Lesson 3 - Chapter 1: Starting Up and Signing In

Question 1

What does WBM stand for?

Answer 1

Windows Boot Manager

Question 2

Where is the WBM stored? Where in particular?

Answer 2

WBM is stored on the active partition in its root directory (usually isn’t the C: drive, it’s a hidden system volume with no drive letter)

Question 3

What are the 8 steps in a Windows startup sequence?

Answer 3

1. Hardware starts up
2. BIOS/UEFI locates a valid boot disk
3. Boot Manager offers a choice of OS’s
4. Windows Boot Manager starts the Windows Loader
5. Windows Loader loads the Windows kernel
6. The Registry’s instructions are followed
7. A sign-in prompt appears
8. The rest of the Registry settings load

Question 4

During startup, after the hardware starts up, the BIOS/UEFI reads the data in either of which 2 places to search for a bootable OS?

Answer 4

1. Master Boot Record
2. GUID Partition Table

Question 5

What does the BIOS/UEFI start after it finds a bootable OS in either the MBR or GPT?

Answer 5

the Windows Boot Manager (WBM)

Question 6

When WBM starts, where does it read data from?

Answer 6

The boot configuration data (BCD) file

(contains info about various OS on the system, and instructions to bootstrap/load them)

Question 7

WBM passes control to the Windows Loader. What’s the path to the directory for Windows Loader?

Answer 7

C:\windows\system32\winload

Question 8

What does Windows Loader load as part of the next step?

Answer 8

it loads the Windows kernel

Question 9

What is the kernel? What does it load? (2)

Answer 9

the core part of the OS and loads Registry files and any essential startup drivers

Question 10

Where is the path for Windows kernel located?

Answer 10

C:\windows\system32\ntoskrnl

Question 11

After Windows Loader loads the Windows kernel, what does the kernel initiate?

Answer 11

the kernel initiates the Session Manager process (Smss.exe)

Question 12

What does the Session Manager process do?

Answer 12

it loads Registry settings

Question 13

What is the Registry?

Answer 13

a database of settings that tell Windows how to start up/how to operate

(extensive settings control what services and apps to load to how large the mouse pointer should be)

Question 14

Windows Loader loads the Windows kernel, and the kernel initiates the Session Manager process where the Registry’s instructions are followed. What’s next?

Answer 14

A sign-in prompt appears

Question 15

What loads after you sign in?

Answer 15

The rest of the Registry settings specific to that user account

(like appearance preferences, personal file locations, etc)

Question 16

Where do you go to change your sign-in method? (3 steps)

Answer 16

1. Settings
2. Accounts
3. Sign-in options

Question 17

What is Windows Hello?

Answer 17

Microsoft’s biometric authentication sign-in method, or a PIN

(trying to wean people off using passwords because more difficult for hackers to fake)

Question 18

How do you access Windows Hello facial recognition in Win10 and Win 11? (2)

Answer 18

Win 10 - Windows Hello Face
Win 11 - Facial Recognition

Question 19

What type of camera does the Windows Hello Face app require?

Answer 19

attached infrared (IR) camera

Question 20

How do you access fingerprint recognition in Win10 and 11? (2)

Answer 20

Win10 - Windows Hello Fingerprint
Win 11 - Fingerprint recognition

Question 21

What is a PIN?

Answer 21

a numeric string

Question 22

Is using a PIN considered more secure than a password? Why or why not?

Answer 22

Yes, because the PIN is unique to the PC and a remote hacker can’t use it to sign into your acct from another PC

Question 23

How do you setup a PIN in Win10 and 11?

Answer 23

Win10 - Windows Hello Pin
Win11 - PIN (Windows Hello)

Question 24

How do you setup a security key?

Answer 24

Have the key available

Security key > Manage

Question 25

What is a picture password?

Answer 25

You choose or upload a picture, then draw with a mouse to create a unique pattern for authentication

Question 26

What is Single Sign-On? (SSO)

Answer 26

an enterprise-level authentication method that allows users to sign in once to access multiple systems/resources

Question 27

How do businesses use SSO?

Answer 27

to simplify employee identification across systems

(like when you’re already signed into Facebook, don’t need to sign in again on another site or web game)

Question 28

How does SSO work? What type of framework?

Answer 28

via an Open Authorization (Oauth) framework. 3rd party services and systems authenticate the user based on the current sign-in on another system.