I was greeted by a
Recovery error message the other day when I powered up a PC running Microsoft's
Windows 10 operating system. The recovery screen stated that "Your
PC/Device needs to be repaired. The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is
missing or contains errors".
The PC shut down
properly the day before and the whole thing was mysterious. The Recovery screen
suggested to use recovery tools or contact a PC administrator or the PC/Device
manufacturer for assistance.
Read on to find out
how I repaired the PC and how you can do it as well.
Boot BCD startup
errors
Boot problems related
to the BCD come in many different forms. Here is a short list of error messages
that Windows may throw during boot:
§ Your PC/Device needs to be repaired. The Boot
Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors
§ There was a problem with a device connected to
your PC. An unexpected I/O error has occurred.
§ Your PC needs to be repaired. The Boot
Configuration Data file doesn't contain valid information for an operating
system.
§ Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or
software change might be the cause.
One common denominator
is that the Recovery screen references the file \boot\bcd.
Cause of BCD related
startup errors
The error can be a
result of (among other reasons):
§ An unexpected shutdown.
§ Bluescreen or other errors that require a
restart.
§ Data corruption.
§ Failing hard drives.
§ BCD file corruption or misconfiguration.
§ Malicious software.
What is BCD?
Boot Configuration
Data (BCD) was introduced in Windows Vista by Microsoft. It replaced the
boot.ini file in Vista. The BCD holds important boot-related information
including the list of the available operating systems.
In short, it stores
vital boot information required to start Windows. If the BCD is missing,
corrupt or altered, Windows may not start properly anymore but display the
Recovery screen at the top.
Fixing BCD issues if
you cannot boot
All issues described
above have in common that you cannot boot into Windows anymore. You cannot
use tools like the Visual BCD Editor to correct the
issue on the affected machine because of that as you cannot boot into Windows
anymore.
Generally speaking, it
is required that you boot into the advanced startup (Windows 10 or 8.1) or
system recovery options (Windows 7) and run several commands from the command
prompt there.
If you do have Windows
installation media, you can use it to boot from and access the recovery
options.
Windows 10 users can
download media from Microsoft instead.
Step by Step guide
1.
Insert the
installation media into the PC. Connect the USB Flash Drive to the computer or
put the DVD into the DVD drive.
2.
Find out how to access
the BIOS/UEFI of the machine. This should be displayed during boot. Common keys
are F1, F12 or DEL.
3.
Change the boot order
so that the computer boots from the USB or DVD drive before it boots from
internal hard drives.
4.
Click next on the first screen of setup. That
screen should highlight the installation language and keyboard.
5.
Select Repair your computer on the next screen.
6.
When the "choose
an option" menu opens, select Troubleshoot.
7.
Select Advanced options.
8.
Select Command Prompt. This opens a command prompt interface.
9.
Run the following
commands one after the other:
1.
bootrec /fixmbr -- This option writes a MBR to the system partition but
does not overwrite the system partition in the process. It fixes MBR corruption
and issues with non-standard MBR code.
2.
bootrec /fixboot -- This options writes a new boot sector to the system
partition. Fixes damaged boot sectors, non-standard boot sectors, and issues
caused by the installation of earlier Windows operating systems (pre-Vista).
Ignore any error that may come up.
3.
bootrec /rebuildbcd -- This options scans all connected hard drives for
Windows installations. If it finds additional installations, prompts you to add
them to the BCD Store. Windows should pick up the installed operating system.
Make sure you add it to the BCD store. Select (a) for all during the prompt, or
add installations individually instead.
10.
Exit the command
prompt window.
11.
Restart the PC to find
out if the repair was successful.
Video walkthroughs
Resources
Related articles
source : https://www.ghacks.net/2018/02/05/how-to-fix-boot-bcd-startup-errors-on-windows-pcs/
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