In a windows 8.1 pro installation on an ASRock Extreme6 motherboard, my uefi/bios boot screen lists two different 'windows boot manager' entries under boot options.  One of these is good (when top priority, boot goes nicely) and I want to keep it; the other is evil (offers to repair an installation that is fine and erases my second SSD, thanks) and I would like to destroy it or at least avoid it. How do I identify and destroy or avoid the evil boot manager?

More realistically: can I use BCDEdit to ensure the 'good' one appears first (or even better rename it)?

Some background:

I installed windows 8.1 64 on an SM951 drive (in ultraM2 slot) with 2nd SSD disconnected. When I subsequently connected a 2nd SSD, 2nd 'evil' windows boot manager appeared. (I had previously assumed this was linked with reinstalling windows from scratch  on the SM951 drive after I broke the initial installation, but I now doubt that is relevant).

With 2nd SSD disconnected, only one windows boot manager shows in the UEFI boot options.

With both SSD connected, two windows boot managers show in the uefi boot options, but 

BCEDIT only shows one boot manager, and a boot loader (see image below).

I tried resetting the cmos and removing the cmos battery - no joy.

Any help much appreciated.

• Edited by You'reDreaming Tuesday, May 19, 2015 8:35 AM added info / some corrections

All you have to do is delete "bad" Windows boot manager.

1. Boot using "good" Window Boot Manager by trial and error.

2. map "good" EFI System Partition (ESP) using admin command prompt:

mountvol z: /S

Now the "good" Windows Boot Manager will have its device (Application Device) listed as "z:" !

3. Download Visual BCD Editor (v.0.9.0.1) - shows complete Boot Configuration Data in a graphical way and is more comfortable when manipulating BCD.

The "bad" boot manager will have  "Application Device" like "\Device\HarddiskVolumeN".

Delete it. (Right click on boot manager in tree view and select "Delete Object", confirm.)

You have also to delete or destroy path to "bad" Windows boot manager on second disk or it will be inserted again by UEFI firmware on reboot !!!!!

How can this be done ?

Using mountvol command you map "bad" EFI System Partition or even better you use "diskpart.exe"

Using diskpart commands:

list disk  (to view disk number of second disk should be 1)

sel disk N (N is probably 1)

sel par M ( M is EFI System partition on second disk usually 1 or 2)

assign letter=X:

So you have mapped the bad EFI System Partition to X:

I suggest not to delete the partition but just to rename "\EFI" folder.

So you can always revert the operation.

By renaming "\EFI" on second disk the "bad" Windows Boot Manager and bad "BCD" cannot be found by UEFI firmware !

Later you can delete the "bad" EFI System partition if you are satisfied with the result. (again using "diskpart.exe")

Now on admin command prompt:

ren x:\EFI  x:\EFIBAD

WARNING: 

Make a recovery USB (or installation USB/DVD) so you can fix boot problems by using it if necessary !

• Edited by BoYans 21 hours 15 minutes ago added clarification, fixed wording

All you have to do is delete "bad" Windows boot manager.

1. Boot using "good" Window Boot Manager by trial and error.

2. map "good" EFI System Partition (ESP) using admin command prompt:

mountvol z: /S

Now the "good" Windows Boot Manager will have its device (Application Device) listed as "z:" !

3. Download Visual BCD Editor (v.0.9.0.1) - shows complete Boot Configuration Data in a graphical way and is more comfortable when manipulating BCD.

The "bad" boot manager will have  "Application Device" like "\Device\HarddiskVolumeN".

Delete it. (Right click on boot manager in tree view and select "Delete Object", confirm.)

You have also to delete or destroy path to "bad" Windows boot manager on second disk or it will be inserted again by UEFI firmware on reboot !!!!!

How can this be done ?

Using mountvol command you map "bad" EFI System Partition or even better you use "diskpart.exe"

Using diskpart commands:

list disk  (to view disk number of second disk should be 1)

sel disk N (N is probably 1)

sel par M ( M is EFI System partition on second disk usually 1 or 2)

assign letter=X:

So you have mapped the bad EFI System Partition to X:

I suggest not to delete the partition but just to rename "\EFI" folder.

So you can always revert the operation.

By renaming "\EFI" on second disk the "bad" Windows Boot Manager and bad "BCD" cannot be found by UEFI firmware !

