How to Edit the Boot Configuration Database (BCD) in Windows 11

4. Windows Boot Customization: Specifying the Default OS, Enabling Debugging, and More

More experienced users may want to enable debugging options, safe mode, or run certain commands at boot. Using BCD, users can perform some additional settings such as:

Enable debugging for system analysis:

bcdedit /debug ON

Running Windows in safe mode:

bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

How to Access and Edit BCDs with BCDEdit

Step 1: Open Command Line as Administrator

To start editing the BCD, you need to open the Command Prompt or Windows Terminal as an Administrator. How:

1. Right-click on Start Menu.

2. Select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin).

Step 2: Use BCDEdit Commands

Once the Command Prompt opens, type the following command to view the contents of the BCD:

BCDEdit

Step 3: Understanding BCD Identification

Each entry in the BCD has an Identifier that can be a technical name, a text string, or a GUID (General Unique Identifier). Example:

{current}

This identifier is used to refer to the main operating system that is running.

BCDEdit Command List and Its Functions

BCDEdit is a built-in Windows tool that is used to view and manage Boot Configuration Database (BCD). With this command, users can edit boot entries, adjust operating system settings, and fix boot issues. Here is a list of basic BCDEdit commands and their functions.

BCDEdit Basic Commands and Their Functions

BCDEdit CommandsFunction
bcdedit /enumDisplays a list of all entries in Boot Configuration Database.
bcdedit /copy {id} /d “OS Name”Make a copy of an existing boot entry with a new description.
bcdedit /delete {id}Removes unnecessary boot entries.
bcdedit /set {id} option valueChanging the boot parameters for a specific entry, e.g. enabling safe mode.
bcdedit /default {id}Set the default operating system to run at boot.
bcdedit /timeout XSpecifies the timeout before selecting the default OS (in seconds).
bcdedit /bootsequence {id} /addfirstSet the boot order for one subsequent boot.
bcdedit /export filenameMaking backup BCD for future recovery.
bcdedit /import filenameImport a previously saved BCD backup file.
bcdedit /rebuildbcdIt scans all available operating systems and fixes missing boot entries.

Table of Identifiers in BCDEdit

Each entry in the Boot Configuration Database has a unique identifier used in the BCDEdit command. Here are some identifiers that are often used:

IdentifierFunction
{current}The operating system that is currently in use.
{default}The default operating system is automatically selected at boot.
{bootmgr}Windows Boot Manager that manages the boot process.
{ntldr}Loader for older versions of Windows (XP and earlier).
{memdiag}Windows memory diagnostic tool.

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