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Windows 8 Secure Boot Controversy Refuses To Die

January 20th, 2012
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A “secure boot” feature that Microsoft will require of computer makers with Windows 8 continues to draw controversy.

Initial fears by the Linux community — that Microsoft’s requirements for secure boot on future Windows 8-based machines would thwart Linux use — appear to be half-correct. The catch seems to be that Linux will have trouble dual booting on Windows 8 ARM-based hardware only. Unfortunately, Microsoft has added nothing new to clarify this confusing matter.

Secure boot is part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification. It’s an optional security procedure in the UEFI spec that promises to address a security hole in current BIOS boot-up procedures. With secure boot, initial system-checking software can talk with the operating system, and it can ensure that malware doesn’t get loaded when a computer starts by verifying a Certificate Authority. This process is seen as advance in security because antimalware software today typically does not check the BIOS firmware upon bootup. BIOS is considered old software technology, and it’s static enough that it’s like an open book for hackers to attach malware to systems in an undetected manner.

The Linux community has complained that Microsoft will make it difficult, or impossible, to dual-boot Linux on Windows machines by requiring secure boot. By requiring hardware makers to enable secure boot on Windows 8 machines, future use of Linux will be thwarted, they have argued. The Linux Foundation, along with Red Hat and Canonical, has described some alternative plans to Microsoft’s secure boot requirement to address this potential problem.

Microsoft denied in a September blog post that using secure boot on Windows 8 PCs would prohibit dual boot to Linux. However, the company did indicate that users would have to turn off secure boot first before booting to Linux. They also claimed that OEMs had complete control over the decision to enable secure boot when producing new PCs.

This argument seemed somewhat settled until Computerworld author Glyn Moody noticed something a little different from Microsoft’s line of argument on page 116 of Microsoft’s “Windows Hardware Certification Requirements” for client and server systems, which bears a publish date of December 2011. On that page, it appears that Microsoft is telling OEMs producing ARM-based machines that secure boot is mandatory, whereas it can be disabled on non-ARM (x86) machines.

The reference to Custom Mode in Microsoft’s document represents another option closed off to Linux users on ARM-based machines. With Custom Mode enabled, users can write their own signatures for custom loaders, but Microsoft is precluding that option for ARM systems. This point is explained in an excellent overview of UEFI by Woody Leonhard in this Windows Secrets story.

Microsoft on Wednesday offered no comment on its Windows 8 certification requirements for ARM hardware and whether it indicates that secure boot is required on those systems. A spokesperson for Microsoft just pointed to the September blog post. However, based on Microsoft’s requirements document, that blog post appears to mislead with regard to ARM hardware.

It could be argued that by using the word, “PCs,” in the blog post Microsoft meant x86 machines only. However, that might amount to semantic quibbling given recent trends. Future ARM machines are expected to have multiple form factors. An ARM-based desktop model is part of the strategy for ARM Holdings, according to its CEO.

Device makers at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show mostly displayed tablet devices running Windows 8, according to a Computerworld article. However, Microsoft has argued in previous direction statements about enabling “create” kinds of experiences on tablets with its next-generation operating system. The idea is to make tablets akin to PCs in computing power.

Microsoft’s “Windows Hardware Certification Requirements” for client and server systems is offered as a guide to hardware builders, but they are likely to construe the word “must” in it as similar to contractual language. Barring any clarification from Microsoft, it looks like future users of Windows 8 on ARM-based computers won’t have an option to boot to Linux on their tablet or ultrabook computers.

Microsoft also published a December 2011-dated document called “Windows Hardware Certification Requirements” for devices. However, this 943-page document apparently does not discuss any secure boot requirements.

The Software Freedom Law Center offers interesting speculation about why the secure boot requirement is different between the two platforms (x86 and ARM). The group, which advocates for the use of software without any proprietary restrictions, suggested in a blog post that Microsoft would have angered Windows XP or Windows 7 users if it had blocked the use of those OSes on future x86 hardware, whereas there’s no previous hardware support legacy to worry about with forthcoming Windows 8 on ARM systems.

Source:http://redmondmag.com/articles/2012/01/19/windows-8-secure-boot-controversy.aspx

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Troubleshooting the boot process for Intel Macs

December 21st, 2011
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A number of events happen when you boot your Mac that activate the hardware and load the system software. Understanding these and some of the behaviors that the system might show when problems occur during these steps can help determine what you should do if your system will not boot properly.

