Windows 7: BCDEDIT - How to Use

I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium 64b, as an administrator. In a command window I keep getting:

'bcdedit' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Is this a Pro tool?

Strange. You should be able to access that no matter which edition of Windows 7 you have. Check to see if that file exists on your system. It is located in C:\Windows\System32\bcdedit.exe

Yes, it is there. Here's a path copy: C:\Windows\System32\bcdedit.exe. I just tried the full path in the command window, and I tried the full file name. Nothing. I definitely am the administrator here.

I had another odd command window occurrence yesterday. There was a file (rstrui.exe - system restore) that I could plainly see in Explorer, but no DIR command, with Archive switches, would show it in the command window. Let me see if that's happening here too...

Indeed, this seems to be the problem. Here's the output:

For some reason my command window is not seeing system files.

Very strange. This is what I get:

Ok, here's my problem. I just opened an elevated Command Window, and now I can see the system file without even using the a:s switch, just as you can. I don't understand why I need to take that step, however, since I am an administrator (and I just double-checked that). I've never had any problem doing anything via the command window before yesterday.

Thanks,
p.

So you can now access the file?

This is to do with privileges, and is a good reason for not disabling UAC. Although you may be running as an Administrator, you are only running with standard privileges. In order to run as a true Administrator, you need to elevate.

Think of this analogy. You and several others work in an office (representing standard privileges), inside which there is a locked cupboard (representing elevated privileges). Everyone has a key to get into the office, but only you (as an Administrator) have a key for the locked cupboard. If you wish to access the cupboard, you can simply unlock it (this is the equivalent of confirming that you want to run in elevated mode). For the others, who do not have the key, they need to ask you first (equivalent to entering a name and password of an administrative account when prompted).

Yes, I have command line access to the file now. What I don't understand is that I've had the machine for three months and have done countless installations and work under the hood, including via the command line, and never once did I have to elevate the window. And I've changed nothing in privileges in all that time, as I'm aware.

I wonder how this affects the command window in Safe Mode. That is where I would want to invoke System Restore in a dire emergency. There must be a way to elevate the window there too.

IAC, thanks for your help.

p.

I suppose it depends on the levels to which you can muck the system up. You can do a fair amount of mucking up with bcdedit. There is a level above elevated command prompt (hidden administrator) where you can do even more mucking up or fix things of course.

Greetings
First post here! I have installed a dual boot with WinXP and Windows 7 and it's working fine. I want to backup my BCD using bcdedit. I start my Windows 7 install DVD. Hit Shift F10 to get command prompt, enter bcdedit and I get that response that the file cannot be found. This is with the boot DVD!! Shouldn't we be at elevated prompt with the DVD?

When I was setting up that dual boot a few weeks ago I was using bcdedit just fine!

Well, now I am in big trouble. I tried imaging my main HD to external drive and it worked. Tried to boot from it into WinXP and it worked. Tried to boot into Windows 7 didn't work. I wanted to try another imaging program but things got so confusing, I had more than one bootable HD attached at once and now I can't get into any windows system. It says ntldr missing. I've disconnected all other drives from the machine and I've started the Windows 7 install disk to repair. I entered the command mode and entered "bootsect /nt52 c: /force /mbr" just to get the WinXP part working again and now it boots. When I get to the blue screen to sign on, there is no sign on button to click to enter my password at all. Nothing happens, can't click anything.

So...I started up the WinXP install CD, got into the recovery console, it found the c:\windows partition, but now wants the admin password which I type what I'm using currently and it doesn't take. Now what?? Can I somehow forcibly reset the admin password. I'm stuck.