Master Boot Record - Reduce Countdown Duration

onefootswill

New member
Local time
7:48 AM
Messages
3
Hi,

I recently installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on an SSD, such that it is now dual booting with another hard drive with Windows 7.

All I want to do is reduce the countdown size on the duel boot loader such that it is only 1s, instead of the default 20s.

Is there a way to do that? My research has not turned anything up.

Cheers
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
How about:

Control panel/system/advanced system settings/startup and recovery settings/ and then adjusting "time to display list of operating systems"??
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
The countdown value is contained in BOOT.INI on your "active" partition. But it's a "hidden" file (attribute H) and not normally shown in Windows Explorer.

You have to change your Tools -> Folder Options -> View tab, to check the "show hidden files, folders, and drives" in order to see it.

However it is also a "system" file (attribute S) and not normally eligible for editing. So you have to use some program capable of altering attributes to temporarily turn off that H attribute. You could even turn off both S and H at the same time, if you didn't want to change the "show hidden files" folder View option.

Anyway, if you eventually get it open with Notepad you can edit it, and save it. Then you can restore the S and H attributes, and you're in business.

bootini.jpg



Just don't screw up the editing. Probably a good idea to create a restore point before you do this, just in case.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home-built, two systems (1) and (2)
OS
Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
CPU
i5-3350p 3.1Ghz/6MB-cache (1); E8400 3.0Ghz/6MB-cache (2)
Motherboard
ASUS P8Z77-V Pro (1); ASUS P5Q3 (2)
Memory
8GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1); 4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 (2)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD7750 (1), (see TV cards); ATI R7 250 (2)
Sound Card
Realtek ALC892 HD Audio (1); Realtek ALC1200 HD Audio (2)
Monitor(s) Displays
Eizo HD2441W LCD, Eizo S2433W (1); Eizo 24" S2433W (2)
Screen Resolution
1920x1200, 1920x1200 (1); 1920x1200 (2)
Hard Drives
(1) 1TB SATA-II (7200RPM), 2x2TB SATA-III (7200RPM), 250GB SATA-III (10000RPM) for OS; 2x2TB external USB 3.0

(2) 320GB SATA-II (7200RPM), 750GB SATA-II (7200RPM), 150GB SATA-II (10000RPM) for OS; 2TB external USB 3.0
PSU
Nesteq ECS-6001 600W (1); Nesteq ECS-5001 500W (2)
Case
Acousti-Case 360 (1) and (2)
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 for CPU, 2x120mm case fans (1) and (2)
Keyboard
IBM PS/2 (1) and (2)
Mouse
Logitech MX Revolution wireless (1); Microsoft wired (2)
Internet Speed
100mbps down / 10mbps up
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials; Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Pro
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Ceton InfiniTV 4-tuner cablecard-enabled TV card as well as Hauppauge HVR-2250 OTA/ATSC 2-tuner TV card in (1), running under Win7 WMC
  • Like
Reactions: JMH
How about:

Control panel/system/advanced system settings/startup and recovery settings/ and then adjusting "time to display list of operating systems"??
Didn't know about that!! I've been using EasyBCD forever.

It can also be done with EasyBCD (if you have that installed to manage the boot manager menu). Just push the "edit boot menu" button to get the following, and change that "boot default OS after..." time value:

easybcd.jpg
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home-built, two systems (1) and (2)
OS
Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
CPU
i5-3350p 3.1Ghz/6MB-cache (1); E8400 3.0Ghz/6MB-cache (2)
Motherboard
ASUS P8Z77-V Pro (1); ASUS P5Q3 (2)
Memory
8GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1); 4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 (2)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD7750 (1), (see TV cards); ATI R7 250 (2)
Sound Card
Realtek ALC892 HD Audio (1); Realtek ALC1200 HD Audio (2)
Monitor(s) Displays
Eizo HD2441W LCD, Eizo S2433W (1); Eizo 24" S2433W (2)
Screen Resolution
1920x1200, 1920x1200 (1); 1920x1200 (2)
Hard Drives
(1) 1TB SATA-II (7200RPM), 2x2TB SATA-III (7200RPM), 250GB SATA-III (10000RPM) for OS; 2x2TB external USB 3.0

(2) 320GB SATA-II (7200RPM), 750GB SATA-II (7200RPM), 150GB SATA-II (10000RPM) for OS; 2TB external USB 3.0
PSU
Nesteq ECS-6001 600W (1); Nesteq ECS-5001 500W (2)
Case
Acousti-Case 360 (1) and (2)
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 for CPU, 2x120mm case fans (1) and (2)
Keyboard
IBM PS/2 (1) and (2)
Mouse
Logitech MX Revolution wireless (1); Microsoft wired (2)
Internet Speed
100mbps down / 10mbps up
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials; Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Pro
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Ceton InfiniTV 4-tuner cablecard-enabled TV card as well as Hauppauge HVR-2250 OTA/ATSC 2-tuner TV card in (1), running under Win7 WMC
I don't advise going below 3 seconds as you will need that time to make a change in the boot order if you have been having problems with the default OS.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built Custom Computer.
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64
CPU
i7-4770K
Motherboard
Asus Z87 Sabertooth
Memory
16Gig DDR3-2400
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte GT740
Sound Card
Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
Benq 27" - Dell 23' - Benq 22"
Screen Resolution
1680x1050
Hard Drives
Samsung 840 Pro 128g SSD
1xWestern Digital Caviar Green 1tb
2xWestern Digital Caviar Green 2 tb
PSU
Seasonic 760 watt Platinum
Case
Coolermaster Haf - X
Cooling
Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech illuminated keyboard
Mouse
Logitech Perfomance MX
Internet Speed
Cable = speeds to 20Mbps downsteam and 512kbps upsteam
Antivirus
Avast Internet Security
Browser
Firefox
Thanks guys.

ignatzatsonic's suggestion worked a treat.
I did not even know about EasyBCD. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks again!
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Back
Top