BCDEdit Notes

BCDEdit (version 6.1.7601) - Command Reference

BCDEdit (version 6.1.7601) shipped with Windows 7 (SP1). The following output has been obtained from running bcdedit.exe /? COMMAND (e.g. bcdedit.exe /? /export). Any entries in capital letters are topics (e.g. ID). All lowercase entries (e.g. /deletevalue) are commands -

/?
/bootdebug
/bootems
/bootsequence
/copy
/create
/createstore
/dbgsettings
/debug
/default
/delete
/deletevalue
/displayorder
/ems
/emssettings
/enum
/export
/FORMATS
/hypervisorsettings
/ID
/import
/mirror
/set
/store
/timeout
/toolsdisplayorder
/TOPICS
/TYPES
/TYPES BOOTAPP
/TYPES BOOTMGR
/TYPES BOOTSECTOR
/TYPES CUSTOMTYPES
/TYPES FWBOOTMGR
/TYPES MEMDIAG
/TYPES NTLDR
/TYPES OSLOADER
/TYPES RESUME
/v

?
BCDEDIT - Boot Configuration Data Store Editor The Bcdedit.exe command-line tool modifies the boot configuration data store. The boot configuration data store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is booted. These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile RAM entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface-based operating systems). You can use Bcdedit.exe to add, delete, edit, and append entries in the boot configuration data store. For detailed command and option information, type bcdedit.exe /? <command>. For example, to display detailed information about the /createstore command, type: bcdedit.exe /? /createstore For an alphabetical list of topics in this help file, run "bcdedit /? TOPICS". Commands that operate on a store ================================ /createstore Creates a new and empty boot configuration data store. /export Exports the contents of the system store to a file. This file can be used later to restore the state of the system store. /import Restores the state of the system store using a backup file created with the /export command. /sysstore Sets the system store device (only affects EFI systems, does not persist across reboots, and is only used in cases where the system store device is ambiguous). Commands that operate on entries in a store =========================================== /copy Makes copies of entries in the store. /create Creates new entries in the store. /delete Deletes entries from the store. /mirror Creates mirror of entries in the store. Run bcdedit /? ID for information about identifiers used by these commands. Commands that operate on entry options ====================================== /deletevalue Deletes entry options from the store. /set Sets entry option values in the store. Run bcdedit /? TYPES for a list of datatypes used by these commands. Run bcdedit /? FORMATS for a list of valid data formats. Commands that control output ============================ /enum Lists entries in the store. /v Command-line option that displays entry identifiers in full, rather than using names for well-known identifiers. Use /v by itself as a command to display entry identifiers in full for the ACTIVE type. Running "bcdedit" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE". Commands that control the boot manager ====================================== /bootsequence Sets the one-time boot sequence for the boot manager. /default Sets the default entry that the boot manager will use. /displayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the multiboot menu. /timeout Sets the boot manager time-out value. /toolsdisplayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the tools menu. Commands that control Emergency Management Services for a boot application ========================================================================== /bootems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for a boot application. /ems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for an operating system entry. /emssettings Sets the global Emergency Management Services parameters. Command that control debugging ============================== /bootdebug Enables or disables boot debugging for a boot application. /dbgsettings Sets the global debugger parameters. /debug Enables or disables kernel debugging for an operating system entry. /hypervisorsettings Sets the hypervisor parameters.

bootdebug
This command enables or disables the boot debugger for the specified boot entry. Although this command works for any entry, it is only effective for boot applications. bcdedit /bootdebug [<id>] { ON | OFF } <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be modified. For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". Examples: The following command enables boot debugging for the Windows operating system loader of the current operating system boot entry: bcdedit /bootdebug ON The following command disables boot debugging for the Windows boot manager: bcdedit /bootdebug {bootmgr} OFF

bootems
This command enables or disables Emergency Management Services for the specified entry. bcdedit /bootems [<id>] { ON | OFF } <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be modified. Although this command will work for any entry, it is only effective for boot applications. Example: The following command enables Emergency Management Services for the boot manager: bcdedit /bootems {bootmgr} ON

bootsequence
This command sets the one-time boot sequence to be used by the boot manager. bcdedit /bootsequence <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ] <id> [...] Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the boot sequence. You must specify at least one identifier and must separate identifiers by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirst Adds the specified entry identifier to the top of the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single identifier may be specified. If the identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the top of the list. /addlast Adds the specified entry identifier to the end of the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single identifier may be specified. If the identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /remove Removes the specified entry identifier from the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list then the operation has no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the boot sequence value is deleted from the boot manager entry. Examples: The following command sets two OS entries and the NTLDR based OS loader in the boot manager one-time boot sequence: bcdedit /bootsequence {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {ntldr} The following command adds the specified OS entry to the end of the boot manager one-time boot sequence: bcdedit /bootsequence {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

