Volume Boot Sectors

Volume Boot Sectors

If you have arrived here through a search engine, and there’s no menu to the left click here!

Each partition or logical DOS volume has its own volume boot sector. This is distinct from the master boot sector or master boot record that controls the entire disk, but it is similar in concept. This is also sometimes called the volume boot record or partition boot sector. Each volume boot sector contains the following:

• Disk Parameter Block: Also referred to as called the media parameter block, this is a data table that contains specific information about the volume, such as its specifications, (size, number of sectors it contains, etc.), label name, and number of sectors per cluster used on the partition.
• Volume Boot Code: This is code that is specific to the operating system that is using this volume and is used to start the load of the operating system. This code is called by the master boot code that is stored in the master boot record, but only for the primary partition that is set as active. For other partitions, this code sits unused.

The volume boot sector is created when you do a high-level format of a hard disk partition. The boot sector’s code is executed directly when the disk is booted, making it a favorite target for virus writers. The information contained in the disk parameter block is used by the operating system to determine where other internal structures of the partition are located, such as the file allocation tables.

Notice: Windows® 95, Windows® 98, Windows® NT, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP and Microsoft® Office are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.