange though, that it suddenly decides to do so..

What kind of initialisation files are we talking about here? like chipset driver files, agp drivers?

[Marsden]

An x86-based computer first starts in real mode. In real mode, the processor disables certain features in order to allow compatibility with software designed to run on 8-bit and 16-bit processors. Ntldr then switches the processor to 32-bit mode, which allows access to large amounts of memory and enables Windows XP Pro to start.

Starts the file system

Ntldr contains the program code that Windows XP Pro needs to read and write to disks formatted by using the NTFS or file allocation table (FAT16 or FAT32) file systems.

Reads the Boot.ini file

Ntldr parses the Boot.ini file to determine the location of the operating system boot partition. For systems that use a single-boot configuration, Ntldr initiates the hardware detection phase by starting Ntdetect.com. For multiple-boot configurations that include Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, or MS-DOS, you receive a menu of operating system choices at startup.

Note

If you choose Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0, Ntldr proceeds with the hardware detection phase. If you do not select Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0, control is passed to the boot sector for the other operating system. For example, if you select Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, or MS-DOS, Ntldr passes control to Bootsect.dos by reading MBR code that Bootsect.dos contains. This action causes the MBR code in Bootsect.dos to execute as if the instructions were read from the disk.

Detects hardware and hardware profiles

For x86-based systems, Ntldr starts Ntdetect.com, a program that performs basic device detection. Ntldr then passes Boot.ini information, as well as hardware and software data in the registry, to Ntoskrnl.exe. Ntdetect.com detects hardware profile information (for example, docked and undocked configurations for portable computers) and also checks for information stored in Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) tables. ACPI compliant firmware enables Windows XP Professional to detect device power management features and determine device resource requirements.

After processing the Boot.ini file, Ntldr starts Ntdetect.com. For x86-based systems, Ntdetect.com collects information about installed hardware by using calls to system firmware routines. Ntdetect.com then passes this information back to Ntldr. Ntldr gathers the data received from Ntdetect.com and organizes the information into internal data structures. Ntldr then starts Ntoskrnl.exe and provides it with information obtained from Ntdetect.com.

Ntdetect.com collects the following type of hardware and device information:

System firmware information, such as time and date

Bus and adapter types

Video adapters

Keyboard

Communication ports

Disks

Floppy disks

Input devices (such as mouse devices)

Parallel ports

Devices installed on the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus

Ntdetect.com plays a greater role for device enumeration in computers that are not ACPI compliant because in those computers, the firmware, not the operating system, determines the resources assigned to devices. For computers with ACPI firmware, Windows XP Pro assigns the hardware resources to use.

Ntldr is responsible for loading the Windows kernel (Ntoskrnl.exe) and the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) into memory. The Hal.dll file that your computer uses can vary. During installation, Windows XP Pro Setup copies one of several HAL files depending on your hardware setup.

Session Manager

After all entries that have Boot and Startup data types are processed, the kernel starts Session Manager. Session Manager (Smss.exe) performs important initialization functions, such as:

Creating system environment variables.

Starting the kernel-mode portion of the Windows subsystem (implemented by systemroot\System32\Win32k.sys), which causes Windows XP Professional to switch from text mode to graphics mode. Windows-based applications run in the Windows subsystem. This environment allows applications to access operating system functions, such as displaying information to the screen.

Starting the user-mode portion of the Windows subsystem (implemented by systemroot\System32\Csrss.exe).

Starting the Logon Manager (systemroot\System32\Winlogon.exe).

Creating additional virtual memory paging files.

Performing delayed rename operations for files listed in the registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations. For example, you might be prompted to restart the computer after installing a new driver or application so that Windows XP Pro can replace the file in use.

The Windows subsystem and the applications that run within it are user mode processes; they do not have direct access to hardware or device drivers. User-mode processes run at a lower priority than kernel-mode processes. When the operating system needs more memory, it can page to disk the memory that is used by user-mode processes.

Session Manager searches the registry for service information that is contained in the following subkeys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager contains a list of commands to run before loading services. The Autochk.exe tool is specified by the value of the BootExecute entry and virtual memory (paging file) settings stored in the Memory Management subkey. Autochk, which is a version of the Chkdsk tool, runs at startup if the operating system detects a file system problem that requires repair before completing the startup process.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Subsystems contains a list of available subsystems. For example, Csrss.exe contains the user-mode portion of the Windows subsystem.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\servicename. The Service Control Manager initializes services that the Start entry designates as Auto-load.

Logon Phase

The Windows subsystem starts Winlogon.exe, a system service that enables logging on and off. Winlogon.exe then does the following:

Starts the Services subsystem (Services.exe), also known as the Service Control Manager (SCM).

Starts the Local Security Authority (LSA) process (Lsass.exe).

Parses the CTRL+ALT+DEL key combination at the Begin Logon prompt.

The Graphical Identification and Authentication (GINA) component collects the user name and password, and passes this information securely to the LSA for authentication. If the user supplied valid credentials, access is granted by using either the Kerberos V 5 authentication protocol or NTLM.

Winlogon initializes security and authentication components while the Service Control Manager initializes Auto-load services and drivers. After the user logs on, the following events occur:

Control sets are updated. The control set referenced by the LastKnownGood registry entry is updated with the contents in the Clone entry. Clone, which is a copy of the CurrentControlSet entry, is created each time you start your computer. When a user logs on, the LastKnownGood control set is updated with configuration information from the previous user session.

Group Policy settings take effect. Group Policy settings that apply to the user and computer take effect.

Startup programs run. Windows XP Pro starts logon scripts, startup programs, and services referenced in the registry subkeys and folders.

Plug and Play Device Detection

Plug and Play detection runs asynchronously with the logon process and relies on system firmware, hardware, device driver, and operating system features to detect and enumerate new devices. Windows XP Pro optimizes Plug and Play support for computers equipped with ACPI firmware and enables enhanced features, such as hardware resource sharing.

When Plug and Play components are well coordinated, Windows XP Pro can detect new devices, allocate system resources, and install or request drivers with minimal user intervention. ACPI features are especially useful for mobile users who use portable computers that support standby, hibernation, hot and warm docking, or undocking features.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Marsden

[figgy]

Thats good information.

Thanks Marsden.

[Crackman]

  figgy said:

Thats good information.

Thanks Marsden.

It sure is.

Thanx dude

Looks like I'll just have to live with it, I guess...