DFIR Reference · Disk Architecture

Windows Boot
Disk Explorer

Interactive partition map — click any partition, folder, or file to inspect its forensic role in the boot chain.

ESP / Boot
Windows (C:)
Recovery
MBR / GPT header
MSR
Unallocated
click partition segment to explore
click file to see forensic details
scroll boot chain nodes below
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NVMe SSD — 512 GB
GPT · MBR: protective · 512B sectors · Interface: PCIe 4.0
512 GB
Partitions
Select a partition →
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Click a partition to explore its files
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Click a file to see its forensic role
Boot chain — file interactions
The OS cycle — where the disk hands off

The files on this disk are only the first leg of the relay. Firmware reads the ESPbootmgfw.efiwinload.efi → the kernel ntoskrnl.exe, which creates System (PID 4) and the first user-mode process, smss.exe. From there the boot stops being a list of files and becomes a living process tree — showing which file owns the first process, when each runs, and what it is responsible for.

ESP / Boot files winload.efi ntoskrnl.exe System (PID 4) smss.exe Process Tree → explorer.exe
← The Booting Process (full walkthrough) Continue: Windows Process Tree →
From reading to doing

Inspect the boot disk with Crow-Eye

Crow-Eye images and parses the disk you just explored — the ESP, the GPT, and the boot-critical files — and flags rogue .efi binaries, partition anomalies, and bootkit indicators.

⬇ Download Crow-Eye