Notes Concerning the
BCD (Boot Configuration Data) Store File

Web Presentation and Text are Copyright © 2015, 2020 by Daniel B. Sedory
NOT to be reproduced in any form without Permission of the Author!

Introduction

The BCD Store file is usually located in the Boot folder of a Windows 7/8.1/10 OS's System Reserved partition; which in many cases will not even have a drive letter assigned to it. So if you really want to see where these system files are located, you'll first need to go into Disk Management and give that partition a drive letter. (Note: Some OS distributions, such as the 'Embedded Standard' editions, do not have a separate System Reserved partition.) Apart from possibly needing to add a drive letter, all system files are by default hidden from view, so you'll also need to change the Folder Settings to show hidden system files. But, since the BCD file is kept open by the OS, you wouldn't be able to open it to look at it anyway! However, you can use the BCDEDIT program to make a backup copy of the BCD file which you can then open with a hex editor (to see everything) or even NOTEPAD (to see all the readable characters). [Contents of a real BCD file are linked below.]

 

The BCD Editor

If you enter "bcdedit" at a simple Command Prompt window, you'll probably see:

The boot configuration data store could not be opened. Access is denied.

Because you need Administrator privileges to access the BCD file with BCDEDIT. So, be sure to run the Command Prompt using a RIGHT-CLICK and selecting: ("Run as administrator").

The following is what you would typically see when entering the command bcdedit all by itself:

C:\>bcdedit Windows Boot Manager -------------------- identifier {bootmgr} device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1 description Windows Boot Manager locale en-US inherit {globalsettings} default {current} resumeobject {ad68f292-2870-11e3-9c80-856fbacd7f33} displayorder {current} toolsdisplayorder {memdiag} timeout 30 Windows Boot Loader ------------------- identifier {current} device partition=C: path \Windows\system32\winload.exe description Windows 7 locale en-US inherit {bootloadersettings} recoverysequence {ad68f294-2870-11e3-9c80-856fbacd7f33} recoveryenabled Yes osdevice partition=C: systemroot \Windows resumeobject {ad68f292-2870-11e3-9c80-856fbacd7f33} nx OptIn

Note that the Boot Manager program (bootmgr) is often located in a volume without a drive letter, such as in this example, but it could have one. If there were only one partition on the drive, then it would appear in the C: partition.

The following is a dump of a Windows™ 7/8 (or Vista) Administrator console (Command Prompt window) after entering "help bcdedit" ("bcdedit /?" will give the same):

BCDEDIT - Boot Configuration Data Store Editor The Bcdedit.exe command-line tool modifies the boot configuration data store. The boot configuration data store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is booted. These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile RAM entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface-based operating systems). You can use Bcdedit.exe to add, delete, edit, and append entries in the boot configuration data store. For detailed command and option information, type bcdedit.exe /? <command>. For example, to display detailed information about the /createstore command, type: bcdedit.exe /? /createstore For an alphabetical list of topics in this help file, run "bcdedit /? TOPICS". Commands that operate on a store ================================ /createstore Creates a new and empty boot configuration data store. /export Exports the contents of the system store to a file. This file can be used later to restore the state of the system store. /import Restores the state of the system store using a backup file created with the /export command. Commands that operate on entries in a store =========================================== /copy Makes copies of entries in the store. /create Creates new entries in the store. /delete Deletes entries from the store. Run bcdedit /? ID for information about identifiers used by these commands. Commands that operate on entry options ====================================== /deletevalue Deletes entry options from the store. /set Sets entry option values in the store. Run bcdedit /? TYPES for a list of datatypes used by these commands. Run bcdedit /? FORMATS for a list of valid data formats. Commands that control output ============================ /enum Lists entries in the store. /v Command-line option that displays entry identifiers in full, rather than using names for well-known identifiers. Use /v by itself as a command to display entry identifiers in full for the ACTIVE type. Running "bcdedit" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE". Commands that control the boot manager ====================================== /bootsequence Sets the one-time boot sequence for the boot manager. /default Sets the default entry that the boot manager will use. /displayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the multiboot menu. /timeout Sets the boot manager time-out value. /toolsdisplayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the tools menu. Commands that control Emergency Management Services for a boot application ========================================================================== /bootems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for a boot application. /ems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for an operating system entry. /emssettings Sets the global Emergency Management Services parameters. Command that control debugging ============================== /bootdebug Enables or disables boot debugging for a boot application. /dbgsettings Sets the global debugger parameters. /debug Enables or disables kernel debugging for an operating system entry.