copy
This command creates a copy of the specified boot entry. bcdedit [/store <filename>] /copy {<id>} /d <description> <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be copied. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". <description> Specifies the description to be applied to the new entry. Example: The following command creates a copy of the specified operating system boot entry: bcdedit /copy {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} /d "Copy of entry"

create
This command creates a new entry in the boot configuration data store. If a well-known identifier is specified, then the /application, /inherit and /device options cannot be specified. If the <id> is not specified, or if <id>is not well-known, then you must specify an /application, /inherit or /device option. bcdedit /create [{<id>}] [/d <description>] [/application <apptype> | /inherit [<apptype>] | /inherit DEVICE | /device] <id> Specifies the identifier to be used for the new entry. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". <description> Specifies the description to be applied to the new entry. /application <apptype> Specifies that the new entry must be an application entry. <apptype> specifies the application type. <apptype> can be one of the following: BOOTSECTOR OSLOADER RESUME STARTUP If you use other application types instead of one of these, you must also specify a well-known identifier. /inherit [<apptype>] Specifies that the new entry must be an inherit entry, and <apptype> specifies the application type. If <apptype> is not specified, then the entry can be inherited by any entry. If specified, <apptype> can be one of the following: BOOTMGR BOOTSECTOR FWBOOTMGR MEMDIAG NTLDR OSLOADER RESUME The modifier prevents the inherit entry from being inherited by an application entry of <apptype>. /inherit DEVICE Specifies that the new entry must be an inherit entry, and that the entry can only be inherited by a device options entry. /device Specifies that the new entry must be an additional device options entry. Examples: The following command creates a NTLDR based OS loader entry (Ntldr): bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Earlier Windows OS Loader" The following command creates a RAM disk additional options entry: bcdedit /create {ramdiskoptions} The following command creates a new operating system boot entry: bcdedit /create /d "Windows Vista" /application osloader The following command creates a new debugger settings entry: bcdedit /create {dbgsettings}

createstore
bcdedit /createstore <filename> This command created a new empty boot configuration data store. The created store is not a system store. <filename> Specifies the filename of the boot configuration data store. If the filename contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). Example: The following command creates the specified store file: bcdedit /createstore C:\DATA\BCD

dbgsettings
This command sets or displays the global debugger settings for the system. This command does not enable or disable the debugger for any particular boot entry. To enable or disable the debugger for a particular boot entry, use "bcdedit /debug < identifier> ON". For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". To set an individual global debugger setting, use "bcdedit /set {dbgsettings} <type> <value>". For information about valid types, run "bcdedit /? TYPES". bcdedit /dbgsettings [ <debugtype> [DEBUGPORT:<port>] [BAUDRATE:<baud>] [CHANNEL:<channel>] [TARGETNAME:<targetname>] /start <startpolicy> /noumex ] <debugtype> Specifies the type of debugger. <debugtype> can be one of SERIAL, 1394 or USB. <port> For SERIAL debugging, specifies the serial port to use as the debugging port. This is an optional setting. <baud> For SERIAL debugging, specifies the baud rate to be used for debugging. This is an optional setting. <channel> For 1394 debugging, specifies the 1394 channel to be used for debugging. <targetname> For universal serial bus (USB) debugging, specifies the USB target name to be used for debugging. /start <startpolicy> For all debugger types, this specifies the debugger start policy. <startpolicy> can be one of the following: ACTIVE AUTOENABLE DISABLE. If not specified, ACTIVE is the default. /noumex If specified, this causes the kernel debugger to ignore any user-mode exceptions. Examples: The following command displays the current global debugger settings: bcdedit /dbgsettings The following command sets the global debugger settings to serial debugging over com1 at 115,200 baud: bcdedit /dbgsettings SERIAL DEBUGPORT:1 BAUDRATE:115200 The following command sets the global debugger settings to 1394 debugging using channel 23: bcdedit /dbgsettings 1394 CHANNEL:23 The following command sets the global debugger settings to USB debugging using target name DEBUGGING: bcdedit /dbgsettings USB TARGETNAME:DEBUGGING

debug
This command enables or disables the kernel debugger for the specified boot entry. bcdedit /debug [<id>] { ON | OFF } <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be modified. Only Windows boot loader entries may be specified. If not specified, {current} is used. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". Examples: The following command enables kernel debugging for the current Windows operating system boot entry: bcdedit /debug ON The following command disables kernel debugging for the specified operating system entry: bcdedit /debug {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} OFF

