How to do shortcut bat files to choose next login OS - dual boot 7 - 8

glnz

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I have dual boot Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 8 Pro 64-bit on a Dell Optiplex 7010 MT.

How can I write two batch files on the desktop of EACH OS to tell it to reboot either into Win 7 or into Win 8? (Four batch files total, two on each desktop.)

Need it because I frequently remote into this machine and have no way of rebooting efficiently into the desired OS.

I now can do the following manually in each OS:
***System Properties - Startup and Recovery - Settings - System Startup - Default Operating System - select which one - OK - manual Restart***
but it takes too long.

I'd like some batch files that do all of that for me.

Thanks!!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win ...Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Optiplex 7010 MT
OS
Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win 7 Pro 64-bit (won't boot on the NVMe)
CPU
Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard
Dell 0GY6Y8 - what would the Intel number be? - Q77 chipset
Memory
16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio - and Intel Display Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell E176FP - nothing fancy
Screen Resolution
1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
Now a Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD NVMe, which works for the Win 10 only

Used to be two 500GB WDC WD5000AAKX (SATA @ 6GB/sec)

- External WD My Book 1110 USB device
PSU
What means PSU? I'm at sea level
Cooling
Ice cubes
Keyboard
Noisy
Mouse
Micky
Internet Speed
Verizon FIOS 500 Mbps (was 1Gbps but I can't type that fast)
Antivirus
Win 10 Windows Defender - Win 7 Avast Free
Browser
Firefox only with lots of security drives my wife crazy
Other Info
Also I still have an old but important XP SP3 machine that can run - Optiplex 755 Desktop w 4GB RAM and Momentus XT hybrid HD-SSD 500 GB hard drive. Used the registry hack to get more updates through "XP Embedded" or "POS" so now the machine rings like a cash register and the CD drawer opens to give change.
It sounds like a mouse macro record/playback freeware would be the easiest way. There are quite a few for download. Start recording then do the mouse clicks and save, for each OS boot. It may be easier to get the mouse clicks right than trying to run batch commands.

Check the free download sites for mouse macro record/playback utilities.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 32 bitAMD 5200+ dual core2 GBNVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Media Center
OS
Windows 7 32 bit
CPU
AMD 5200+ dual core
Memory
2 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Monitor(s) Displays
CRT
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
500 GB Sata internal :

SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives
Keyboard
PS/2
Mouse
PS/2 Wheel Mouse
Other Info
SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card.
Miles - Thanks for the suggestion, and I like your photo of Mr. D.

But to start I'd like to hold out for true .bat files that do the same thing as the steps I outlined above. and since I posted the above, I learned there's yet another set of steps that almost does the same thing:
*** Run - msconfig - Boot - [select the OS] - Apply* - OK - manual Restart***
* "Apply" is dicey - it's greyed out unless I toggle something else on and off. But I imagine if I practiced I'd figure that one out.​

However, Mr. Miles, if you know of a mouse-following recorder that WRITES THE BAT FILE AS AN EDITABLE FILE and does NOT focus on where the mouse moved on the screen, please let me know - that might be the best start and very useful for the future. Reminder that I have both Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 8 Pro 64-bit.

Again, many thanks.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win ...Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Optiplex 7010 MT
OS
Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win 7 Pro 64-bit (won't boot on the NVMe)
CPU
Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard
Dell 0GY6Y8 - what would the Intel number be? - Q77 chipset
Memory
16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio - and Intel Display Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell E176FP - nothing fancy
Screen Resolution
1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
Now a Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD NVMe, which works for the Win 10 only

Used to be two 500GB WDC WD5000AAKX (SATA @ 6GB/sec)

- External WD My Book 1110 USB device
PSU
What means PSU? I'm at sea level
Cooling
Ice cubes
Keyboard
Noisy
Mouse
Micky
Internet Speed
Verizon FIOS 500 Mbps (was 1Gbps but I can't type that fast)
Antivirus
Win 10 Windows Defender - Win 7 Avast Free
Browser
Firefox only with lots of security drives my wife crazy
Other Info
Also I still have an old but important XP SP3 machine that can run - Optiplex 755 Desktop w 4GB RAM and Momentus XT hybrid HD-SSD 500 GB hard drive. Used the registry hack to get more updates through "XP Embedded" or "POS" so now the machine rings like a cash register and the CD drawer opens to give change.
Even better you can post a request to have the program written for you on DonationCoder.com. See the Coding Snacks section. Here's the Link to the Post New Requests Here subforum, but please read the guidelines before posting.

I have been on that site for years. Sometimes I write the requested program but most are done by the moderator, skwire. Usually it's done in AutoHotkey, which is a free Windows scripting language designed for hotkey and macro stuff.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 32 bitAMD 5200+ dual core2 GBNVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Media Center
OS
Windows 7 32 bit
CPU
AMD 5200+ dual core
Memory
2 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Monitor(s) Displays
CRT
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
500 GB Sata internal :

SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives
Keyboard
PS/2
Mouse
PS/2 Wheel Mouse
Other Info
SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card.
Miles - did as you suggested. Shall post back here if those good folks come up with the answer.

But other folks reading this thread should chime in - what do you think?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win ...Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Optiplex 7010 MT
OS
Dual boot - Win 10 Pro 64-bit (good) and Win 7 Pro 64-bit (won't boot on the NVMe)
CPU
Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard
Dell 0GY6Y8 - what would the Intel number be? - Q77 chipset
Memory
16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio - and Intel Display Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell E176FP - nothing fancy
Screen Resolution
1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
Now a Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD NVMe, which works for the Win 10 only

Used to be two 500GB WDC WD5000AAKX (SATA @ 6GB/sec)

- External WD My Book 1110 USB device
PSU
What means PSU? I'm at sea level
Cooling
Ice cubes
Keyboard
Noisy
Mouse
Micky
Internet Speed
Verizon FIOS 500 Mbps (was 1Gbps but I can't type that fast)
Antivirus
Win 10 Windows Defender - Win 7 Avast Free
Browser
Firefox only with lots of security drives my wife crazy
Other Info
Also I still have an old but important XP SP3 machine that can run - Optiplex 755 Desktop w 4GB RAM and Momentus XT hybrid HD-SSD 500 GB hard drive. Used the registry hack to get more updates through "XP Embedded" or "POS" so now the machine rings like a cash register and the CD drawer opens to give change.
Miles - did as you suggested. Shall post back here if those good folks come up with the answer.

But other folks reading this thread should chime in - what do you think?

That's multitasking. :)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 32 bitAMD 5200+ dual core2 GBNVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Media Center
OS
Windows 7 32 bit
CPU
AMD 5200+ dual core
Memory
2 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Monitor(s) Displays
CRT
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
500 GB Sata internal :

SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives
Keyboard
PS/2
Mouse
PS/2 Wheel Mouse
Other Info
SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card.
Hey guys,

Booting into another OS through batch files, I'd think it would not be possible with commands -- that's before I did a bit of Google-ing. The BCDedit command is likely able to help with your intention, Glnz.

Did you ever try STTR's suggestion to your cloned question at Superuser?
Code:
bcdedit /default {GUID}

Where GUID (which stands for Globally Unique Identifier, in case you wonder) must be substituted for the unique hexadecimal string that is assigned to the relevant boot entry in favour. This string can be found by running 'Bcdedit /v' on an elevated command prompt. The GUID will be the first sequence of hex-characters under each boot entry and to the right of 'identifier'.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10, Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Profes...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 10, Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Professional, OS X El Capitan
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