Note: What you see above is exactly how a Vista/Win7/8 display appears; and, yes, the word "Command" in the last heading was spelled wrong by Microsoft, it should be plural (Commands) just like all the others. And if there really was only one, then the word "control" should have had an 's' after it! This was still true for a Windows 7 SP1 install we examined, and even Windows 8.1. Is this a case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"? Apparently, the cost of qualifying a revised program outweighs this grammatical error.

And even though Windows™ 10 added six new commands (shown in white below), they doubled the same grammatical error (shown in red). Now it's incorrect for both of the last two command types:

BCDEDIT - Boot Configuration Data Store Editor The Bcdedit.exe command-line tool modifies the boot configuration data store. The boot configuration data store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is booted. These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile RAM entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface-based operating systems). You can use Bcdedit.exe to add, delete, edit, and append entries in the boot configuration data store. For detailed command and option information, type bcdedit.exe /? <command>. For example, to display detailed information about the /createstore command, type: bcdedit.exe /? /createstore For an alphabetical list of topics in this help file, run "bcdedit /? TOPICS". Commands that operate on a store ================================ /store Used to specify a BCD store other than the current system default. /createstore Creates a new and empty boot configuration data store. /export Exports the contents of the system store to a file. This file can be used later to restore the state of the system store. /import Restores the state of the system store using a backup file created with the /export command. /sysstore Sets the system store device (only affects EFI systems, does not persist across reboots, and is only used in cases where the system store device is ambiguous). Commands that operate on entries in a store =========================================== /copy Makes copies of entries in the store. /create Creates new entries in the store. /delete Deletes entries from the store. /mirror Creates mirror of entries in the store. Run bcdedit /? ID for information about identifiers used by these commands. Commands that operate on entry options ====================================== /deletevalue Deletes entry options from the store. /set Sets entry option values in the store. Run bcdedit /? TYPES for a list of datatypes used by these commands. Run bcdedit /? FORMATS for a list of valid data formats. Commands that control output ============================ /enum Lists entries in the store. /v Command-line option that displays entry identifiers in full, rather than using names for well-known identifiers. Use /v by itself as a command to display entry identifiers in full for the ACTIVE type. Running "bcdedit" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE". Commands that control the boot manager ====================================== /bootsequence Sets the one-time boot sequence for the boot manager. /default Sets the default entry that the boot manager will use. /displayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the multiboot menu. /timeout Sets the boot manager time-out value. /toolsdisplayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the tools menu. Commands that control Emergency Management Services for a boot application ========================================================================== /bootems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for a boot application. /ems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for an operating system entry. /emssettings Sets the global Emergency Management Services parameters. Command that control debugging ============================== /bootdebug Enables or disables boot debugging for a boot application. /dbgsettings Sets the global debugger parameters. /debug Enables or disables kernel debugging for an operating system entry. /hypervisorsettings Sets the hypervisor parameters. Command that control remote event logging ========================================= /eventsettings Sets the global remote event logging parameters. /event Enables or disables remote event logging for an operating system entry.

BCD Editor EXAMPLES:

If you ask for help on the "/export" switch, you'll see:

C:\>bcdedit /export /? bcdedit /export <filename> This command exports the contents of the system store into a file. This file can be used later to restore the state of the system store. This command is only valid for the system store. <filename> The filename to be used as the destination for the export. If the filename contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). Example: The following command exports the system store to the specified file: bcdedit /export "C:\Data\BCD Backup"

So we tried the following and saw it was successful:

C:\>bcdedit /export "C:\Users\<your user name>\Documents\bcdtemp.bin" The operation completed successfully.

