Is moving BCD files etc possible?

N

novadragon849

New Member
Hi, my windows 7 has just suffered from bcd errors (0xc000000f and the error was file: boot\bcd cannot be found to be exact) and I tried using bcdedit with the system restore disc to no avail even after the nulcear holocaust approach. I then installed windows 7 again but on a new hard drive.

I was wondering now I has access to windows compared to before where I didn't have access to anything. Can I copy the new BCD files and other relevant files needed to boot the machine from this new installation to the old hard drive which didn't boot anymore so that it overwrites the can't find bcd file error?

Or is there another method of repairing the old hard drive now that I have access within windows via easyBCD?

The reason I want to keep the old hard drive is because of all the settings I had on it like my installation programs and my favourites and other settings etc. It will just be tedious to set it back up again which I really don't want to go through.

Any help will be thankful :smile:

Thanks
 
Hi, welcome to NST.
Just open Easybcd, add a Vista/Win7 entry to the BCD of the new W7, and point it at the drive the old Win 7 is on, and then restart the computer, and you'll see a boot menu with options to boot either the new W7 or the old one. Pick the old one, and boot it. It should work fine.

You can also use the "Change Boot Drive" feature of Easybcd to have the boot process working from your old W7's hard drive if you want, after you do the above, though you'll have to change the boot order in your BIOS to put the other hard drive first after you do this, in order to start booting from your old W7's hard drive again.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
Coolname007 said:
Hi, welcome to NST.
Just open Easybcd, add a Vista/Win7 entry to the BCD of the new W7, and point it at the drive the old Win 7 is on, and then restart the computer, and you'll see a boot menu with options to boot either the new W7 or the old one. Pick the old one, and boot it. It should work fine.

You can also use the "Change Boot Drive" feature of Easybcd to have the boot process working from your old W7's hard drive if you want, after you do the above, though you'll have to change the boot order in your BIOS to put the other hard drive first after you do this, in order to start booting from your old W7's hard drive again.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I have seen data recovery software be pretty effective in this instance as well, but you are right going in yourself is the best option, there are just some of us who feel like we are risking everything by making those kinds of changes without being overly sure of our skills :smile:
 
You can't get the old drive to boot, if it is connected differently from the original, by copying over the files. They contain pointers specific to the new drive's location.

But where did the BCD go? If it is there but in the wrong place, just restore it since it will already be set up correctly.
 
SR isn't magic. It is a tool and has its limitations. But as said, it restores system files and a previous copy of the registry. It can solve a large number of problems, but certainly not all. And it does this while trying to retain all the user's files and settings. I've used it often and had good results most of the time. A restoration is reversible if the results are less than desired.

But is is not a time machine or in any way the equal of a full disk backup, like a disk image. It's worth a try when something goes wrong, but always make that full backup elsewhere, too.
 
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