bcdedit is a command line tool used to manage Boot Configuration Data (BCD). This tool can be used to store boot configuration, boot applications and related settings. We need Administrator privileges in order to change and modify boot configuration with the bcdedit.

Help

Before starting using the bcdedit command we need to list and learn the features and options provided by the bcdedit command. We can use /? to list all available options and features.

> bcdedit /?

Store

Boot configuration is stored in stores. Stores are containers that hold configuration and values.

Create a Store

We can create en new and empty store with the /createstore. The newly created store is not a system store and named as a user store. In this example, we will create a new store named poftut.

> bcdedit /createstore poftut

Export Store

We can export a given store with the /export option. We will also the export name after the  /export option like below. This will be named as system.

> bcdedit /export system

Import Store

We can also import a given store and related boot configuration. We will use /import and provide the store name. In this example, we will import the store file named system.

> bcdedit /import system

List Current Store Values

We can list current store values with the /store option. This will enum following information.

• `identifier`
• `device`
• `timeout`
• `path`
• …

> bcdedit /store system

List Entry Types

Data types are identified using either a name or custom type. We can list them with the /? TYPES option like below.

> bcdedit /? TYPES

List Entry Formats

Formats describe formats of the data that are required for data types used with the /set command. We can list supported format with the /? FORMATS option.

> bcdedit /? FORMATS

Copy Entry

We can copy an already existing entry with the /copy option. We need tp specify the entry we want to copy and the value of the entry

> bcdedit /copy {052c3990-b2d4-11e8-a404-cb11a34d6922} /d "Copy of entry"

Create Entry

We can create a new entry in the boot configuration of the data store. We will create a {ntldr} entry which data is "Old Windows OS Loader".

> bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Old Windows OS Loader"

Delete Entry

We can delete an entry just by specifying the name of the entry. We will use /delete option for this.

> bcdedit /delete {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71}