After examining this backup file in our Documents folder (using HxD), our first reaction was: "Man, this thing appears to be full of all kinds of needless 'gunk'!" It even saves the path and filename to this backup file, inside the file itself!

Then we compared it to the original BCD file by making a copy of that file while the OS was offline (connected as a slave drive to a different OS), and found there were MANY differences! So, the 'backup copy' is not really a true copy. And the differences go well beyond simply changing the path name of its location.

So why is this file so 'cluttered' compared to the Windows XP boot.ini file? Its first 4 bytes are a big clue: "regf". Reason: The BCD file has the same format as a Windows Registry hive! (For example, the NTUSER.DAT file begins with the same 4 bytes.) And in fact, once a Windows Vista/7/8 OS has actually started booting-up, it loads the BCD file into the Windows Registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\BCD00000000.

 

BOOTMGR Experiments:

What happens if we change the NT Disk Signature on a Windows 7 disk drive?

To test this, we used a disk editor to alter the bytes at offsets 0x1B8 through 0x1BB in the MBR (first sector of the disk drive) by simply adding 1 to each byte. If you attempt to boot a PC after doing that, you'll see the following BLACK error screen:



In previous Windows versions, the OS would still boot up this way; even though there was the possibility some program that used the Disk Signature could then have problems. Note: The same error message, with Status: code of 0xc000000e, will also be displayed if we change those NT Sig. bytes to all zeros! Only if you edit these bytes back to their original values will the PC boot-up again.

It's also possible to see such an error if your PC is somehow directed to start booting from a drive other than the normal boot drive, and the BCD Store on that drive points to the first drive, which will obviously contain a different Disk Sig. than what is stored in that drive's BCD. Most PC BIOS have a 'Boot Menu' (often accessible using the F12 key at boot-up) which temporarily makes whatever drive you select, be the first drive on the PC, so a Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 OS on that drive will not have this error! (Note: Unless you plan on always keeping an original Windows OS drive and a new Windows OS drive both connected to your PC, you should never do a new OS install with any other drives connected to the PC!) Why? Because new Windows OS installs often make changes to a primary disk drive, even when installed to a secondary drive! Disconnect all but the disk drive you intend to install a new Win OS on, and in the future you will be able to boot-up the new drive all by itself (or using a Boot Menu key) without it depending upon some primary disk drive you decided to remove, or that has failed.

NOTE: The error shown above is a function of the bootmgr program! We know this, because the same error message will be displayed after altering the NT Disk Signature on a drive that has had its entire C: Volume (where the actual Windows OS resides) removed! So, the Boot Manager must check the NT Disk Signature before it even looks for the presence of the C: Volume.

But how does bootmgr know what those hex bytes should be?

Answer: After examining both our copy and the original BCD file, we found the NT Disk Signature there, in the same order as found in the MBR Sector, no less than 9 times. For our small test install of a new Windows 7 OS, this shows where those bytes occurred (highlighted with a pink background color); along with all the other data contained in a BCD Store file. Note: The \Boot folder of your System Reserved partition will also contain a few LOG files: BCD.LOG, BCD.LOG1 and BCD.LOG2, but the numbered files are often empty. This LOG file is a copy of the BCD file, having the same location written inside it and all the general indications of a BCD Registry file, but about half its bytes may be different.

Have fun examining your own backup BCD copy.

 

Why is it so difficult to move the C: Volume under Windows 7 or later?

To clarify: Under most previous Windows installs, such as Windows 98, people who performed multi-booting or simply had many different partitions on their PCs often used a program called Partition Magic to shrink or even completely rearrange the layout of partitions on their disk drives. But attempting to change where the C: Volume begins under Windows 7 results in a similar BLACK screen error as above; including the same exact message: "Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible." But with a different code: "Status: 0xc0000225."

