Hi! Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is a set of data where the system boot information is stored. In addition, from there the operating systems stored in the computer are managed. Similarly, this is a new function that allows systems not managed by BIOS to boot properly. Well, today we will see how to backup and restore BCD in Windows 10.
How to create a BCD backup.
All BCD files are stored in the Boot folder. It is possible to manage them for administration purposes. In addition, they are encrypted to prevent unauthorized changes. Consequently, this action can cause negative effects on Windows startup. On the other hand, Windows has a tool called bcedit. This allows you to create a backup of your boot configuration and restore it when necessary. In addition, BCD boot configuration data is stored in a data file in the Windows registry. Its path is as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\BCD00000
In the case of UEFI boot, this file will be in /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD on the EFI system partition. Well, now we will use CMD to create a backup of BCD. The first thing you have to do is open a command prompt as an administrator:
Then run the bcdedit command to see the current file structure.
Now we are going to export the contents of this folder to a path. For security reasons, it is convenient to use a different disk or partition than where Windows is installed. So first, please create the folder in the location of your choice.
Then, please use the following syntax:
bcdedit /export “path bcd.bcd”
Please remember to replace path with the address of the folder you will be backing up. In my case, the command looks like this:
bcdedit /export "E:\BCD\bcd.bcd"
You can verify the operation by going to the path:
How to restore a BCD backup in Windows 10
The procedure for restoring a BCD backup is quite simple. Just run the following syntax from a CMD with administrator privileges:
bcdedit /import “path”
In my case:
bcdedit /import "E:\BCD\bcd.bcd"
In this way we have seen how to backup and restore BCD in Windows 10. So if there is a problem with the system startup, we can resort to this backup. Okay, that’s it for now. See you later!
