BCDEdit Topics

Topics in this Help File

To display topics in this help file

Syntax

bcdedit /? TOPICS 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. eventsettings /eventsettings command. event /event 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

BCDEdit Formats

To display the list of formats of data

Syntax

bcdedit /? 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> LOCATE[=<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 by looking for a specified path. The default locate element for a device is its application path (systemroot for an osdevice). Custom values must be specified using custom element syntax (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 ("").

BCDEdit ID

To display the list of identifiers

Syntax

bcdedit /? ID 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.

BCDEdit TYPES

To display the list of types

Syntax

bcdedit /? 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".

Types for Entries

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. 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.

Types for Device Objects

For information about additional types for device objects, run "bcdedit /? TYPES DEVOBJECT".

Types for Particular Applications

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

Sources and References

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcd-boot-options-reference
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/bcdedit
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/bcdedit-command-line-options
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcdedit--set
• https://atomicit.ca/kb/articles/how-to-fix-windows-7810-boot-problem-with-bcdedit/
• https://neosmart.net/wiki/bcdedit/#BCDEdit_on_Windows_8