Powering up
Upon pressing the power button on your system, computer components such as hard drives, add-in cards, and other controllers receive power and start initialization routines to ensure that their hardware is working OK. If these components are all in working order, then they will assume a “ready” state to send and receive instructions and data from other controllers in the system.

The main firmware on the motherboard then gets executed and interacts with the various system components in their “ready” states to ensure everything is running properly. If a vital component is not working properly, then the firmware will detect this and provide an alert or otherwise handle the situation such as by disabling access to the device.

The firmware’s first routine is to perform a Power-On Self Test (POST) to check for the presence and fidelity of the resources required to properly boot (i.e., RAM presence and abundance, or corruption in the system ROM files). At this point you may see or hear the following conditions if a problem arises:

Black screen with the power light on –> POST or boot ROM failure
Slow pulsing power LED –> bad RAM or no RAM
Groups of three pulsing power LED flashes –> not enough RAM

In some systems you may hear sounds if there is a problem:

A single tone sound every 5 seconds –> No RAM
Three tones every 5 seconds –> Bad RAM

Many times people may think problems such as battery malfunction or hard-drive failure may be the cause for these tones and flashing lights, but at this point the system is just interested in motherboard-based hardware components.

After the RAM is checked and the Boot ROM’s POST procedure completes with no errors, the system continues to load the EFI firmware that controls the motherboard’s hardware components, and when it does this it plays the boot chimes and activates the display. At this point you know the system hardware has checked out, and the system is ready to boot.

The firmware’s next step is to load variables that are stored in the system’s PRAM in addition to any you manually send it from keyboard hotkeys, some of which are the following:

Shift — Boot to Safe Mode
Command-V — boot to Verbose mode
Option — Load the boot menu
Option-Command-P-R — Reset PRAM settings

If the system is told to reset the PRAM, then the firmware clears all the PRAM values and restarts the system. If you hold the Option key, then the system will scan any initialized boot devices for the presence of a valid operating system and present them on screen in a boot menu. Other options like Shift or Command-V are stored for use later in the boot process.

Finding a boot device
If neither the boot menu nor PRAM reset commands are initiated, then the system scans initialized boot devices (hard drives in their “ready” state) for availability and searches them for a valid boot loader. Most computers will have a specific hard drive designated as the boot device in the computer’s firmware settings (PRAM) which will allow for quick booting from that device. If the device is neither present nor designated in the system’s PRAM, then the computer will search for a boot loader on each initialized hard drive in sequence and will boot to the first one that is found.

The boot loader for Macs using EFI firmware is called “Boot.efi” and is located on a small 200MB hidden partition that is set up by the GUID partition scheme, which is the default on Mac systems (on some systems this partition is called “Boot OSX”). When this file is read it directs the system to loads the OS X kernel and hardware required for booting, and accepts various boot commands from the firmware. These commands are passed to the system kernel, which then boots the system in different ways based on the command being given (such as Safe Mode and Verbose Mode mentioned earlier).

At this point, the computer still displays a gray screen, and if a problem occurs then the system may sit on the gray screen and not proceed any further. Some possible reasons for this would be that filesystem errors might prevent reading from the hard drive, a hardware conflict might be causing a hang, or a power management error might be preventing access to required system components. In these cases you can try booting from an alternative boot device such as an OS X installation DVD or recovery volume and then run Disk Utility to check and repair the hard drive, reset the PRAM and SMC on your system, or remove all peripheral devices and add-in cards. Apple has a knowledge base article that covers some troubleshooting routes for a system that is stuck on the grey startup screen.

If everything checks out with the boot.efi file and the system is bootable, then a gray Apple will appear; however, if not, then you may see the following alternative symbols displayed:

Folder with a question mark –> No bootable device found
Circle with a slash through it –> Cannot load the boot.efi boot loader

In these cases, the system will likely require a reinstallation of the operating system, especially if you already have tried checking for and repairing errors on the hard drive with Disk Utility. Another possible alternative symbol you may see is a globe, which means the system is looking for a net boot server. To prevent the system from doing this, try resetting the PRAM.

