Troubleshooting your computer problems with bootlog.txt

If you are experiencing problems with your computer maybe checking the info in bootlog.txt can help you in determining what went wrong.

Bootlog.txt is Windows system log file that is stored in C:\ root. This file logs the info about loading the system as well as all errors that have shown while OS was booting.

You can force the creation of a new bootlog.txt by hitting F8 at startup and choosing "Step by Step Confirmation" or by booting to a command prompt and starting Windows by using the "win /b" command. The previous copy of bootlog.txt will be renamed to bootlog.prv. Windows will keep only the current and most recent backup of bootlog.txt.

There are four main classes of events that are logged in the bootlog.txt:

Real-mode driver loading
VxD loading/initialization
dVxD loading/initialization
SysCritInit initialization of VxD's

The first ten lines of the file deal with the loading and success or failure of real mode drivers like HIMEM.SYS, EMM386 and SETVER. The rest of the file references the loading and initialization of VxD's, dVxD's, core files, and other protect mode Windows files.

Examination of the bootlog.txt file can give a good deal of insight into the boot process and files that tried to load when the system failed.

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