Windows Booting Simplified
This article is not intended to be a detailed accounting of how Windows boots in the 'modern world' (which is essentially Vista and above). The 'old fashion' Windows NT 4, 2003 boot methods are not addressed here. See the last section for some links on more detailed information.
Modern PC Booting for Windows based on x86, i386, x64, whatever you want to broadly label the Intel 8086/8088 lineage
- Power is turned on
- CPU starts a program ("First Boot Program")
- Hardware is / can be tested by the "First Boot Program" (if issues, booting is halted / can be halted)
- "First Boot Program" starts a "Second Boot Program" (Bootloader)
- "Second Boot Program" starts Operating System (Windows, Linux, etc.)
- Operating System boot completes, computer is useful (hopefully)
MBR (Master Boot Record) VS UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, sometimes referred to as just EFI)
Again, this is not a detailed explanation...
Windows can boot (the "Second Boot Program" as referred to above) via two methods.
- Computer is powered on and begins boot process.
- "Second Boot Program"
Odd Microsoft Quirk (go figure)
No, all the documentation you read is not messed up. Microsoft refers to the Partition / Volume that contains the "Second Boot Program" as the "System Partition / Volume". The "Boot Partition / Volume" is where Windows Operating System files are located. The Boot and System Partition can be on the same Partition / Volume. It helps if you think about this from a vain, myopic, selfish "Microsoft Windows" perspective where the 'real booting' only begins with Microsoft Windows.
Links for more Detailed Information
Booting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booting
MBR Booting (and repair): http://woshub.com/how-to-rebuild-bcd-file-in-windows-10/