default
This command sets the default entry that the boot manager will use when the timeout expires. bcdedit /default <id> <id> Specifies the identifier of the boot entry to be used as the default when the time-out expires. For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". Examples: The following command sets the specified entry as the default boot manager entry: bcdedit /default {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} The following command sets the NTLDR based OS loader as the default entry: bcdedit /default {ntldr}

delete
This command deletes an entry from the boot configuration data store. bcdedit [/store <filename>] /delete <id> [/f] [/cleanup | /nocleanup] <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <id> Specifies the identifier of the boot entry that you want to delete. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /f Deletes the specified entry. Without this option, Bcdedit will not delete any entries that have a well-known identifier. /cleanup Deletes the specified entry and removes the entry from the display order. Any other references to the entry being deleted will also be removed from the store. When deleting an OS loader entry, the associated resume from hibernation entry is also deleted if it is not referenced by any other OS loaders. This option is assumed unless /nocleanup is specified. /nocleanup Deletes the specified entry without removing the entry from the display order. Examples: The following command deletes the specified operating system entry from the store and removes the entry from the display order: bcdedit /delete {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} The following command deletes the specified operating system entry from the store and removes the entry from the display order: bcdedit /delete {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} /cleanup The following command deletes the specified operating system entry from the store without removing the entry from the display order: bcdedit /delete {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} /nocleanup The following command deletes the NTLDR based OS loader entry from the store: bcdedit /delete {ntldr} /f

deletevalue
This command deletes a data element from an entry in the boot configuration data store. bcdedit [/store <filename>] /deletevalue [<id>] <datatype> <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry that will be modified. If not specified, {current} is used. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". <datatype> Specifies the option that will be removed from the specified entry. Run "bcdedit /? TYPES" for more information about data types. Examples: The following command deletes the bootsequence option from the boot manager entry: bcdedit /deletevalue {bootmgr} bootsequence The following command deletes the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) value from the current operating system boot entry: bcdedit /deletevalue winpe The following command deletes the Windows PE value from the specified operating system boot entry: bcdedit /deletevalue {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} winpe

displayorder
This command sets the display order to be used by the boot manager. bcdedit /displayorder <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ] <id> [...] Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the display order. At least one identifier must be specified and they must be separated by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirst Adds the specified entry identifier to the top of the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it will be moved to the top of the list. /addlast Adds the specified entry identifier to the end of the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /remove Removes the specified entry identifier from the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list then the operation has no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the display order value is deleted from the boot manager entry. Examples: The following command sets two OS entries and the NTLDR based OS loader in the boot manager display order: bcdedit /displayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {ntldr} The following command adds the specified OS entry to the end of the boot manager display order: bcdedit /displayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

ems
This command enables or disables Emergency Management Services for the specified operating system boot entry. bcdedit /ems [<id>] { ON | OFF } <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be modified. Only "Windows boot loader" entries can be specified. If not specified, {current} is used. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". Example: The following command enables Emergency Management Services for the current operating system boot entry: bcdedit /ems ON

emssettings
This command sets the global Emergency Management Services settings for the system. Emssettings does not enable or disable Emergency Management Services for any particular boot entry. bcdedit /emssettings [ BIOS ] | [ EMSPORT:<port> | [EMSBAUDRATE:<baudrate>] ] BIOS Specifies that the system will use BIOS settings for the Emergency Management Services configuration. This works only on systems that have Emergency Management Services support provided by the BIOS. <port> Specifies the serial port to use as the Emergency Management Services port. This should not be specified with the BIOS option. <baudrate> Specifies the serial baud rate to use for Emergency Management Services. This command should not be specified with the BIOS option. <baudrate> is optional, and the default is 9,600 baud. Examples: The following command sets the Emergency Management Services parameters to use BIOS settings: bcdedit /emssettings BIOS The following command sets the Emergency Management Services parameters to use com2: at 115,200 baud. bcdedit /emssettings EMSPORT:2 EMSBAUDRATE:115200

enum
This command lists entries in a store. The /enum command is the default, so running "bcdedit" without parameters is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE". bcdedit [/store <filename>] /enum [<type> | <id>] [/v] <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <type> Specifies the type of entries to be listed. <type> can be one of the following: ACTIVE All entries in the boot manager display order. This is the default. FIRMWARE All firmware applications. BOOTAPP All boot environment applications. BOOTMGR The boot manager. OSLOADER All operating system entries. RESUME All resume from hibernation entries. INHERIT All inherit entries. ALL All entries. <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be listed. If an identifier is provided, then only the specified object will be listed. For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /v Displays entry identifiers in full, rather than using names for well-known identifiers. Examples: The following command lists all operating system loader boot entries: bcdedit /enum OSLOADER The following command lists all boot manager entries: bcdedit /enum BOOTMGR The following command lists only the default boot entry: bcdedit /enum {default} The following command lists only the specified operating system boot entry: bcdedit /enum {b38a9fc1-5690-11da-b795-e9ad3c5e0e3a}

export
bcdedit /export <filename> This command exports the contents of the system store into a file. This file can be used later to restore the state of the system store. This command is only valid for the system store. <filename> The filename to be used as the destination for the export. If the filename contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). Example: The following command exports the system store to the specified file: bcdedit /export "C:\Data\BCD Backup"

