VistaBootPRO is an application used to make changes to the Windows Vista Boot Configuration Data (BCD) registry quickly and easily, in a fraction of the time it takes to use the alternative, which is the command prompt based application bcdedit.exe, located in the Windowssystem32 folder of Windows Vista.

Designed for both beginners and advanced users, VistaBootPRO can be used to make "cosmetic" changes to the Windows Vista boot Menu such as changing the name of the Operating Systems shown in the boot menu and make advanced "functional" changes like adding an Operating System to the boot menu and repairing the Windows Vista boot configuration data.

Advanced settings include backing up and exporting your boot loader configuration and modifying various details for the entries.

For those who have used bcdedit.exe in the past, you will be impressed with the ease of use and functionality that VistaBootPRO provides.

The Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is started in Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" operating systems.

These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface–based operating systems).

You can use the Bcdedit.exe command-line tool to affect the Windows® code which runs in the pre-operating system environment by adding, deleting, editing, and appending entries in the BCD store. Bcdedit.exe is located in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the Windows Vista partition.

Why was there a change to BCD from Boot.ini?
BCD was created to provide an improved mechanism for describing boot configuration data. With the development of new firmware models (for example, the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)), an extensible and interoperable interface was required to abstract the underlying firmware.

This new design provides the foundation for a variety of new features in Windows Vista (for example, the Startup Repair tool and Multi-User Install shortcuts).

Requirements:

· The Vista boot loader (installs with Vista, not removed by formatting)
· Windows 2k, 2k Server, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, or Longhorn Server
· .NET 2.0 Framework (included with Vista, for other operating systems it is available free from Microsoft.com)

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

· Fixed bug which occurred on some systems when renaming entries.
· Added advisement to backup bcd file before making any changes.
· Adjusted font size on pages.
· Refined Check for .net 2.0 framework prior to installation.
· Updated backup file dialogs and default filename.
· Added code to check for valid partition before creating new entry.
· Updated Help File.
· Updated Codebase.