Loading the kernel
If none of these errors occur, you will then see a spinning wheel appear below the gray Apple symbol as the kernel is loaded and activated from the boot volume. At this point the system creates a sequestered virtual memory space called “kernel space” where it loads all the core system features and kernel extensions for managing low-level components like hardware and network access.

To aid in a quick launch of the system, the kernel reads the necessary kernel extensions from the boot caches, which may be located in the same EFI boot partition as the boot loader and kernel, and which reference the extensions that were used in the last active hardware configuration.

If new hardware is found or the caches are missing (as is the case when you clear system caches with third-party utilities), then the system will scan the various Extensions folders on the system for proper extensions, load them, and then update the caches accordingly. This process of rebuilding the caches may take a while, so you may see the gray wheel spin a little longer than usual during this time. If your system is always showing the spinning wheel for a long time, try booting into Safe Mode (hold Shift at startup), and also disconnect any add-on devices, especially those that require a device driver to run. Doing this will boot a minimal OS, leaving out unnecessary and third-party extensions. You can also try using a third-party utility in a general maintenance routine to clear the system and boot caches, to force the OS to rebuild them.

Up until this point the system has been loading in “kernel space,” but once the kernel has loaded all the drivers it needs, then the system needs to be able to run processes under different user accounts and manage access permissions, so it now creates a second virtual memory segment called “user space,” where it loads processes that are governed by user accounts and permissions.

Loading the system software
The first software process loaded in “user space” is called “launchd” (the system loader) and is run under the main system user account called “root.” The launchd process accepts some of the various boot commands passed to it from the EFI firmware (single-user mode, verbose mode, safe mode, etc.) from the firmware and proceeds to run the boot scripts which launch programs and services in the required sequence for booting.

When launchd is activated you will see a blue screen displayed on the system. Sometimes this blue screen will stay for a while as various low-level processes including the “Core” components (core audio, core image, core graphics, etc.), SystemStarter, WindowServer, and loginwindow are all started up. These processes allow for things like startup items to run, windows to be drawn and displayed on the screen, and finally the log-in window to be presented. At this point conflicts with the loading of launchd or any of these low-level processes may cause launchd to hang and show a long blue screen session.

If you experience a long blue-screen session, then try booting to Safe Mode and running a permissions fix on the boot drive using Disk Utility. If you cannot boot even in Safe Mode, then try doing the same in Single User mode by restarting with the Command-S keys held down. Then at the command prompt run the following two commands:

The first command will set the hard drive to be writable, and the second command will run the permissions fix routine. After the permissions repair routine is complete, then type “reboot” to restart the system normally.

Logging in
If the main launchd process loads properly, then the log-in window and its background will appear on the screen. The system directory that contains user account information is referenced and accounts details such as usernames and icons are loaded into the log-in window. The system then waits for valid log-in credentials, and then loads another “launchd” process under the supplied username (if you have your system set to automatically log on, then you will not see the log-in window). This second launchd process is similar to the main one, except that it loads under the restrictions of a specific user account instead of under the main “root” account. This ensures that it and all processes launched under it are restricted from accessing critical system files or those in other user accounts.

When the second launchd process initializes, the system will again display a blue screen before the system shows a log-in progress bar. The blue screen may be very brief if shown at all, though it also may be long if a conflict occurs. To address blue screen issues upon log-in, you can try running a permissions fix on the boot drive with Disk Utility as mentioned above, but also try resetting home folder permissions for your user accounts.

NOTE: If you are not sure whether your system is showing a blue screen at log-in or before, try turning off automatic log-in in the Security system preferences to see if the blue screen hangs happen before or after you see the log-in window.

Upon successful log-in, the new launchd process loads some background account services like the system interface server for managing the menu bar, font and text management routines and mdworker for indexing files for Spotlight. Finally it loads the Finder and Dock, which give you the environment needed for managing applications and the filesystem. At this point the system also runs any log-in items you have set in your account’s system preferences, and when these are complete, your system is ready to use.

Sometimes log-in items can result in problems such as system crashes or hangs if they are not configured correctly. In these cases, logging into the system may be a frustrating experience that always ends in a problem or two. To get around this, you try using the OS X Safe Login mode, which will prevent log-in items from automatically starting. To do this, immediately press and hold the Shift key after clicking the log-in button at the log-in window. If you have your system set to automatically log in, once you see the spinning gear under the Apple menu, then press and hold the Shift key. Do not do this before the spinning gear shows, or you will command the system to boot to Safe Mode instead of Safe Login.