FORMATS
The following describes the formats of the data that are required for <datatypes> used with the /set command. The format that is required depends on the <datatypes> that you specify with the /set command. For more information about the formats associated with each <datatype>, run "bcdedit /? TYPES". bool A boolean value. The following values correspond to TRUE: 1, ON, YES, TRUE The following values correspond to FALSE: 0, OFF, NO, FALSE device A device can be one of the following types: BOOT PARTITION=<drive> HD_PARTITION=<drive> FILE=[<parent>]<path> RAMDISK=[<parent>]<path>,<optionsid> VHD=[<parent>]<path>,<locatecustom> The options for these types are: <drive> A drive letter with a colon and no trailing backslashes. <parent> (Required) Can be either BOOT, LOCATE, or a drive letter with colon. The square brackets do not indicate that this is optional, but are a literal part of the syntax. <path> A path to the file (or .wim file) from the root of the parent device. <optionsid> The identifier to the device options entry that contains the system deployment image (SDI) options for the RAM disk. This is usually {ramdisksdioptions}. <locatecustom> Supplies an optional element used to locate a device within a VHD. The default locate element for a device is its application path (systemroot for an osdevice). Custom values must be specified using custom element sytax (see -help types customtypes), for example: locate=custom:22000002. id An entry identifier, which refers to an entry in the boot configuration data store. Run "bcdedit /? ID" for more information about identifiers. integer A 64-bit integer type. Some integer types can be set using enumerated values. integerlist A list of one or more 64-bit integers, separated by spaces. This list should not be enclosed in quotation marks. list An entry identifier list. It contains one or more entry identifiers separated by spaces. The list should not be enclosed in quotation marks. string A literal string. If it contains spaces, it should be surrounded by quotation marks ("").

hypervisorsettings
This command sets or displays the hypervisor settings for the system. This command does not enable or disable the hypervisor debugger for any particular OS loader entry. To enable or disable the hypervisor debugger for a particular OS loader entry, use "bcdedit /set <identifier> HYPERVISORDEBUG ON". For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". To set an individual hypervisor debugger setting, use "bcdedit /set {hypervisorsettings} <type> <value>". For information about valid types, run "bcdedit /? TYPES". bcdedit /hypervisorsettings [ <debugtype> [DEBUGPORT:<port>] [BAUDRATE:<baud>] [CHANNEL:<channel>] ] <debugtype> Specifies the type of debugger. <debugtype> can be one of SERIAL or 1394. <port> For SERIAL debugging, specifies the serial port to use as the debugging port. <baud> For SERIAL debugging, specifies the baud rate to be used for debugging. <channel> For 1394 debugging, specifies the 1394 channel to be used for debugging. Examples: The following command displays the current hypervisor settings: bcdedit /hypervisorsettings The following command sets the hypervisor debugger settings to serial debugging over COM1 at 115,200 baud: bcdedit /hypervisorsettings SERIAL DEBUGPORT:1 BAUDRATE:115200 The following command sets the hypervisor debugger settings to 1394 debugging using channel 23: bcdedit /hypervisorsettings 1394 CHANNEL:23

ID
IDENTIFIERS Many of the Bcdedit commands require identifiers. An identifier uniquely identifies entries contained in the store. An identifier takes the form of a globally unique identifier, or GUID. A GUID has the following format, where each "x" represents a hexadecimal digit. {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} For example: {d2b69192-8f14-11da-a31f-ea816ab185e9} The position of the dashes (-) and the braces at the beginning and end of the GUID are required. Several entries can be identified by well-known identifiers. If an entry has a well-known identifier, BCDedit displays it in output unless the /v command-line switch is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? /v". The well-known identifiers are as follows: {bootmgr} Specifies the Windows boot manager entry. {fwbootmgr} Specifies the firmware boot manager entry, specifically on systems that implement the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) specification. {memdiag} Specifies the memory diagnostic application entry. {ntldr} Specifies a OS loader (Ntldr) that can be used to start operating systems earlier than Windows Vista. {current} Specifies a virtual identifier that corresponds to the operating system boot entry for the operating system that is currently running. {default} Specifies a virtual identifier that corresponds to the boot manager default application entry. {ramdiskoptions} Contains the additional options required by the boot manager for RAM disk devices. {dbgsettings} Contains the global debugger settings that can be inherited by any boot application entry. {emssettings} Contains the global Emergency Management Services settings that can be inherited by any boot application entry. {badmemory} Contains the global RAM defect list that can be inherited by any boot application entry. {globalsettings} Contains the collection of global settings that should be inherited by all boot application entries. {bootloadersettings} Contains the collection of global settings that should be inherited by all Windows boot loader application entries. {resumeloadersettings} Contains the collection of global settings that should be inherited by all Windows resume from hibernation application entries. {hypervisorsettings} Contains the hypervisor settings that can be inherited by any OS loader entry.

