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Title covers 98% of my question.
I'm trying to figure out what the Windows Boot Manager BIOS boot option is. In doing so, I've disconnected every memory device that could possibly hold an OS, including the empty optical drive, from my motherboard. (I'm getting ready to yank out the graphics and wireless cards, too, in my pursuit of answers.)
But still Windows Boot Manager remains a ghostly and persistent boot option! Albeit one that doesn't load anything except the configuration screen of my BIOS.
Informed people of the Internet, I ask you:
What's this Windows Boot Manager BIOS option? And how does it exist without any disks connected?
(If it helps, this PC usually boots from a Windows 10 GPT/EFI SSD.)
Alex Favero
Posted 2015-10-07T23:38:48.337
Reputation: 45
Ah yes. But my "BIOS" actually supports both Legacy and EFI without having to enable any CSM options. So I suppose it's a bit of a "hybrid" (?). Thanks for your answer! – Alex Favero – 2015-10-07T23:50:31.117
Have a look at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-things-you-should-know-about-uefi/ - Points 5 through 7
– davidgo – 2015-10-08T00:13:20.203@davidgo the link in your comment should be added to your answer. – Moab – 2015-10-08T01:46:02.163
#5 from that techrepublic.com piece is flat-out wrong. Boot loaders are still required under EFI; they're just stored on the EFI System Partition (ESP) as files, rather than stored in the MBR, PBR, and other obscure places. I suspect the author meant "boot manager," not "boot loader," but even that's only partially true -- EFI does include a built-in boot manager, but it's often so minimalistic that it's next to useless. Other items on the techrepublic.com piece seem to be basically correct, although I've only skimmed it. – Rod Smith – 2015-10-08T18:49:47.673