A manager is booting a tablet with Windows 8 installed. The boot process is currently at the step where the Windows kernel takes over. What is the next step in the boot process?

a) NTOSKRNL.EXE starts the login file called WINLOGON.EXE.
b) Winload uses the path specified in BOOTMGR to find the boot partition.
c) WinLoad loads two files that make up the core of Windows: NTOSKRNL.EXE and HAL.DLL.
d) The code in the boot sector is executed, and control of the boot process is given to Windows Boot Manager.

The next step after the Windows kernel takes over is initializing WINLOGON.EXE to start the user login process, allowing users to access their personalized environment.

Explanation:

When the Windows kernel takes over the boot process, it has already been loaded by the bootloader. The next step in the boot process for a Windows 8 tablet is that the kernel, specifically NTOSKRNL.EXE, starts the login process by initiating the WINLOGON.EXE file. This is part of the user authentication and session management processes.

Considering the operating system is responsible for managing the hardware and software resources, the transition to WINLOGON.EXE represents the shift from system-level processes to user-specific processes. This is how users are finally able to interact with their devices through the graphical user interface with their unique settings and preferences.