BCDedit and BCDboot questions

[Timothy Daniels]

Does anyone have a link to a good and thorough tutorial
on the syntax and options in BCDedit and BCDboot
commands (found in the Repair section of Windows 7
installation DVD)?

Separate question #2:
Does BCDboot work just on the boot manager files and
not on the boot menu?

Separate question #3:
I deduce that these commands work on the BCD in the
Windows partition that is marked "active" on a drive,
but how do they choose which drive to operate on if
there are more than one drive?

Separate question #4:
Are these commands available anywhere in the
Windows Vista/7/8 operating systems, or only in
their installation DVDs?

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Correction - BCDboot is available in the OS in Command Prompt.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Does anyone have a link to a good and thorough tutorial
on the syntax and options in BCDedit and BCDboot
commands (found in the Repair section of Windows 7
installation DVD)?

[ . . . ]

Corrections #2 - BCDedit is also available in the OS's
Command Prompt when Command Prompt is "Run As
administrator".

*TimDaniels*

 

[JJ]

Does anyone have a link to a good and thorough tutorial
on the syntax and options in BCDedit and BCDboot
commands (found in the Repair section of Windows 7
installation DVD)?

Start here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/gg463059.aspx

Separate question #2:
Does BCDboot work just on the boot manager files and
not on the boot menu?

It applies to both. See here (on section "How It Works"):

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824874.aspx

Separate question #3:
I deduce that these commands work on the BCD in the
Windows partition that is marked "active" on a drive,
but how do they choose which drive to operate on if
there are more than one drive?

Yout can specify which BCD to work with.
Type this on command prompt to see the usage help.

BCDEDIT /store /?

Type this for the main usage help.

BCDEDIT /?

Most command-line programs use (no quote) "/?" parameter to display the
usage/syntax help.

Separate question #4:
Are these commands available anywhere in the
Windows Vista/7/8 operating systems, or only in
their installation DVDs?

BCDEDIT is available since Windows Vista in the installed system and (I
think) directly in the DVD media too as an EXE aside from the one in the WIM
file.

Not sure about BCDBOOT, it exists in my Windows 7 64-bit, but I can't find
it in my Vista 32-bit. It may be available in 64-bit Vista (and newer) only,
or it's available in Windows 7 (and newer) only. Maybe someone can confirm
this.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Start here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/gg463059.aspx

**** Thanks! I've downloaded and browsed it - quite a read.

It applies to both. See here (on section "How It Works"):

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824874.aspx


Yout can specify which BCD to work with.
Type this on command prompt to see the usage help.

BCDEDIT /store /?

Type this for the main usage help.

BCDEDIT /?

Most command-line programs use (no quote) "/?" parameter to display the
usage/syntax help.

**** Cool. I overlooked the fact that the "drive" letter refers
**** to a partition, and thus can point BCDedit to any partition
**** on any drive that the system can see.

BCDEDIT is available since Windows Vista in the installed system and
(I think) directly in the DVD media too as an EXE aside from the one in
the WIM file.

Not sure about BCDBOOT, it exists in my Windows 7 64-bit, but I can't find
it in my Vista 32-bit. It may be available in 64-bit Vista (and newer) only,
or it's available in Windows 7 (and newer) only. Maybe someone can confirm
this.

**** I've since found them both in the Win7 OS.
**** Oddly, though, bootrec and bootsect are in the Win7 installation DVD,
**** but not in the Win7 OS.

*TimDaniels*