Source:http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57345273-263/troubleshooting-the-boot-process-for-intel-macs/

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PC Dies Before It Can Begin to Boot

December 13th, 2011
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You can’t blame this one on Windows. If the PC shuts down before it tries to boot off the hard drive (or off of a CD or flash drive), then you definitely have a hardware problem. And the piece of hardware that’s giving you the problem is almost certainly not the hard drive.

You’re going to have to decide between fixing or replacing the computer. But before you do that, you must rescue your files–especially if you don’t have a recent backup.

Since you can’t boot off a CD or flash drive, and therefore can’t use a live Linux variant, you’ll have to remove the hard drive from the old computer and attach it to another computer as a second drive. I can’t tell you how to remove the hard drive for your particular model, but you can probably find instructions online. It isn’t difficult.

If the working PC is a desktop, you can open it up and install the broken PC’s drive as a second, non-booting drive. Or you can borrow or buy an SATA/USB or IDE/USB adapter that will turn the old drive temporarily into an external one. These adapters sell for anything from $15 to $30, and are your only real option if that working computer is a laptop, or if you borrowed the working PC and the owner doesn’t want you opening it.

Once a working computer can access the drive, you can copy your files to another location.

Now that you’ve saved your files, let’s get back to the original question: Repair or replace?

If the fan won’t start or dies soon after it does, the problem is likely your power supply. If you have a desktop PC, power supplies are cheap (some less than $30) and easy to replace. It might be worth a gamble to see if that’s your problem before you try anything else.

Otherwise, unless you’re particularly skilled at working with computer hardware, I’d recommend taking it to a professional. On the other hand, if the PC getting old, replacing it may make more sense.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/244869/pc_dies_before_it_can_begin_to_boot.html

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Linux Foundation wades into Windows 8 secure boot controversy

October 29th, 2011
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The Linux Foundation today released technical guidance to PC makers on how to implement secure UEFI without locking Linux or other free software off of new Windows 8 machines. The guidance included a subtle tisk-tisk at Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky for suggesting that PC owners won’t want to mess with control of their hardware and would happily concede that to operating system makers and hardware manufacturers.

Hey, why should the Free Software Foundation get the last word, with its anti-secure-boot petition?

BACKGROUND: Next-gen boot spec could forever lock Linux off Windows 8 PCs

The Red Hat/Canonical paper also warns that time is running short to stop the secure boot train. The paper’s first sentence is, “Given that Microsoft’s Windows 8 will require secure boot to be enabled by default, it is expected that the majority of personal computer devices will ship with it enabled in the first quarter of 2012.”

The paper then reiterates the fear that secure boot could lock Linux off of Windows 8 PCs forever. “Unfortunately, Microsoft’s recommended implementation of secure boot removes control of the system from the hardware owner, and may prevent open source operating systems from functioning. The Windows 8 requirement for secure boot will pressure OEMs to implement secure boot in this fashion.”

Microsoft has already publicly denied this — which I’ll get to in a minute — and the Linux Foundation is trying to stem the tide of anger by showing PC makers how secure UEFI can be implemented per Microsoft’s directive, while still giving PC owners control over their devices.

To recap: The next-generation boot specification is known as Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. Microsoft is requiring Windows 8 PC makers to use UEFI’s secure boot protocol to qualify for Microsoft’s Windows 8 logo program. Secure UEFI is intended to thwart rootkit infections by using a key infrastructure before allowing executables or drivers to be loaded onto the device. Problem is, such keys can also be used to keep the PC’s owner from wiping out the current OS and installing another option such as Linux. It can also prevent them from loading their own device drivers.

The Red Hat/Canonical paper points out that this can hinder third-party hardware manufacturers as much as it can hinder open source operating systems.

It is possible for OEMs to implement Secure UEFI in a way that users can simply disable it. Sinofsky, who is president of Microsoft’s Windows division, pointed this out in a blog post last month. He also noted that the Samsung Windows 8 developer tablet given away to BUILD attendees could disable secure boot. But Microsoft is not mandating the disable option. Matthew Garrett, a developer that works for Red Hat and has been involved in the UEFI specification process, has said that Red Hat is aware of some Windows 8 PCs that do not allow users a way to disable.

