How to Use BCDEdit

The BCDEdit command-line tool provides you with almost unlimited control over the BCD registry file and configuration settings.

Note If you have a computer with both Windows XP and Windows 7 installed and you want to modify the BCD registry file from Windows XP, you can run BCDEdit from Windows XP by starting it directly from the Windows\System32 folder of your Windows 7 installation. Although this might be useful in some multiboot configurations, typically, you should run BCDEdit from the System Recovery command prompt if you cannot load Windows 7.

You must use administrative credentials to run BCDEdit from within Windows 7. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.
2. Right-click Command Prompt and then click Run As Administrator.

To view detailed information about using BCDEdit, run BCDEdit /? from a command prompt. The following sections describe how to perform specific tasks with BCDEdit.