import
bcdedit /import <filename> [/clean] This command restores the state of the system store using a backup data file previously generated using the /export command. Any existing entries in the system store are deleted before the import takes place. This command is only valid for the system store. <filename> The name of the file that is imported into the system store. If the filename contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). /clean Specifies that all existing firmware boot entries should be deleted (only affects EFI systems). Example: The following command imports the specified file into the system store. bcdedit /import "C:\Data\BCD Backup" /clean

mirror
This command creates a mirror of the specified boot entry. bcdedit [/store <filename>] /mirror {<id>} <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be mirrored. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". Example: The following command creates a mirror of the specified operating system boot entry: bcdedit /mirror {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71}

set
This command sets an entry option value in the boot configuration data store. bcdedit [/store <filename>] /set [{<id>}] <datatype> <value> [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ] <filename> Specifies the store to be used. If this option is not specified, the system store is used. For more information, run "bcdedit /? store". <id> Specifies the identifier of the entry to be modified. If not specified, {current} is used. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". <datatype> Specifies the option data type that will be created or modified. Run "bcdedit /? TYPES" for more information about data types. <value> Specifies the value that should be assigned to the option. The format of <value> depends on the data type specified. Run "bcdedit /? FORMATS" for more information about data formats. /addfirst This switch can only be used if datatype is an object list. Adds the specified entry identifier to the top of the list. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it will be moved to the top of the list. /addlast This switch can only be used if datatype is an object list. Adds the specified entry identifier to the end of the list. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /remove This switch can only be used if datatype is an object list. Removes the specified entry identifier from the list. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list then the operation has no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the datatype value is deleted. Examples: The following command sets the application device to the partition C: for the specified operating system entry: bcdedit /set {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} device partition=C: NOTE: Use 'hd_partiton=' syntax to explicitly disable automatic VHD detection, and create entries that are compatible for booting a virtual machine, i.e., bcdedit /store F:\boot\bcd /set {default} device hd_partition=F: The following command sets the OS device to a VHD file (C:\vdisks\vdisk01.vhd) for the specified operating system entry: bcdedit /set {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} osdevice vhd=[C:]\vdisks\disk01.vhd The following command sets the application path to \windows\system32\winload.exe for the specified operating system entry: bcdedit /set {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} path \windows\system32\winload.exe The following command sets the NX policy to OptIn for the current operating system boot entry. bcdedit /set nx optin

store
This command-line option can be used with most Bcdedit commands to specify the store to be used. If this option is not specified, then the system store is used. Running "bcdedit /store" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE". This option may not be used with the /createstore, /import and /export commands. bcdedit /store <filename> <filename> Specifies the file name of the boot configuration data store. If the file name contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). Example: The following commands list the active entries in the specified data store file: bcdedit /store C:\DATA\BCD /enum ACTIVE bcdedit /store "C:\DATA\My BCD" /enum ACTIVE

timeout
This command sets the time to wait, in seconds, before the boot manager selects a default entry. For information about setting the default entry, run "bcdedit /? default". bcdedit /timeout <timeout> <timeout> Specifies the time to wait, in seconds, before the boot manager selects a default entry. Example: The following command sets the boot manager <timeout> to 30 seconds: bcdedit /timeout 30

toolsdisplayorder
bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ] This command will set the display order to be used by the boot manager when displaying the tools menu. <id> [...] Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the tools display order. At least one identifier must be specified and they must be separated by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirst Adds the specified entry identifier to the top of the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the top of the list. /addlast Adds the specified entry identifier to the end of the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /remove Removes the specified entry identifier from the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list, then the operation will have no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the tools display order value is deleted from the boot manager entry. Examples: The following command sets two tools entries and the memory diagnostic in the boot manager's tools display order: bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {memdiag} The following command adds the specified tool entry to the end of the boot manager's tools display order: bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