MORE FALLOUT: Some W8 PCs won’t turn off secure boot, Red Hat warns

The issue becomes even trickier if PC owners don’t want to disable secure UEFI and still want to be able to load Linux or to dual-boot Windows and Linux. In that case, they need access to the master platform key. Only the owner of the platform key can authorize new firmware or operating systems to be loaded onto the device. Then they will need a way to manage the signature database that validates the firmware, drivers and operating system.

Many free software advocates fear Microsoft is pushing an approach in which the key does not wind up in the hands of the devices owner.

“Steven Sinofsky has suggested in his blog posting … that the average platform owner might wish to give up control of the PK [platform key] (and with it control of the signature database) to Microsoft and the OEM suppliers of the platform. This mode of operation runs counter to the UEFI recommendation that the platform owner be the PK controller,” the Linux Foundation authors say in their paper entitled, Making UEFI Secure Boot Work With Open Platforms. The paper was written by James Bottomley, CTO at Parallels and Jonathan Corbet, Editor at LWN.net , both of whom are on the Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board.

This paper concedes that some PC owners may have no desire to manage a PK infrastructure to use their PCs and would just as soon give it over to Microsoft to do, even if that means they will not be able to load drivers or operating systems unless Microsoft first approves.

But the Red Hat/Canonical paper is not so soft spoken, and offers one reason after another as to why secure UEFI is simply a bad idea. The paper, UEFI Secure Boot Impact on Linux, was penned by James Bottomley, Jeremy Kerr, Technical Architect at Canonical and Matthew Garrett the Senior Software Engineer at Red Hat that has been warning the world about secure boot for months now.

“Although there are some end-user benefits of secure boot, there are some consequences that may
benefit proprietary software vendors, rather than the user,” the authors argue. These benefits could include forced hardware obsolescence and forcing a user to buy only from a designated pre-approved “App Store,” the authors say.

This paper also points out that hardware makers could be harmed by secure boot. “If the component vendors signs their own drivers, then they must ensure that their key is installed on all hardware they wish to support. This approach would prevent new hardware vendors from entering the market until they had distributed their key to a range of OEMs, and has a large per-platform overhead,” the authors write.

But for those that want control and want the extra security secure UEFI affords, The Linux Foundation paper is proposing several guidelines — and is taking a we-can-all-play-nicely-together tone, too.

The Linux Foundation wants:

1) all platforms that enable UEFI secure boot to ship “in setup mode” where the PC owner can be the one to initially control the platform key. The owner can choose one controlled by Microsoft at that time. The device owner should also be able to return to setup mode and change the choice. This is particularly important if the owner sells the machine.

2) an operating system to detect when the PC is in setup mode and install keys appropriately at that time and then activate secure boot mode.

3) a firmware-based mechanism used to allow a platform owner to add new keys for validating software while running in secure mode so that dual-boot systems can be set up.

4) a firmware-based mechanism for easy booting off of removable media.

5) At some future time, the Foundation also wants an operating-system- and vendor-neutral certificate authority to be established to issue keys for third-party hardware and software vendors. However, the paper notes while this would make using secure UEFI easier, a new CA isn’t mandatory.

The authors emphasize that secure UEFI doesn’t have to be a technology that drives stakes between Microsoft and free software.

“Some observers have expressed concerns that secure boot could be used to exclude open systems from the market, but, as we have shown, there is no need for things to be that way,” they write. “If vendors ship their systems in the setup mode and provide a means to add new [keys] to the firmware, those systems will fully support open operating systems while maintaining compliance with the Windows 8 logo requirements. ”

Still, how much burden will the average Windows 8 consumer want to take on to manage secure UEFI? How much will the typical enterprise want to do? Can PC makers find a balance?

Source:http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/79050

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FSF Criticizes Microsoft For Secure Boot Feature

October 21st, 2011
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Hardware manufacturers that want to ship Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system with their PCs need to implement the Secure Boot feature that is part of the UEFI specification. The feature basically determines which code or programs can be started during boot. The core intention here is to prevent malware and other unauthorized code from being executed when the computer boots. (see Windows 8, Boot Security And Third Party Operating Systems for details)

While that looks like a good security feature it also means that the feature will block other unauthorized operating systems from being started on the system.