Later you can delete the "bad" EFI System partition if you are satisfied with the result. (again using "diskpart.exe")

Now on admin command prompt:

ren x:\EFI  x:\EFIBAD

WARNING: 

Make a recovery USB (or installation USB/DVD) so you can fix boot problems by using it if necessary !

• Edited by BoYans Wednesday, May 20, 2015 10:10 AM added clarification, fixed wording

All you have to do is delete "bad" Windows boot manager.

1. Boot using "good" Window Boot Manager by trial and error.

2. map "good" EFI System Partition (ESP) using admin command prompt:

mountvol z: /S

Now the "good" Windows Boot Manager will have its device (Application Device) listed as "z:" !

3. Download Visual BCD Editor (v.0.9.0.1) - shows complete Boot Configuration Data in a graphical way and is more comfortable when manipulating BCD.

The "bad" boot manager will have  "Application Device" like "\Device\HarddiskVolumeN".

Delete it. (Right click on boot manager in tree view and select "Delete Object", confirm.)

You have also to delete or destroy path to "bad" Windows boot manager on second disk or it will be inserted again by UEFI firmware on reboot !!!!!

How can this be done ?

Using mountvol command you map "bad" EFI System Partition or even better you use "diskpart.exe"

Using diskpart commands:

list disk  (to view disk number of second disk should be 1)

sel disk N (N is probably 1)

sel par M ( M is EFI System partition on second disk usually 1 or 2)

assign letter=X:

So you have mapped the bad EFI System Partition to X:

I suggest not to delete the partition but just to rename "\EFI" folder.

So you can always revert the operation.

By renaming "\EFI" on second disk the "bad" Windows Boot Manager and bad "BCD" cannot be found by UEFI firmware !

Later you can delete the "bad" EFI System partition if you are satisfied with the result. (again using "diskpart.exe")

Now on admin command prompt:

ren x:\EFI  x:\EFIBAD

WARNING: 

Make a recovery USB (or installation USB/DVD) so you can fix boot problems by using it if necessary !

• Edited by BoYans Wednesday, May 20, 2015 10:10 AM added clarification, fixed wording
• Proposed as answer by Kate LiMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator 5 hours 15 minutes ago
• Marked as answer by Kate LiMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator 4 hours 19 minutes ago

All you have to do is delete "bad" Windows boot manager.

1. Boot using "good" Window Boot Manager by trial and error.

2. map "good" EFI System Partition (ESP) using admin command prompt:

mountvol z: /S

Now the "good" Windows Boot Manager will have its device (Application Device) listed as "z:" !

3. Download Visual BCD Editor (v.0.9.0.1) - shows complete Boot Configuration Data in a graphical way and is more comfortable when manipulating BCD.

The "bad" boot manager will have  "Application Device" like "\Device\HarddiskVolumeN".

Delete it. (Right click on boot manager in tree view and select "Delete Object", confirm.)

You have also to delete or destroy path to "bad" Windows boot manager on second disk or it will be inserted again by UEFI firmware on reboot !!!!!

How can this be done ?

Using mountvol command you map "bad" EFI System Partition or even better you use "diskpart.exe"

Using diskpart commands:

list disk  (to view disk number of second disk should be 1)

sel disk N (N is probably 1)

sel par M ( M is EFI System partition on second disk usually 1 or 2)

assign letter=X:

So you have mapped the bad EFI System Partition to X:

I suggest not to delete the partition but just to rename "\EFI" folder.

So you can always revert the operation.

By renaming "\EFI" on second disk the "bad" Windows Boot Manager and bad "BCD" cannot be found by UEFI firmware !

Later you can delete the "bad" EFI System partition if you are satisfied with the result. (again using "diskpart.exe")

Now on admin command prompt:

ren x:\EFI  x:\EFIBAD

WARNING: 

Make a recovery USB (or installation USB/DVD) so you can fix boot problems by using it if necessary !

• Edited by BoYans Wednesday, May 20, 2015 10:10 AM added clarification, fixed wording
• Proposed as answer by Kate LiMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, May 27, 2015 2:08 AM
• Marked as answer by Kate LiMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Wednesday, May 27, 2015 3:03 AM

Hi BoYans,

Thanks for your very helpful reply.

In my case I want to keep the \EFI partition on the 2nd SSD (Pro 850) - it contains my Ubuntu installation, and I want to boot directly into that installation from this drive.

