BCDEdit Operation to Control the Boot Manager

BCDEdit /bootsequence

This command sets the one-time boot sequence to be used by the boot manager.

Syntax

bcdedit /bootsequence <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ]

Parameter

<id> [...] Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the boot sequence. You must specify at least one identifier and must separate identifiers by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirstAdds the specified entry identifier to the top of the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single identifier may be specified. If the identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the top of the list. /addlastAdds the specified entry identifier to the end of the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single identifier may be specified. If the identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /removeRemoves the specified entry identifier from the boot sequence. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list then the operation has no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the boot sequence value is deleted from the boot manager entry.

Example

The following command sets two OS entries and the NTLDR based OS loader in the boot manager one-time boot sequence: bcdedit /bootsequence {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {ntldr} The following command adds the specified OS entry to the end of the boot manager one-time boot sequence: bcdedit /bootsequence {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

BCDEdit /default

This command sets the default entry that the boot manager will use when the timeout expires.

Syntax

bcdedit /default <id>

Parameter

<id>Specifies the identifier of the boot entry to be used as the default when the time-out expires. For information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID".

Example

The following command sets the specified entry as the default boot manager entry: bcdedit /default {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} The following command sets the NTLDR based OS loader as the default entry: bcdedit /default {ntldr}

BCDEdit /displayorder

This command sets the display order to be used by the boot manager.

Syntax

bcdedit /displayorder <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ]

Parameter

<id> [...]Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the display order. At least one identifier must be specified and they must be separated by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirstAdds the specified entry identifier to the top of the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it will be moved to the top of the list. /addlastAdds the specified entry identifier to the end of the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /removeRemoves the specified entry identifier from the display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list then the operation has no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the display order value is deleted from the boot manager entry.

Example

The following command sets two OS entries and the NTLDR based OS loader in the boot manager display order: bcdedit /displayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {ntldr} The following command adds the specified OS entry to the end of the boot manager display order: bcdedit /displayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

BCDEdit /timeout

This command sets the time to wait, in seconds, before the boot manager selects a default entry. For information about setting the default entry, run "bcdedit /? default".

Syntax

bcdedit /timeout <timeout>

Parameter

<timeout> Specifies the time to wait, in seconds, before the boot manager selects a default entry.

Example

The following command sets the boot manager <timeout> to 30 seconds: bcdedit /timeout 30

BCDEdit /toolsdisplayorder

This command will set the display order to be used by the boot manager when displaying the tools menu.

Syntax

bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder <id> [...] [ /addfirst | /addlast | /remove ]

Parameter

<id> [...] Specifies a list of identifiers that make up the tools display order. At least one identifier must be specified and they must be separated by spaces. For more information about identifiers, run "bcdedit /? ID". /addfirst Adds the specified entry identifier to the top of the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the top of the list. /addlast Adds the specified entry identifier to the end of the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the specified identifier is already in the list, it is moved to the end of the list. /remove Removes the specified entry identifier from the tools display order. If this switch is specified, only a single entry identifier may be specified. If the identifier is not in the list, then the operation will have no effect. If the last entry is being removed, then the tools display order value is deleted from the boot manager entry.

Example

The following command sets two tools entries and the memory diagnostic in the boot manager's tools display order: bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71} {memdiag} The following command adds the specified tool entry to the end of the boot manager's tools display order: bcdedit /toolsdisplayorder {802d5e32-0784-11da-bd33-000476eba25f} /addlast

Sources and References

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcd-boot-options-reference
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/bcdedit
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/bcdedit-command-line-options
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcdedit--set
• https://atomicit.ca/kb/articles/how-to-fix-windows-7810-boot-problem-with-bcdedit/
• https://neosmart.net/wiki/bcdedit/#BCDEdit_on_Windows_8