Event ID 1291 — BCD File Access and Creation

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

Each boot image is represented in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store as an available boot loader option. The BCD store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is started in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 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).

Each boot image on the Windows Deployment Services server has a corresponding BCD file that contains a Boot Loader entry. The entry describes how to boot that particular operating system image. The BCD file contains information such as the boot device (RAMDISK), the image name (obtained from the .wim metadata), the detect HAL option, and the operating system type (Windows PE).

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 1291
Source: BINLSVC
Version: 6.1
Symbolic Name: W_BINL_BCD_WIM_SYSTEMROOT_MISSING
Message: An image in the WIM file %1 does not have a System Root defined. The Windows Deployment Services server will use \\Windows as the default.

Resolve

Specify a system root

The boot image must contain metadata that points to the WinPE system root. This event is a problem only if the WinPE system directory has also been modified to something other than Windows. Otherwise (if the WinPE system directory name is Windows), you can ignore this event. However, if the Windows directory has been renamed (for example, to Windowspe), you should change the directory name back to Windows by using the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK).

To rename the WinPE system directory:

  1. Download and install the Windows AIK at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81030.
  2. On the Windows Deployment Services server, open the Command Prompt window.
  3. Open an elevated Command Prompt window (Click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.)
  4. Run the following commands in the specified order:
    • Imagex /mountrw C:\RemoteInstall\Boot\<arch>\Images\boot.wim “<image name>” C:\mountpoint
    • Cd c:\mountpoint
    • Rename <Current name of WinPE system directory> windows
    • Imagex /unmount /commit C:\mountpoint

Verify

To perform this procedure, you must either be a member of the local Administrators group or have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To verify that the BCD file has been generated correctly and is accessible:

  1. Locate the following file on the Windows Deployment Service server: **RemoteInstall\Tmp\<arch>.{<GUID>}.**bcd, where <arch> is x86, x64, ia64, or x86x64 and <GUID> is 32 characters. Note: By default, the RemoteInstall folder is on drive C.
  2. In the Command Prompt window, run the following command for the file you located in step 1: bcdedit.exe /enum /all /store: <Drive>:\RemoteInstall\Boot\<arch>\default.bcd. The output should contain the contents of the BCD file.
  3. Verify that the output contains entries for each of your boot images.

 

BCD File Access and Creation

Windows Deployment Services