The main problem that the Free Sofware Foundation (FSF) sees is that Microsoft is giving the manufacturers the power to decide how to implement the feature. This means in particular that hardware vendors could implement the feature in a way that the user could not install any other operating system on the PC.

Matthew Garrett points out that Windows 8 certification requires that hardware ship with UEFI boot enabled, that it does not require users to be able to disable the feature (which can be done) and that it does not require that the PCs ship with any keys other than that of Windows. According to Matthew, some hardware vendors have already confirmed their intention that they wont give the user the option to disable UEFI secure boot.

This means that the user may no longer be in control of the computer. The hardware manufacturers and Microsoft are.

What does this mean for the end user? Microsoft claim that the customer is in control of their PC. That’s true, if by “customer” they mean “hardware manufacturer”. The end user is not guaranteed the ability to install extra signing keys in order to securely boot the operating system of their choice. The end user is not guaranteed the ability to disable this functionality. The end user is not guaranteed that their system will include the signing keys that would be required for them to swap their graphics card for one from another vendor, or replace their network card and still be able to netboot, or install a newer SATA controller and have it recognise their hard drive in the firmware. The end user is no longer in control of their PC.

Even worse, it could furthermore mean that hardware that would otherwise be compatible with the PC won’t function because of missing signing keys. This could mean that users will be unable to swap graphics cards, network cards or other peripherals.

One could now say that users have to just buy from the right vendor to avoid this if they want to install other operating systems on their PC. The issue here is that this would require extensive research on part of the user. They first would need to be aware of the limitations of Secure Boot, and then need to research how particular PC vendors have implemented the feature in their PCs. This is far from practicable.

The only sure way out is to build your own PCs or convince Microsoft and hardware vendors to give users control over the feature. The FSF is asking users to sign a statement to “urge all computer makers implementing UEFI’s so-called “Secure Boot” to do it in a way that allows free software operating systems to be installed”.

Source:http://www.ghacks.net/2011/10/20/fsf-criticizes-microsoft-for-secure-boot-feature/

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How to Boot Into Safe Mode: Windows 7, Vista & XP Guide

November 14th, 2010
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If you are running Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista or 7 you may at some point need to boot into Safe Mode, this is a great diagnostic mode for Windows-based PCs and can often help you rectify problems.

In this post we will show you how to boot into Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking and Safe Mode with Command Prompt, if your computer fails to boot into Safe Mode it usually means that there is a more serious problem, such as a hardware fault or a corruption of important system files.

The first thing you must do is completely shut down your computer, once off you should turn it back on, wait roughly 5 seconds and then repeatedly press F8, if all goes to plan you should see a screen which says advanced boot options or something similar (see image below).

You can then use the up and down keys on your keyboard to choose different boot modes, when you have the correct one highlighted press enter and your PC will then boot into that mode.

In Safe Mode your computer only starts up a minimal amount of processes and services, this is for diagnostic purposes, however this does limit your computer’s functionality, one thing which you may notice is that there is no internet connectivity.

If your computer connects to the internet via a network/router you can instead choose Safe Mode with Networking, this should allow you to browse the internet, which can be very useful for virus removal etc.

Another option allows you to choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt, to be honest with you if you are confident enough to use command prompt you probably already know how to use Safe Mode.

Sometime pressing F8 too early upon boot up brings up the boot selection menu, if your computer shows this instead of the screen which shows the safe mode option the easiest thing to do is turn your PC off and upon boot up press F8 a little later than last time.

I hope this guide helps you to boot into safe mode, if you have any problems with the guide let me know in comments section below and I will do my best to help you.

Source:http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/14/how-to-boot-into-safe-mode-windows-7-vista-xp-guide/

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What is a boot sector?

September 7th, 2010
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A boot sector is information loaded on a computer hard drive that gives commands to the computer explaining how to preform the functions to boot up starting programs.

Discover how the boot sector is located on the very first ring of the hard drive code with information from a certified computer technician in this free video on computer hard drives.

Expert: Jonathan Ayres Bio: Jonathan Ayres has more than 25 years of computer industry experience with all types of computer hardware and operating systems.

Source:http://www.articlesfreedirectory.com/computersupport/computer-basics-what-is-a-boot-sector-2510.html

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