I had already reformatted my Pro 850 SSD before I read your advice - with an interesting result:

- reformatting the SSD with Gparted wiped out the unwanted boot manager (hooray), but ...

- first boot after reconnecting both the SSDs (I had installed Ubuntu on the Pro 850 drive while the SM951 windows system drive was disconnected), windows crashed with 'your PC has a problem and has to restart ... WHEA_UNCORRECTAABLE_ERROR' - on restarting, all is well but an additional windows boot manager has been inserted!

- for now, I'm going to just attempt to set the good Windows Boot Manager to be the first item in the display order of the UEFI firmware.  

- I'm getting to the point where I need to start writing code again.

Thanks again, and good luck with your Visual BCD tools - looks like they could help a lot.

Edit: I think there are two problems here:

1. The Evil Windows Boot Manager, which showed as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen (now gone, after reformatting the 850 Pro drive).

2. A new 2nd Windows Boot manager, which does *not* show as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen, and, from BCDEdit, appears to be on the SM951 drive.

I'm wondering if the new 2nd Windows Boot manager has arisen because I initially installed Windows 8.1 with secure boot off, but after re-installing Ubuntu etc turned secure boot on when booting into Windows (naturally off when booting into Ubuntu)? I'm happy to live with this creature at present since it doesn't appear to cause any problems when booting into either system (unlike the Evil Windows Boot manager that showed as a distinct boot option and did cause problems if I chose it by mistake).

• Edited by You'reDreaming 2 hours 23 minutes ago correction / additional info

Hi BoYans,

Thanks for your very helpful reply.

In my case I want to keep the \EFI partition on the 2nd SSD (Pro 850) - it contains my Ubuntu installation, and I want to boot directly into that installation from this drive.

I had already reformatted my Pro 850 SSD before I read your advice - with an interesting result:

- reformatting the SSD with Gparted wiped out the unwanted boot manager (hooray), but ...

- first boot after reconnecting both the SSDs (I had installed Ubuntu on the Pro 850 drive while the SM951 windows system drive was disconnected), windows crashed with 'your PC has a problem and has to restart ... WHEA_UNCORRECTAABLE_ERROR' - on restarting, all is well but an additional windows boot manager has been inserted!

- for now, I'm going to just attempt to set the good Windows Boot Manager to be the first item in the display order of the UEFI firmware.  

- I'm getting to the point where I need to start writing code again.

Thanks again, and good luck with your Visual BCD tools - looks like they could help a lot.

Edit: I think there are two problems here:

1. The Evil Windows Boot Manager, which showed as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen (now gone, after reformatting the 850 Pro drive).

2. A new 2nd Windows Boot manager, which does *not* show as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen, and, from BCDEdit, appears to be on the SM951 drive.

I'm wondering if the new 2nd Windows Boot manager has arisen because I initially installed Windows 8.1 with secure boot off, but after re-installing Ubuntu etc turned secure boot on when booting into Windows (naturally off when booting into Ubuntu)? I'm happy to live with this creature at present since it doesn't appear to cause any problems when booting into either system (unlike the Evil Windows Boot manager that showed as a distinct boot option and did cause problems if I chose it by mistake).

• Edited by You'reDreaming Thursday, May 21, 2015 5:01 AM correction / additional info

1. The Evil Windows Boot Manager, which showed as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen (now gone, after reformatting the 850 Pro drive).

2. A new 2nd Windows Boot manager, which does *not* show as a distinct boot option in the UEFI boot screen, and, from BCDEdit, appears to be on the SM951 drive.

I'm wondering if the new 2nd Windows Boot manager has arisen because I initially installed Windows 8.1 with secure boot off, but after re-installing Ubuntu etc turned secure boot on when booting into Windows (naturally off when booting into Ubuntu)? I'm happy to live with this creature at present since it doesn't appear to cause any problems when booting into either system (unlike the Evil Windows Boot manager that showed as a distinct boot option and did cause problems if I chose it by mistake).

Hi,

Glad to hear that your computer works fine now.

For further question, please don't hesitate to come back here, separate the questions and let's discuss again. 

Hi,

Thanks Kate Li.

I'll mark your response above as the answer, on the assumption it will fix the problem in most cases - maybe I made a mistake in following the directions or my case was unusual in some way.

Regards.