After completing the steps, a log file will be created in the Windows folder with the drivers that were loaded, including those that were not loaded.

Viewing the ntbtlog text file

To find and view the «Boot Log» file, use these steps:

Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.

Type the following file path:

In the text file, you can see information about drivers that Windows 10 loaded and didn’t load during the boot process, which you can now use in your troubleshooting process to resolve a related problem.

You can always revert the changes using the same instructions outlined above, but on step No. 5, make sure to use this command: bcdedit /set bootlog No .

Although this guide is focused on Windows 10, the «Boot Log» option has been available for years, and you can also use the same instructions on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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How to Analyze Boot Logs

Boot logging lists the files that successfully and unsuccessfully processed during startup. You use boot logging to log the Windows features that are processed when you start your computer in safe mode and also in normal mode. By comparing the differences between the two logs, you can determine which features are not required to start.

Windows records the name and path of each file that runs during startup in a log, %WinDir%\Ntbtlog.txt. The log marks each file as successful («Loaded Driver. «) or unsuccessful («Did Not Load Driver. «). Boot logging appends entries to Ntbtlog.txt when you start Windows in safe mode. Comparing normal mode and safe mode entries enables you to determine which services run in normal mode only-one of which must be the cause of the startup problem if Windows is able to start in safe mode successfully. The following lines are sample Ntbtlog.txt entries.

Note that not every «Did Not Load Driver» message necessarily indicates an error that would prevent Windows from booting, because many drivers are not required for Windows to start. To repair problems caused by problematic drivers when you can start safe mode, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer and enable boot logging.
2. Restart the computer after it fails and then start safe mode.
3. Click Start and then type %WinDir%\ntbtlog.txt. The boot log file opens in Notepad.
4. Compare the list of drivers loaded in normal mode to the list of drivers loaded in safe mode. The driver that is causing the system to fail is one of the drivers listed with «Loaded Driver. » in the normal mode boot log, but listed with «Did Not Load Driver. » in the safe mode boot log.
5. In safe mode, use Device Manager to replace or roll back potentially problematic drivers, as described in the next section, «How to Roll Back Drivers.» Start by replacing drivers that have been recently installed or updated. After replacing a driver, repeat this process until the system starts successfully in normal mode.

For the services that run only in normal mode, disable those services one at a time, trying to restart your computer in normal mode after you disable each service. Continue to disable services individually until your computer starts in normal mode.

To repair problems caused by problematic drivers when the computer does not start in safe mode, follow these steps:

How to Enable or Disable Boot Log in Windows 10

Booting the computer system involves loading an operating system from the various boot devices like drivers, network, and USB drives when the computer is switched on. Once the startup sequence finishes loading the operating system, the system hardware will be ready to perform complex operations. The Boot log is a record that maintains the list of success or failure of various pieces of Windows system during the booting process.

Enable or Disable Boot Log in Windows

The Boot log keeps a record of everything that has happened while loading from the computer storage system to the memory during the boot process. It is available for various devices like network, hardware devices, and operating system which assists in identifying problems during the boot process and other issues pertaining to the troubleshooting. With the help of the Boot log, users can find out the drivers unloaded and loaded from the start of the system during the boot process. In Windows, users can either enable or disable the Boot log feature.

The log file is named as ntbtlog.txt which lists all the successfully loaded processes as well as an unsuccessful process during the boot process. The log is saved to drive C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt. Users can enable or disable the Boot log in two ways. One is by using System Configuration (msconfig), and the other way is to use a Command Prompt. In this article, we explain how to enable or disable Boot log in Windows 10.

Enable Boot Log in System Configuration

Open Run by pressing Win + R key. To open System Configuration, type msconfig and click on OK.

In the System Configuration window, Go to Boot tab and check the with option Boot Log under Boot options to enable the Boot log feature.

Click on OK to save the changes.

Click on Restart button in the prompt window to start the Boot log process.

Once the restart is complete, navigate to C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt to access the boot log.

The log file consists of a list of all the successfully loaded drivers as well as the list of drivers that failed to load during the startup sequence. Every time the user restarts the system, the log file keeps updating and eventually increases the list entries. To easily locate the drivers and make your troubleshooting easier It is recommended to disable the boot log after troubleshooting.

Disable Boot Log in System Configuration

Open Run by pressing Win + R key. To open System Configuration, type msconfig and click on Ok.

In the System Configuration window, Go to Boot tab and uncheck the option with Boot Log under Boot options to disable the Boot log feature.

Click on OK to save the changes.

Enable Boot Log using Command Prompt

In the Start menu, type Command Prompt in the search bar. Right click on Command Prompt option and Run as administrator.

Type bcdedit in the command prompt and click Enter.

To enable the Boot log, you need to first find the Identifier of the current operating system. You can find the OS under the Windows Boot Loader section in the field called “Description”. In our case, it is Windows 10.

You can find the operating system identifier under the Windows Bootloader section next to the field name identifier. Generally, the identifier will be . To know if the boot log entry is enabled or disabled, check the field “Bootlog” under Windows Boot Loader. If the “bootlog” entry is enabled, the entry will be ‘Yes’. If the boot log is disabled, the entry will be ‘No’.