[SOLVED] Reorder boot selections (OS vs Restore)

May 27, 2020
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I work for a non-profit. I am trying to squeeze some life out of my old Windows 7 machines.
I can install Windows 8.1 just to get the Windows Defender virus protection.

I have successfully installed Windows 8.1 on a machine, works great, but every time it reboots it starts with a choice of either starting the OS (8.1) or doing a System Restore back to Win 7.
The "Restore" is the default option.

How can I change that order so that Windows 8.1 is the default choice rather than the Restore?

I did some googling and tried some things that didn't work. They might be things that work WITHIN the OS rather than at the machine boot level. I have run the bcdedit command to make "recoveryenabled" equal "NO".

When I allow the pc to go so far as the splash screen of the recovery mode, it does state that it would put the machine back to the "factory restore image" and shows a certification that this is coming from a certified Windows refurbisher. So yes, these were refurbished machines to begin with.

I'm thinking there's got to be some entry somewhere that will allow me to turn off this "Restore" option, maybe even entirely, or at least let me reorder the selections and make the 8.1 choice the default when rebooting.

Thanks,

Ed