TOPICS
TOPICS IN THIS HELP FILE To display help for a topic, run "bcdedit /? <topic>" where <topic> is one of the following: bootdebug /bootdebug command. bootems /bootems command. bootsequence /bootsequence command. copy /copy command. create /create command. createstore /createstore command. dbgsettings /dbgsettings command. debug /debug command. default /default command. delete /delete command. deletevalue /deletevalue command. displayorder /displayorder command. ems /ems command. emssettings /emssettings command. enum /enum command. export /export command. FORMATS Formats for types. hypervisorsettings /hypervisorsettings command. ID Identifiers for entries.. import /import command. mirror /mirror command. set /set command. store /store command-line option. timeout /timeout command. toolsdisplayorder /toolsdisplayorder command. TYPES Types that apply to any entry. TYPES BOOTAPP Types that apply to boot applications. These include the boot manager, memory diagnostic application, Windows OS loader, and the resume application. TYPES BOOTMGR Types that apply to the boot manager. TYPES BOOTSECTOR Types that apply to the boot sector application. TYPES CUSTOMTYPES Custom types. TYPES FWBOOTMGR Types that apply to the firmware boot manager TYPES MEMDIAG Types that apply to the memory diagnostic application TYPES NTLDR Types that apply to the NTLDR based OS loader TYPES OSLOADER Types that apply to the Windows OS loader TYPES RESUME Types that apply to the resume application v /v command-line option

TYPES
TYPES The /set and /deletevalue commands require a <datatype> as a parameter. <datatype> uniquely identifies both the data format and meaning of the value. Data types are identified using either a name or a custom type. The names are listed below, along with their data formats (in parentheses) and a short description of the custom type. If a format is not specified, then the description lists the literal values that you can use for that type. For information about data formats, run "bcdedit /? formats". The following types are valid for any entry. For information about types that are specific to a particular entry, such as boot manager entries or the Windows OS Loader entries, see the end of this help topic. Entries ======= DESCRIPTION (string) Defines the description of the entry. PATH (string) Defines the path to the application. DEVICE (device) Defines the device that the application resides on. INHERIT (list) Defines the list of entries to be inherited. For information about additional types for device objects, run "bcdedit /? TYPES DEVOBJECT". For information about additional types for particular applications, run "bcdedit /? TYPES <apptype>", where <apptype> is one of the following: BOOTAPP Boot applications. These types also apply to the boot manager, memory diagnostic application, Windows OS loader, and the resume application. BOOTMGR Boot manager. BOOTSECTOR Boot sector application. CUSTOMTYPES Custom types. DEVOBJECT Device object additional options. FWBOOTMGR Firmware boot manager MEMDIAG Memory diagnostic application NTLDR OS loader that shipped with earlier Windows OS OSLOADER Windows Vista OS loader RESUME Resume application

TYPES BOOTAPP
BOOT APPLICATION The following types apply to entries for boot applications. These types also apply to the boot manager, memory diagnostic application, Windows OS loader, and the resume application. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Display ======= GRAPHICSRESOLUTION Defines the graphics resolution, 1024x768, 800x600, etc. GRAPHICSMODEDISABLED (bool) Disables graphics mode. NOVESA (bool) Disables the use of Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) display modes. Debugging ========= BAUDRATE (integer) Defines the baud rate for the serial debugger. BOOTDEBUG (bool) Enables the boot debugger. CHANNEL (integer) Defines the channel for the 1394 debugger. BUSPARAMS (string) Defines the PCI bus, device, and function numbers of the debugging device. For example, 1.5.0 describes the debugging device on bus 1, device 5, function 0. DEBUGADDRESS (integer) Defines the address of a serial port for the debugger. DEBUGPORT (integer) Defines the serial port number for the serial debugger. DEBUGSTART Can be ACTIVE, AUTOENABLE or DISABLE. DEBUGTYPE Can be SERIAL, 1394 or USB. NOUMEX (bool) Causes user-mode exceptions to be ignored. TARGETNAME (string) Defines the target name for the USB debugger. Memory ====== BADMEMORYACCESS (bool) Allows an application to use the memory described by the bad memory list. BADMEMORYLIST (integerlist) Defines the list of Page Frame Numbers describing faulty memory in the system. TRUNCATEMEMORY (integer) Disregard all memory at or above the specified physical address. AVOIDLOWMEMORY (integer) Avoid using memory below the specified physical address in the boot loader as much as possible. RELOCATEPHYSICAL (integer) Relocates an automatically selected NUMA node's physical memory to the specified physical address. Emergency Management Services ============================= BOOTEMS (bool) Enables Emergency Management Services. EMSBAUDRATE (integer) Defines the baud rate for Emergency Management Services. EMSPORT (integer) Defines the serial port number for Emergency Management Services. Devices and Hardware =========================== CONFIGACCESSPOLICY Can be DEFAULT or DISALLOWMMCONFIG. FIRSTMEGABYTEPOLICY Can be USENONE, USEALL or USEPRIVATE. EXTENDEDINPUT (bool) Enables extended console input functionality. Applications ============ LOCALE (string) Defines the locale of the boot application. NOUMEX (bool) Causes user-mode exceptions to be ignored. Recovery ======== RECOVERYENABLED (bool) Enables the recovery sequence. RECOVERYSEQUENCE (list) Defines the recovery sequence. Verification ============ TESTSIGNING (bool) Allows pre-release test code signing certificates. For additional types that apply to the boot manager, memory diagnostic application, windows OS loader, or the resume application, run "bcdedit /? TYPES <apptype>", where <apptype> is one of the following: BOOTMGR The boot manager. MEMDIAG The memory diagnostic application. OSLOADER The Windows OS loader. RESUME The resume application.

