Remove an Old Windows Entry from the Boot Menu

**/enum all** prints the boot manager, the entries and the device paths. A stale entry points at a partition that no longer exists or is marked as a recovery sequence.

bcdedit /enum all
bcdedit /enum {bootmgr}
Get-Partition | Select-Object DiskNumber,PartitionNumber,DriveLetter,Size,Type | Sort-Object DiskNumber,PartitionNumber

A live entry has a **device partition=C:** that matches an existing volume. An orphan points at **partition=D:** with no volume, or at a volume without Windows.

bcdedit /enum {current} | Select-String -Pattern 'identifier|device|path|description'
bcdedit /enum osloader | Select-String -Pattern 'identifier|device|description'
Get-Volume | Select-Object DriveLetter,FileSystemLabel,Size | Sort-Object DriveLetter

**/export** writes the complete store to a file. A wrong delete leaves a machine that cannot boot until the firmware setup is used, and the export is the way back.

bcdedit /export C:\bcd-backup
Get-Item C:\bcd-backup | Select-Object Name,Length,LastWriteTime
Copy-Item C:\bcd-backup 'D:\bcd-backup-copy' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

**/delete** with the GUID from the listing removes one entry. The boot manager itself must not be deleted, and the current entry is protected.

bcdedit /delete {01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef}
bcdedit /enum osloader | Select-String -Pattern 'identifier|description'
bcdedit /enum all | Select-String -Pattern 'identifier|description'

With one entry left a long timeout is wasted seconds on every boot. **/timeout 3** is the usual compromise, and msconfig does the same from a GUI.

bcdedit /timeout 3
bcdedit /enum {bootmgr} | Select-String -Pattern 'timeout|displayorder'
msconfig
# Boot tab > set Timeout > make sure the remaining entry is the default

The menu should show one entry, or none, and the machine should start without a delay. A menu that still appears means a second entry survived.

Restart-Computer
bcdedit /enum all | Select-String -Pattern 'identifier|description|timeout'
Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object LastBootUpTime,Caption
bcdedit /enum {current} | Select-String -Pattern 'path|device'