Dual Monitor - Metro Bootloader Support

scottieB

Member
I just started using Easy BCD for my dual-boot settings (Win 10 and Linux). I tested Easy BCD on my Laptop first and was able to get it working with the Metro bootloader without any problems. However, when I tried setting up my desktop machine, my computer boots as it should, but I get a blank screen on both monitors when the Metro screen should appear. After a lot of trial and error, I found that if I unplugged one of the monitors (I have a dual monitor setup), the Metro bootloader appears as it should.

If I use the standard bootloader screen (uncheck Metro on Easy BCD), everything works as it should, without unplugging a monitor.

Has anyone else run into this problem? Is there a way to enable the Metro Bootloader on a dual monitor setup with Easy BCD, or any other way?

Thanks!
 
Go into your graphics card settings and set the default screen there.
This has nothing to do with EasyBCD as far as I can see.
 
Hi Peter
I'm afraid I think this is to do with EasyBCD - I've changed around main display and the problem persists - the Metro bootloader is there but only a black screen is showing. I know it is there because you can use arrow down to select other OS and it loads fine.

Before EasyBCD was in use metro bootloader displayed as it should
 
I don't use the metro screen, but I do have a 3 monitor setup, and it does affect the boot.
EasyBCD has absolutely no effect on your boot process.
EasyBCD is a Windows .NET application which only works on a running version of Windows.
What you do with it will affect all future boots, inasmuch as it has taken your instructions to make changes to the data which bootmgr will use on each subsequent boot.
If you do something with EasyBCD (like select metro), which works, then it will continue to do exactly the same thing in perpetuity or until you use EasyBCD to change the BCD again.
If, without further intervention of EasyBCD, something changes between boots, then it is "bootmgr" code which is causing the change of behaviour. (see 2 below)
In your case, switching monitors around is somehow affecting the way bootmgr behaves (accessing unchanged data in the BCD).
My system is set up to use my newest, HD monitor as my primary device, an older SD monitor as a secondary alongside and an HDTV (in another room) as a third device for movie viewing via WMC.
Owing to the vagaries of my graphics card's connections mix, my "primary" monitor is not the first one detected during POST, so my BIOS flash and my boot menu pop up on the secondary monitor (which is the first GCU channel detected) until such time as my Windows "preferences" can be determined (at desktop initiation), at which point everything flips across from the old monitor to the new. (6 below)
I don't know why "metro" is sensitive to the h/w switching particularly, never having bothered with it. Since it's only present for two seconds each IPL, I don't give a fig what it looks like, as long as I retain the ability to jump in and change my boot choice once a month.

1.After pressing the power button, the PC’s firmware initiates a Power-On Self Test (POST) and loads firmware settings. This pre-boot process ends when a valid system disk is detected.
2.Firmware reads the master boot record (MBR), and then starts Bootmgr.exe. Bootmgr.exe finds and starts the Windows loader (Winload.exe) on the Windows boot partition.
3.Essential drivers required to start the Windows kernel are loaded and the kernel starts to run, loading into memory the system registry hive and additional drivers that are marked as BOOT_START.
4.The kernel passes control to the session manager process (Smss.exe) which initializes the system session, and loads and starts the devices and drivers that are not marked BOOT_START.
5.Winlogon.exe starts, the user logon screen appears, the service control manager starts services, and any Group Policy scripts are run. When the user logs in, Windows creates a session for that user.
6.Explorer.exe starts, the system creates the desktop window manager (DWM) process, which initializes the desktop and displays it.
 
Hi Terry

Thanks for the thorough explanation. I had an idea of boot process, but I understand much better now.

As I stated in my initial post, if I use the standard bootloader, everything works. After I read your reply, I curiosity was killing me on what monitor showed the boot menu. I just tested it again and surprisingly it displays on both monitors, not just one. So during the boot process both monitors are being mirrored.

When you say "metro is a little sensitive", are you implying I should still be getting a Metro screen on at least one monitor, or I might not get a Metro screen at all. Right now, I don't see a Metro screen on either screen, all I see is a black screen on each monitor. Like Charlescola stated, the Metro screen is there because you can select an option of your liking blindly, you just can't see it. If however, I disconnect one of the monitors, the Metro screen shows up normally.

Thanks for the help on this issue. In reality, I'm happy with the standard menu considering I don't use daily. I just wanted to see if there was a fix.
 
Sorry I can't be of any real help.
As I said, I've never bothered with the metro boot screen.
I've seen it of course when freshly installing W8, 8.1 and 10, but as soon as I instruct it to default to booting W7, it reverts to the command line boot menu, and I've never been inclined to do anything to to reverse that, being perfectly content to see either for the two seconds a month that it's relevant.
That's all I really meant by the "sensitive" comment. It seems to need very little to decide to give up and hand over.
Being full screen graphics, with mouse control, it's obviously much more complex, and it would not surprise me that the fact that it's not always actually booting when it says it is, might also play a part in its sensitivity
https://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12890
 
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