TYPES BOOTMGR
BOOT MANAGER The following types apply only to entries for the boot manager. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Boot ==== BOOTSEQUENCE (list) Defines the one-time boot sequence. DEFAULT (id) Defines the default boot entry. TIMEOUT (integer) Defines the boot manager time to wait, in seconds, before the boot manager selects a default entry. Resume ====== RESUME (bool) Indicates that a resume operation should be attempted. RESUMEOBJECT (id) Provides the identifier of the resume application object. Display ======= DISPLAYBOOTMENU (bool) Enables the boot menu display. DISPLAYORDER (list) Defines the boot manager display order list. TOOLSDISPLAYORDER (list) Defines the boot manager tools display order list. For additional types that apply to the boot manager, run "bcdedit /? TYPES BOOTAPP".

TYPES BOOTSECTOR
BOOT SECTOR Boot Sector type applies to entries that contain bootsector in the form of a file. Currently there are no additional options for this type.

TYPES CUSTOMTYPES
CUSTOM TYPES A custom type identifies the data format and meaning of a value that is not represented by a friendly type name built in to BCDedit. Custom types are typically used to extend the functionality of BCD. A custom type has the following format: custom:OxXXXXXXXX The literal string "custom:" followed by an 8-digit hexadecimal number that encodes the format and meaning of the type. A custom type appears in the same parameter position as a friendly type name in a /set or /deletevalue command. For example: bcdedit /set {<id>} custom: 0xXXXXXXXX <value> For information about custom types that can be used with this version of BCDedit, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for these keywords: BCD, BCDedit, custom types

TYPES FWBOOTMGR
FIRMWARE BOOT MANAGER The following types apply only to entries for the firmware boot manager. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Boot ==== BOOTSEQUENCE (list) Defines the one-time boot sequence. DEFAULT (id) Defines the default boot entry. TIMEOUT (integer) Defines the boot manager time to wait, in seconds. Display ======= DISPLAYORDER (list) Defines the boot manager display order list.

TYPES MEMDIAG
MEMORY DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATION The following types apply only to entries for memory diagnostic application entries. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Test ==== PASSCOUNT (integer) The number of iterations that will be run. TESTMIX Can be BASIC or EXTENDED. CACHEENABLE (boolean) Overrides the default cache settings of the testmix. For additional types that apply to the memory diagnostic application, run "bcdedit /? TYPES BOOTAPP".

TYPES NTLDR
NTLDR based OS LOADER Currently there are no additional options for this type.

