How to edit windows boot manager for Win11 and Win7 dual boot?

Question

I have a laptop with two separate drives having separate Windows installations, one with Win11 another Win7. I installed the Win7 after I had the Win11 installed in one drive. I had changed the boot order in the BIOS so the Windows installations do not know about each other. How can I make an update to Windows boot manager to add both entries so that I do not have to change the boot device priority from BIOS every time I want to switch?

For all the other suggestions, please know that I need both of these Windows for certain specific purpose and I know the security risk. The laptop is very old, it supports Windows 7, and Windows 11 runs just fine as per reduced requirements.

Answer 1

To update the Windows Boot Manager and add both entries for Windows 11 and Windows 7 without changing the boot device priority in BIOS, you can use the bcdedit tool. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Boot into Windows 11

Boot into your Windows 11 installation.

Step 2: Open Command Prompt as Administrator

Press Win + X and select Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.

Step 3: Check Existing Boot Entries

Type the following command and press Enter:

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bcdedit /enum

This command will display the current boot entries. Note the identifiers (GUIDs) of your existing Windows installations if you see any.

Step 4: Add a New Entry for Windows 7

You will need to add an entry for the Windows 7 installation. To do this, run the following command (replace {GUID} with the actual GUID of your Windows 7 installation; if it’s not available, you will need to use the disk and partition information):

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bcdedit /copy {current} /d "Windows 7"

This command copies the current entry (Windows 11) and creates a new entry for Windows 7. If successful, it will return a new identifier.

Step 5: Set the Device and Path for Windows 7

Now, you need to specify the device and path for the Windows 7 installation. First, identify the drive letter where Windows 7 is installed. Assuming it's on drive D: and the \Windows directory is located there, use:

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bcdedit /set {new-guid} device partition=D:

bcdedit /set {new-guid} path \Windows\system32\winload.exe

Replace {new-guid} with the identifier returned in the previous step.

Step 6: Set the Timeout

Optionally, you can set a timeout for the boot menu so you have time to choose which OS to boot. Use the following command:

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bcdedit /timeout 10

This will set the timeout to 10 seconds.

Step 7: Reboot and Test

Reboot your laptop. You should now see the Windows Boot Manager with options for both Windows 11 and Windows 7. Select the OS you want to boot into.

Troubleshooting

If you don't see both entries after rebooting, double-check the commands you entered for any errors.

If the new entry for Windows 7 doesn't boot, ensure that the drive letter and paths are correctly set.

You might need to run bcdedit /enum again to verify the changes you made.

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