Where is the BCD store physically located?

Question

There are several tools to edit the BCD store, like bcdedit and Visual BCD Editor.

They are editing the so-called "BCD Store". Where is it located physically?

In filesystem (where)?
On physical harddrive sectors (where)?
On Flash ROM of computer?
Somewhere else (where)?

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 11 '17 at 22:30

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Where is the BCD file located in the registry?

BIOS-based operating systems. The BCD registry file is located in the \Boot\Bcd directory of the active partition.

EFI–based operating systems. The BCD registry file is located on the EFI system partition.

Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions

answered Aug 11 '17 at 22:30

FastEthernet

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What if I have 10 hard drives and 20 different operating systems, including MS DOS-3.1. Where is BCD located then? – Dims Aug 13 '17 at 11:29
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@Dims The BCD store was introduced with Windows Vista and replaced the boot.ini file used by older NT-based operating systems, usually located at C:\boot.ini – FastEthernet Aug 13 '17 at 11:34
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What if I have 3 Windows Vistas among these 20 OSes? – Dims Aug 13 '17 at 11:35
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@Dims Then the information from my answer applies. On any OS running Windows Vista or above, you should be able to find the BCD file at one of the locations mentioned. – FastEthernet Aug 13 '17 at 11:38
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Will 3 Vistas share one BCD location? – Dims Aug 13 '17 at 11:41
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@Dims Yes, as Vista does not support EFI boot (IIRC) they should all be located in the \Boot\Bcd directory of the active partition. – FastEthernet Aug 13 '17 at 11:54
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Okay, what if I have 3 OSes with EFI boot. Will all of them share the same location in EFI system partition? – Dims Aug 13 '17 at 11:56
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@Dims According to the information above, yes, they should. Please read the information provided at the link above, and if you have any further questions I will move this discussion to chat. – FastEthernet Aug 13 '17 at 12:08
Sorry, I would like narrow specific information. I am not interested in BCD editor. – Dims Aug 13 '17 at 12:10

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 09 '20 at 18:31

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If you have multiple Windows OS's on a UEFI/GPT system you have only one EFI partition. One BCD Store handles all Windows OS's and it is in the EFI partition. There are separate entries in the BCD Store for every bootable OS.

edited May 09 '20 at 18:31

somebadhat

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answered May 08 '20 at 20:57

bbearren

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Where is the BCD store physically located?

2 Answers2