Index Introduction The BCD Store The System BCD Store Default Paths\Setup (BIOS) Default Paths\Setup (UEFI) BCDEdit - The Basics Check Entries in a BCD Store Devices Devices - locate Backing up the BCD Store Examples - Part 1 Examples - Part 2 Examples - Part 3 Examples - Part 4 BCDEdit Commands BCDEdit Versions Mounting the BCD Store... Acknowledgements Appendices ========= Glossary BCDEdit (version 6.0.6001) BCDEdit (version 6.1.7601) BCDEdit (version 6.3.9600) Device Partition - Data Objects and Elements Alternatives to bcdedit UEFI, BIOS, GPT and MBR

Examples - Part 3

In this section the commands for creating a boot menu with three separate entries has been broken down to illustrate the steps involved. A BCD Store will be created and then edited to add boot entries for three different versions of WinPE -

• A RAM Boot 32-bit WinPE (x86.wim)

• A RAM Boot 64-bit WinPE (x64.wim)

• A Flat Boot WinPE

BIOS Entries

In the examples below we will create a boot menu for x86.wim (RAM boot), x64.wim (RAM boot) and a Flat Boot WinPE for use on BIOS firmware (note the paths to winload.exe. This will hopefully give you an idea of the steps involved so that you can adapt them for your own setup (changing the filenames as appropriate).

After creating the BIOS BCD store it should be copied to the \boot folder.

The first step is to create a new BCD store -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ %BCDEDIT% /createstore %BCDSTORE% echo. endlocal pause

Now add an entry for bootmgr -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create {bootmgr} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} description "Boot Manager" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} timeout 20 echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for x86.wim -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ ECHO Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "32-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for x64.wim -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ ECHO Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "64-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for a Flat Boot WinPE -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ Echo Adding FlatBoot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set guid={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% path \Windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% osdevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% description "Windows PE FLATBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% winpe yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% detecthal yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Now putting this all together in one script (the text below has become wrapped - see here for an easier to read version) -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ Echo Creating BCD Store... %BCDEDIT% /createstore %BCDSTORE% Echo Adding {bootmgr} entry... %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create {bootmgr} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} description "Boot Manager" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} timeout 20 Echo Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "32-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast Echo Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "64-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast Echo Adding FlatBoot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set guid={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% path \Windows\system32\winload.exe %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% osdevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% description "Windows PE FLATBoot (BIOS)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% winpe yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% detecthal yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

UEFI Entries

In the examples below we will create a boot menu for x86.wim (RAM boot), x64.wim (RAM boot) and a Flat Boot WinPE for use on UEFI firmware - the entries are almost identical to those used on BIOS firmware with the only difference being the path to winload.exe being changed to winload.efi.

After creating the UEFI BCD store it should be copied to the \EFI\Microsoft\boot folder.

The first step is to create a new BCD store -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ %BCDEDIT% /createstore %BCDSTORE% echo. endlocal pause

Now add an entry for bootmgr -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create {bootmgr} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} description "Boot Manager" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} timeout 20 echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for x86.wim -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ ECHO Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "32-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for x64.wim -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ ECHO Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "64-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Add an entry for a Flat Boot WinPE -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ Echo Adding FlatBoot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set guid={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% path \Windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% osdevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% description "Windows PE FLATBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% winpe yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% detecthal yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause

Now putting this all together in one script (the text below has become wrapped - see here for an easier to read version) -
@echo off setlocal :: Do not use spaces in paths and do :: NOT wrap in quotes set BCDEDIT=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\bcdedit.exe set BCDSTORE="%~dp0BCD" ::___________________________________ Echo Creating BCD Store... %BCDEDIT% /createstore %BCDSTORE% Echo Adding {bootmgr} entry... %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create {bootmgr} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} description "Boot Manager" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set {bootmgr} timeout 20 Echo Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x86.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "32-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast Echo Creating ramdisksdidevice entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /device') do set ramdisk={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdidevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %ramdisk% ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi Echo Adding RAM Boot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set GUID={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% detecthal Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% winpe Yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% osdevice ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% device ramdisk=[boot]\sources\x64.wim,%ramdisk% %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% path \windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %GUID% description "64-bit Windows PE RAMBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast Echo Adding FlatBoot WinPE entry... for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%g in ('%BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /create /application osloader') do set guid={%%g} %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% path \Windows\system32\winload.efi %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% device boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% osdevice boot %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% systemroot \Windows %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% description "Windows PE FLATBoot (UEFI)" %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% winpe yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /set %guid% detecthal yes %BCDEDIT% /store %BCDSTORE% /displayorder %guid% /addlast echo. endlocal pause