Desktop shortcut for rebooting into different OS [duplicate]

I currently have Windows 10 installed on an SSD. There is another HDD in the machine for storage purposes. I wanted to add another SSD and install another OS (maybe Windows 7). I know I can always choose during the boot process as to which OS to run. However, is it possible to have a shortcut (for any batch file or something) on the desktop of each of the OS to directly reboot into the other OS?

The short answer is yes (at least to my understanding), but involves a bit of hassle in order to accomplish dual booting from the desktop. You would be correct in assuming that you would need a type of batch script in order to run or trigger the process to dual boot from your desktop.

Note that this information applies to XP and Windows Visita but the concept could be applied to later versions of Windows.

You will need to preform the following:

Create the Shortcut to Reboot into XP:

bcdedit /bootsequence {ntldr} /addfirst
Shutdown /r /t 0

The first line runs the bcdedit tool and sets the XP partition as a one-time boot default, and then the second line calls the shutdown command with the reboot option.

Once you are done, save the batch file into a folder, making sure to name the file with the .bat extension and choose All Files in the “Save as type” drop-down (very important).

You can also give the shortcut a fun icon if you want, or not. Either way, you’ll now have a shortcut that will reboot you into XP by clicking on it (and clicking through the UAC prompt if you have UAC enabled).

For extra credit you can also create a shortcut that doesn’t prompt for UAC, but it takes a few more steps to create.

Here is the link for a full guide on how to perform the setup.