Have you ever booted another operating system alongside the Windows operating system? Dual booting is a great way to try out a new operating system without compromising your version of Windows. You can choose between operating system versions using the built-in boot manager.
However, after a while you decide you don't want to use the second operating system anymore, so what to do? Is there an easy way to remove the added operating system entry from the boot manager so it doesn't cause confusion every time the computer is started? This article will show you ways to delete old boot options from the boot menu.
What is Windows Boot Manager?
Windows Boot Manager is a small piece of software that runs during system startup. The booter code will load when booting the system partition Activeit is sometimes labeled System Reserved so you don't accidentally overwrite it. Startup manager helps Windows installation start up.
When there is only one version of Windows in the boot manager, the system will boot into this operating system without displaying the boot selection screen. However, when you install another operating system, this process changes, allowing you to run the operating system you want.
Boot configuration data
Modern versions of Windows store Boot Configuration Data (BCD) in a database just like the registry. Previously, you managed your boot screen options using files boot.ini small (and Windows NT boot loader, ntldr). However, an insecure text file is vulnerable to attack, so this has been changed to a more universal but secure solution.
Additionally, BCD provides both BIOS and EFI-based systems for editing configuration data using a boot options editing tool such as BCDEdit. Here are 4 ways to remove boot options from the boot menu.
How to remove boot options from the boot menu
1. Hide options
This first solution doesn't completely remove the startup item, but you can hide this option using the Windows Advanced status menu.
Press the key Windows + I to open the table Settingsaccess Update & Security > Recovery and in section Advanced startups select Restart now (or press Shift while choosing Restart in the menu Start. Note, this will start the system immediately, so you need to make sure to save important documents before pressing this button.
Select Use another operating system > Change defaults. Here you can set up the timer screen Windows Boot Manageras well as select Choose a default operating system. Selecting the default operating system does not remove other settings, but Boot Manager will not display that operating system each time the system is started.
Alternative method: Use MSConfig
You can achieve the same result using windows Windows System Configuration. Done by typing mscon in the menu search bar Start and select the appropriate result, then open the tab Boots. You can set the default operating system, splash screen, and other boot options. Alternatively, you can delete the old entry from the startup process, but this doesn't actually remove it from the system.
2. Use BCDEdit to remove the boot option in the boot manager
BCDEdit is a built-in boot manager editing tool. Note, deleting the wrong startup item can lead to serious consequences, so you should carefully check each edit here before pressing Enter.
Type cmd Go to the menu's search bar Startthen right-click Command Promptselect Run as administrator. When the Command Prompt window opens, type bcdedit /export c:\bcdbackup to create a backup of your BCD settings. Next, type bcdedit /v to list the available boot loaders on the system. The image below is the result of running the command on a computer's system.
Part Windows Boot Manager describes the location of the boot manager, along with other identifiers. Part Windows Boot Loader Windows 10 bootloader description for this system, unique identifier, where to find it winload.exe to continue looking for the boot process, whether the partition has recovery enabled, and the root system directory.
If you have multiple Windows operating systems installed, this is where to find bootloader information. The operating system type will appear along with a description. Besides, Legacy OS Loader will appear in a separate frame.
Copy the identifier (long string of alphanumeric characters) of the bootloader you want to remove. Now, type the command bcdedit /delete {identifier}. Double check you have the correct entry, then press Enter to delete.
3. Use Visual BCD Editor
If you feel Command Prompt is too difficult for you, you can use Visual BCD Editor. Visual BCD Editor executes a series of BCDEdit commands in an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. You get the same experience and functionality as using BCDEdit in Command Prompt, but without having to worry about entering commands correctly.
To delete an old startup item, download and install Visual BCD Editor, then open it. This tool will take some time to scan the system. In the options on the left you will see Bcdstore > Loaders > [tùy chọn bootloader của bạn]select the bootloader you want to delete and then press Delete at the bottom of the information panel on the right.
4. Remove the EFI boot manager option using BCDEdit
If the EFI boot manager has a bunch of old Linux boot entries (although they don't cause any problems, they will annoy users over time), you can delete these entries using Use BCDEdit.
The EFI booter is part of the UEFI firmware management package. You'll see this booter if you've ever booted from a USB or alternative media, and it's typically accessed by pressing a function key during the boot process.
To delete old EFI entries, open Command Prompt as admin, type bcdedit /enum firmware and press Enter. Unlike the command used for Windows Boot Manager, the “enum firmware” will list all objects contained in the BCD repository, including Linux installations. The image below is a laptop firmware list:
There are entries for Ubuntu and openSUSE which are no longer used. Copy the identifier of the firmware entry you want to remove and run the following command bcdedit /delete {identifier}.
Windows Boot Manager is now clean of old boot entries.
Wishing you success!
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