SYSK 202: Shining a Light into the Mystery of the Boot Process
Want to know what’s going on during your computer boot time, i.e. which device drivers are being loaded, the results of the disk check, etc.? Just add /SOS switch to proper line in boot.ini. The boot.ini file is hidden, so you want see it in Windows Explorer. You can, however, type notepad c:\boot.ini in Start->Run prompt. Alternatively, you can go to My Computer -> Properties -> Advanced -> Start up and Recovery Settings -> Edit button to bring up same file.
In the [operating systems] section, add the /SOS switch after /fastdetect, and next time you reboot, you’ll see a bit more on what’s going on as your computer is booting up… This is especially useful if you think you have device driver related problems.
