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Where is the boot.ini file in Windows 7?

Supposedly it's in the C: drive - I enabled hidden files and disabled Hide system files in the Folder Options but I still can't find it. Does anyone know where it is?

Tamara Wijsman
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P'sao
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1 Answers1

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There isn't a boot.ini in Windows 7. You can use msconfig to edit boot option however.

Windows 7/Vista has a hidden boot partition, containing the BCD - boot configuration data. Similar to boot.ini but you can't easily edit it like you can with notepad and XP. You can also use the bcdedit tool.

Tamara Wijsman
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Paul
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  • Then what file does windows use to boot? if not boot.ini? – P'sao Oct 27 '11 at 01:46
  • Windows 7/Vista has a hidden boot partition, containing the BCD - boot configuration data. Similar to boot.ini but you can't easily edit it like you can with notepad and XP. You can also use the bcdedit tool: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709667%28WS.10%29.aspx – Paul Oct 27 '11 at 01:51
  • Or try EasyBCD...http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1 – Moab Oct 27 '11 at 17:08
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    To answer the literal question, the boot data is stored in a folder named \boot on the system partition. In Windows 7, by default, the system partition does not have a drive letter assignment so you don't see it in Explorer. – Harry Johnston Oct 28 '11 at 00:10
  • (Note that Windows reverses the usual meanings of the phrase "boot partition" and "system partition"; the system partition contains the boot loader and the boot partition contains the system!) – Harry Johnston Oct 28 '11 at 00:13
  • What if we couldn't boot at all so we should edit the configs from out side like using a boot-able OS? in XP we could do it by editing boot.ini in windows 7 what we can do?? – Amirreza Nasiri Jun 13 '14 at 22:14