Visual BCD Editor- An Advance Boot Configuration Data Editor

An article by Shyam Sasindran, MVP    No Comments

Whenever we have boot related issues mostly we use to check and repair the boot loaders. Windows has a build-in BCD Editor but its command line so it’s not very user friendly. For those who don’t know what BCD is Boot Configuration Data (BCD) files provide a store that is used to describe boot applications and boot application settings. The objects and elements in the store effectively replace Boot.ini.

The Visual BCD Editor is a tool for editing the boot configuration of Windows Vista and later versions of Windows. There are lots of advantages of a Visual Boot Editor for example it gives you an explorer like interface and is easy to use for novice and advanced users.

According to the developers Visual BCD Editor implements the automatic creation of loaders for dual or multi boot systems with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 7 VHD installations. Some of the main features include:

• Backup BCD
• Rename boot menu entries
• Set default boot menu entry
• Change boot menu timeout
• Create new Windows 7/Vista Loader
• Create new Windows XP Loader
• Create new Boot-Sector Loader

One the main feature is called “Create Missing Windows Loader” what it does is it will access Windows partitions as well as attached VHD’s are scanned for Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 installations and loader entries for every installation is created if not already present in the BCD.

If you’re just looking to find the GUID for the Loader you can just select the loader and under the Object tab you’ll find the GUID for that specific boot loader and under the elements tab you’ll be able to see other information like Application Device, Application Path, Auto Recovery enabled or disabled, etc. You’ll be able to edit any of these values by just selecting the value and click on the edit button on the bottom.

You also have a few other options like editing the settings or device options. It’s very user friendly but be very careful while editing any of these values. It’s best to leave the options as it is unless you know what you are doing. Because messing around with these values may even stop the computer from booting. It’s best to take a backup of BCD before proceeding any changes.

With the Visual BCD Editor there is also another utility called Dual-Boot Repair 7/Vista

Dual-boot Repair will automatically fix dual-boot systems based on Windows 7, Windows 8 or Vista with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7/8 as a second operating system. It’s very easy to Repair the Dual boot related problems, just click on Automatic Repair and click on OK and that’s it. The tool will work its magic and once you’re going ahead and reboot the system and test it again. Make sure you click on Backup/Export BCD before you proceed.

Automatic repair fixes or recreates the latest boot environment on active partition. The boot environment for Windows 8/7/Vista consists of:

1. MBR and PBR (Master and Partition Boot Record) – repaired by using Windows bootsect.exe utility.
2. Bootmgr – Windows 7/Vista boot manager.
3. Boot folder which includes the BCD file/store. (2 and 3 are repaired by using Windows bcdboot.exe utility)

In short Visual BCD Editor is an excellent tool and a must have for IT Professionals. It’s has lots of options and save the trouble of remembering the command line options to do it manually. I hope you find this tool helpful.

Download Visual BCD Editor

Go here to download the latest version of the Visual BCD Editor.