TYPES OSLOADER
WINDOWS OS LOADER The following types can be used only for Windows OS Loader entries. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Boot ==== BOOTLOG (bool) Enables the system initialization log. BOOTSTATUSPOLICY Can be DisplayAllFailures, IgnoreAllFailures, IgnoreShutdownFailures or IgnoreBootFailures. LASTKNOWNGOOD (bool) Enables boot to last known good configuration. NOCRASHAUTOREBOOT (bool) Disables automatic restart on crash. RESUMEOBJECT (id) Defines the identifier of the resume object that is associated with this operating system object. SAFEBOOT Can be Minimal, Network or DsRepair SAFEBOOTALTERNATESHELL (bool) Uses the alternate shell when booted into Safe mode. STAMPDISKS (bool) Enables stamping of RAW disks during Windows PE. SOS (bool) Displays additional boot information. WINPE (bool) Enables the computer to boot to Windows PE. Display ======= BOOTUX Defines the graphics experience during boot. Can be Disabled, Basic or Standard. Options ======= ADVANCEDOPTIONS (bool) Enables advanced options. LOADOPTIONS (string) Defines any additional options that are not covered by other types. OPTIONSEDIT (bool) Enables the options editor. Processors and APICs ==================== CLUSTERMODEADDRESSING (integer) Defines the maximum number of processors to include in a single Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) cluster. CONFIGFLAGS (integer) Specifies processor-specific configuration flags. MAXPROC (bool) Reports the maximum number of processors in the system. NUMPROC (integer) Uses only the specified number of processors. ONECPU (bool) Forces only the boot CPU to be used. RESTRICTAPICCLUSTER (integer) Defines the largest APIC cluster number to be used by the system. USEPHYSICALDESTINATION (bool) Forces the use of the physical APIC. USELEGACYAPICMODE (bool) Forces the use of legacy APIC mode even if the processors and chipset support extended APIC mode. X2APICPOLICY (integer) Enables the use of extended APIC mode if the processors and chipset support extended APIC mode. Can be Enabled, Disabled or Default. MAXGROUP (bool) Maximizes the number of groups created in group configuration. GROUPAWARE (bool) Forces drivers to be aware of multiple groups in a multi-group environment. GROUPSIZE (integer) Specifies the size of all processor groups. Must be an integer of power of 2. Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) & KERNEL ========================================= HAL (string) Defines the file name for a private HAL. HALBREAKPOINT (bool) Enables the special hardware abstraction layer (HAL) breakpoint. KERNEL (string) Defines the file name for a private kernel. USEPLATFORMCLOCK (bool) Forces the use of a platform clock source for the system's performance counter. VESA, PCI, VGA, and TPM ======================= USEFIRMWAREPCISETTINGS (bool) Uses BIOS-configured Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) resources. MSI Can be Default or ForceDisable. VGA (bool) Forces the use of the VGA display driver. TPMBOOTENTROPY Can be Default, ForceDisable, or ForceEnable. Debugging and Performance ========================= DBGTRANSPORT (string) Defines the file name for a private debugger transport. DEBUG (bool) Enables kernel debugging. PERFMEM (integer) Specifies the size (in megabytes) of the buffer to allocate for performance data logging. Memory ====== INCREASEUSERVA (integer) Increases the amount of virtual address space that the user-mode processes can use. NOLOWMEM (bool) Disables the use of low memory. NX Can be OptIn, OptOut, AlwaysOn or AlwaysOff. PAE Can be Default, ForceEnable, ForceDisable. REMOVEMEMORY (integer) Removes memory from the total available memory that the operating system can use. Drivers and System Root ======================= DRIVERLOADFAILUREPOLICY Can be Fatal or UseErrorControl. EMS (bool) Enables kernel Emergency Management Services. OSDEVICE (device) Defines the device that contains the system root. SYSTEMROOT (string) Defines the path to the system root. Hypervisor ========== HYPERVISORLAUNCHTYPE Controls the hypervisor launch type. Can be Off or Auto. HYPERVISORPATH (string) Defines the path to private hypervisor binary. HYPERVISORDEBUG (bool) Enables hypervisor debugging. HYPERVISORDEBUGTYPE Can be SERIAL or 1394. HYPERVISORDEBUGPORT (integer) Defines the serial port number for the serial debugger. HYPERVISORBAUDRATE (integer) Defines the baud rate for the serial debugger. HYPERVISORCHANNEL (integer) Defines the channel for the 1394 debugger. HYPERVISORUSELARGEVTLB (bool) Increases virtual TLB size. For additional types that apply to the Windows OS Loader, run "bcdedit /? TYPES BOOTAPP".

TYPES RESUME
RESUME LOADER The following types apply to entries for the resume loader. For information about data formats for these types, run "bcdedit /? FORMATS". Display ======= BOOTUX Defines the graphics experience during resume. Can be Disabled, Basic, or Standard. Hibernation file ================ FILEDEVICE (Device) Specifies the device containing the hibernation file. FILEPATH (String) Specifies the path of the hibernation file. Other ===== ASSOCIATEDOSDEVICE (Device) Names the OS device associated with the hibernated OS. This is only useful in cases where the hibernation file is not stored on the OS device. CUSTOMSETTINGS (Boolean) Allows resume loader to use custom settings. PAE (Boolean) Indicates whether the hibernated OS was running with PAE enabled. For additional types that apply to the resume application, run "bcdedit /? TYPES BOOTAPP".

v
Usually, any well-known entry identifiers are replaced by their friendly shorthand form. Specifying /v as a command-line switch prevents this replacement and displays all identifiers in full. Running "bcdedit /v" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE /v". bcdedit /v Example: The following command lists the active entries in the system store with all entry identifiers displayed in full. bcdedit /enum ACTIVE /v