Windows 7 - BCDEDIT - How to Use

You're welcome, glad it worked for you.

I've got a Windows 7 ultimate 64-bit install. It resides on a 2-disk striped array and boots fine. I recently added Fedora 12 to a 3rd hard drive. The Fedora installer added grub to the system so I can dual boot with it and it works fine. I can get to either OS at boot time. Grub passes the boot to the regular windows 7 stuff via a "chainload" command when it is selected (this is what I understand anyway) so the standard Windows 7 boot stuff should be fully functional.

Now, for the first time, I wanted to tweak some Windows 7 startup stuff and began the odyssey of getting acquainted with BCDEdit.exe.

The problem I have is when I open an elevated command window and type bcdedit to examine the current setup I always get the message "The boot configuration data store could not be opened. The system cannot find the file specified." and am back at the command line.

I also tried installing DualBootPro to see if an alternate method of boot editing would work and it fails too with its version of the same error. I suspect I am doing something really stupid here but just cannot figure it out. Does anyone have any pointers?

I don't have grub straddling the disk code, but this should work:

1. go to folder options and show hidden files and folders.

2. Find the pale yellow Boot folder on the System partition.

3. Open an elevated at the Boot folder. Type:

bcdedit /store bcd /enum

to see the boot menu entries.

Then use the same /store bcd parameter in all the bcdedit commands.

( Or use bcdedit /store <the path to bcd> at an elevated cmd), e.g.

bcdedit /store c:\boot\bcd [then whatever commands]

SIW2, thanks a ton for giving this a try. Here's what happened.

Switched the folder options as you indicated.
Found \boot at the root level of my boot drive (C:)
opened an elevated command window and did a cd to \boot
typed the command you indicated
got "There are no matching objects or the store is empty."

when I do a DIR on \boot I see the BCD file and it even shows a modification date as of the moment I tried the command.

Got anything else?

The correct bcd store will be in the hidden Boot folder on the "system" partition - not necessarily the same as the "boot" partition.

If you have one of those 100mb things - it should be in there.

Rt click the 100mb in Disk Management and give it letter S.

See if that helps. It's got to somewhere.

You had the answer for me. I did have one of those "100 MG" things on my 3rd hard drive (not in the array). I assigned it a drive letter and switched display options to show hidden files, etc and sure enough, there it was.

Thanks SIW2!

You're welcome - glad you found it.

hi,
my problem is this: i installed Windows 7 in f: from my drive with xp in c:. i would like to use only the drive with Windows 7 without using c:, it makes a lot of noise. but it is not possible because the initial boot is on c:. i tried already the bcdboot f:\windows /s f: string but it didn't work. to work with bcdedit i do'nt feel to find out myself, so i'm asking you a hint what exactly i have to write. i hope i explained clearly , i want to boot only from my windows 7 drive without the use of the original xp drive with the boot file.
thanks
dj

What do you mean bcdboot didn't work?

Did it say it completed successfully?

Did you mark the windows 7 partition Active, then set the Windows 7 HD first in the bios boot order?

hi siw2,
bcdboot gives me: error during the copy of the files. i translated it so i don't know what windows gives in english. Windows 7 is the first in the boot order and is on an active partition. but xp onthe c: drive is the system partition.