[Note: This is true whether the correct location is specified in the Partition Table or not; same Status code will be shown in either case. In fact, we doubt that bootmgr even looks at the Partition Table, provided it can find the C: volume where it is supposed to be!]

This problem is similar to the one above (concerning the NT Disk Signature), but involves the exact sector location of the C: drive's partition.

So where in the BCD file, is the sector location of the Windows Boot Sector stored?

The reason for the question being: Although we can find our drive's NT Disk Signature in the BCD Store, we can not find a sector location for the C: drive! Before searching, we had thought only the BCD file would need to be updated if we moved the C: Volume. We knew how partitions are referenced in a Windows REGISTRY (see NTFS Disk Signature), but could not find any similar bytes; other than the 4 bytes of the NT Disk Sig., in our BCD file! So how does bootmgr know where the sector offset location of a C: drive should be, and prevent booting from an OS volume we simply moved and did not resize; even though the data in both the Partition Table and its Boot Sector (Hidden Sectors which give us sector offset to Boot Sector) have already been updated?




NOTE: All of the following is still under construction . . . mainly because we have yet to find a solution that allows one to effectively move where a Windows 7 OS's C: drive partition begins! After using a Microsoft install DVD to REPAIR such a drive, although it did allow us to boot-up that drive and use it, the repair did not change anything permanently! After attempting to boot-up the drive again, the same error message is displayed, no matter how many times we used the DVD to 'repair' the drive!!.

So what prevents a Windows 7 OS from booting-up if we change where its partition begins; even though we make sure the data in the partition table, as well as that volume's Boot Sector, have had the size and location of the partition changed correctly? Those were the only changes needed in any previous Windows version, yet doing so for a Windows 7 OS, results in a 'blue screen' (actually a 'BLACK-screen'), stating the OS cannot be located!



Could it be as simple as the OS already having accessed the REGISTRY; with much of the system already running in Memory, it then finds the offset stored there does not match the values in the Partition Table and/or Boot Sector, so it gives us essentially a false message, stating: "The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible."? Yet, the bootmgr program could only know that if it did find and access the Registry.

Other Experiments:

2. We next carried out the following steps on a copy of our Windows 7 OS install in order to verify our theory about why Windows 7 does this:

    A) Copy the hidden file bootmgr and various folders (including "Boot\enUS" and "Boot\Fonts") from the "System Reserved" partition to the root directory of the C:\ drive. Note: Five or six files must be 'skipped' when doing this, because the BCD Store (and associated files) will remain in use by the OS (preventing them from being copied)!
    B) Create a copy of the BCD file in C:\Boot by using this command (as Administrator): bcdedit /export C:\Boot\BCD
    C) Change the MBR Sector, so the main OS partition is the 'Active' partition.

After that we were able to boot-up the OS from only the C: drive. In order to prove this is true, we used HxD to zero-out the entry in the Partition Table for the System Reserved partition. (Note: The reason we did not use Windows to 'delete' the partition, is because that could have ruined being able to access it again in the future. By saving those hex bytes elsewhere and zero-filling the entry, we can simply enter those bytes in the table again, in order to restore and access the partition!) Upon rebooting and opening the Disk Management utility, one can graphically see this is true:



    D) We shrank the size of this Volume (C:) to only 8 GB in order to run the next test below.


What about BOOTSTAT.DAT and BOOTSECT.BAK files?


    E) shift the beginning of the C: drive to where the System Reserved partition had been, by correcting the data in both the Boot Sector (VBR) and the Partition Table; not to mention, actually moving the Boot Sector and its following Volume Boot Record sectors as well

 

First Published: 2004.
Updated: 18 APR 2012 (18.04.2012); 02 AUG 2015 (02.08.2015); 03 AUG 2015 (03.08.2015); 10 SEP 2015 (10.09.2015).
Last Update: 12 February 2020. (12.02.2020).