Edit Windows Boot Menu Sequence

Welcome to the System Admin training tutorials by CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions. Today, I will explain multiple methods to edit the Windows boot menu.

One frequent question I received from the readers of CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions was about managing the boot menu of modern laptops after installing more than one Operating system.

I am writing this article because of multiple support questions I received from my regular readers about editing the boot.ini file in Windows 11. Most sent support requests after reading my old tutorial on editing boot.ini in Windows XP to alter the booting sequence.

Yes, I agree. It was easy to edit the boot.ini in Windows XP to change boot options. However, Windows 11 does not have boot.ini.

Gayathri Kaimal, a first-year B.Tech ECE student, asked me whether she could edit the boot menu of her Dell laptop running on Windows 11. The answer is yes.

Though Windows 11 does not have boot.ini, it does support the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) system. I will teach you how to edit Windows 11 boot options using the BCD system.

According to Ashish Mudgal, a senior Network Engineer at CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, the easiest way to edit the boot sequence order in Windows 11 is by executing the bcdedit command.

Let me explain how to run this DOS command to change the boot sequence order in Windows 11.

1. Type cmd on the Windows 11 search box and run the Command Prompt by selecting Run as administrator.

2. Type bcdedi and press the Enter key. Follow the instructions it shows to edit the current boot order sequence.

   

Once you save the changes, I suggest you reboot your PC. I believe I have explained this part very well. So, I will explain how to edit the boot order in other Windows OS versions in the next section.

1. Right click on my computer

   

2. Click Properties

3. Click Advanced

4. Click Settings button near Startup and Recovery

   

5. Click Edit and make necessary changes in the notepad (which shows the current booting sequence).

I have explained the steps to edit boot orders in Windows 11 and XP laptops. Now, I will explain it for Windows 10 and 7 computers.

1. Open Command Prompt in Run as Administrator mode

   I explained the steps already. I recommend you follow them.

2. How to View Windows Boot Loader?

   Type the command bcdedit and press the enter key.

   

   Note the equivalent value displayed here [{e2b1507b-eddc-11de-90a9-beb27b9d4437}] and use that value for your laptop.

3. Command to Copy Current Boot Entry

   Type bcdedit /copy {current} /d "DebugEntry" and press the enter button.

4. Command to Remove an Entry

   If you do not want additional Operating System entries while starting your PC, delete them from the Command Prompt. DOS Command to delete unwanted entry is:

   bcdedit /delete {e2b1507b-eddc-11de-90a9-beb27b9d4437}

While booting a computer, we can see a menu to select the Operating System to choose from a list of installed Operating systems. Have you ever wondered where they save this information? Boot.ini is the file where Windows stores the details of these options and the OS menu.

If we need to change any settings on this menu, we need to edit the boot.ini file. To edit this file, follow the steps below.

James Augustus, a graphic designer from Brooklyn, asked for steps to edit boot.ini using msconfig. Let me answer James in this section with a warning that Windows Operating systems from Windows 7 onward do not use boot.ini.

1. Click on the Windows Start menu and go to the Run/Search.

2. Type msconfig and press OK. Now, the System Configuration Utility Window will open. You can change the boot.ini settings in this window.

   
   

3. Click on the Boot.ini tab

   

   Now you can change the settings in the boot.ini file, such as setting the default Operating System, Setting the show time to pick an Operating system, checking all OS starting paths, etc.

Hemant Agarwal, one of the regular readers of CoreNetworkZ Tech Solutions, asked me this question. His brother gifted him an HP laptop with Linux and Windows.

Hemant can disable it without going to the boot.ini file. To disable the default boot menu option in Windows XP, follow the steps below.

1. Right-click on the My Computer icon and click on Properties.

   
   

2. Click on Advanced tab.

3. Click on the Settings button under Startup and Recovery

   

4. Select the Default OS

5. Reboot Your Laptop

Now, I will conclude this article. Today, you have learned how to edit the Windows boot menu in multiple versions.