System partition and boot partition: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:55, 24 May 2017

Revision as of 06:59, 24 May 2017

Line 13:

==Microsoft definition==

Since [[Windows NT 3.1]] (the first version of Windows NT),<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of System and Boot Partition |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/100525 |website=Support |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |accessdate=18 February 2016 |dead-url=yes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313090403/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/100525 |archive-date=13 March 2016}}</ref> Microsoft has defined the terms as follows:

*The ''system partition'' is a primary partition that contains the boot loader, a piece of software responsible for booting the OS.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|first1=Mitch|last1=Tulloch|first2=Ingrid|last2=Tulloch|title=Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking|yearlast2=2002Tulloch|first2=Ingrid|publisher=[[Microsoft Press]]|___locationyear=Redmond, WA2002|isbn=0-7356-1378-8|page=1087|edition=2nd|___location=Redmond, WA|pages=|first1=Mitch|last1=Tulloch}}</ref>{{Rp|1087}} This partition holds the [[boot sector]] and is marked active.<ref name=winternals5>{{cite book|last1=Russinovich|first1=Mark E|last2=Ionescu|first2=Alex|last3=Solomon|first3=David A|title=Windows Internals|year=2008|publisher=Microsoft Press|___location=Redmond, WA|isbn=0-7356-2530-1|edition=5th}}</ref>{{rp|970}}

*The ''boot partition'' is the disk partition that contains the operating system folder, known as ''system root'' or <code>%systemroot%</code> in [[Windows NT]].<ref name=":0" />{{cite bookRp|first1=Mitch|last1=Tulloch|first2=Ingrid|last2=Tulloch|title=Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking|year=2002|publisher=[[Microsoft Press]]|___location=Redmond, WA|isbn=0-7356-1378-8|page=174|edition=2nd}}</ref>

A single partition may be both a system and a boot partition. In case they are separate, however, the boot partition does not contain the boot software and the system partition does not have the system root.<ref name=winternals5 />{{rp|971}}