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BCD-SYS

BASH script utility to setup the Boot Configuration Data store and system files for the Windows Boot Manager (WBM) from a Linux or macOS environment. This can be used to add boot files after applying a Windows image with the wimlib tools, configure the computer to boot from a virtual hard disk (VHDX) file, add a Windows installation to the current boot menu or recreate a system partition that has been corrupted or formatted. Similar to the bcdboot utility.

Example 1: Copy boot files then create BCD store for a physical Windows installation.

Example 2: Copy boot files then create BCD store for a Windows installation on a virtual hard disk.

Usage

Show help
bcd-sys --help
Create a new Windows entry
bcd-sys /media/user/mountpoint
Create a virtual hard disk entry
bcd-sys /media/user/mountpoint/images/windows.vhdx
Specify a system volume (no firmware entry)
bcd-sys /media/user/mountpoint -s /media/user/volname
Specify both UEFI and BIOS firmware
bcd-sys -f both /media/user/mountpoint
Add the WBM to the end of the UEFI boot order
bcd-sys -e /media/user/mountpoint
Specify a custom description
bcd-sys /media/user/mountpoint -n Windows\ 11\ Professional
Specify the locale parameter
bcd-sys -l en-us /media/user/mountpoint
Remove existing stores and create new entries
bcd-sys -c /media/user/mountpoint

Installation

Download from Releases or clone the repository.

git clone https://github.com/jpz4085/bcd-sys.git

Enter the folder for your platform and run for temporary usage.

cd $(uname)
./bcdsys.sh /media/user/mountpoint

Install or uninstall using the setup script if desired.

./setup.sh install | uninstall

Features

BCD-SYS has the following features and differences compared to bcdboot:

  • Global objects and settings remain unchanged when modifiying an existing BCD.
  • Any existing osloader objects for a Windows volume are replaced and not merged.
  • The system BCD-Template is ignored and a Windows10/11 equivalent is used.
  • The clean option will delete the existing configuration and create entries in new stores.
  • The boot files will be copied by default to a system partition on the Windows device, the
    current root device, or the first disk listed by the system if different from the previous.
  • When specifying a virtual hard disk the script will present a list of partitions contained
    in the file. Enter the device name of the volume which contains the Windows image.
  • The position of the WBM entry in the UEFI boot order will be preserved when updating
    an existing BCD. A new entry will only be created if missing or creating new stores.
  • The description can be specified when creating a new Windows entry.

Requirements

Common Packages: hivexsh and hivexregedit, (readpe - PE Utils1) pev/peres

Linux Packages: attr/setfattr and fatattr, VHDX Support: qemu-utils and NBD client module.2

macOS Packages: bash (above version 3.2), mtools, bootoption3, signmbr4 and NTFS write support.56

Legacy BIOS: ms-sys7

Footnotes

  1. Download and build from source when necessary. ↩

  2. These are optional if only working with physical disks. ↩

  3. This is optional and only tested on Hackintosh and VirtualBox. ↩

  4. Create a Windows Disk Signature on MBR media before running the script. ↩

  5. The script supports NTFS-3G as well as the commercial Tuxera and Paragon products. ↩

  6. This is optional if not writing to any NTFS partitions (including system) from macOS. ↩

  7. This is optional and not required if only using UEFI. ↩