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INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE error in BSOD at startup
Hi everyone. My partner's Win10 Pro PC presented with INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE error last week. No idea what brought it on, although I note that recent January updates have affected other TenForums users. I have read up those and other IBD threads, but, while they have been helpful, none appear to relate directly or provide an obvious remedy.
DELL Dimension E520
DELL DM061, Intel Dual Core 4300 @1.8GHz, 2Gb DDR2 SDRAM
Booting in BIOS mode
WD10EZEX 1Tb SATA HDD
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (fresh install, not update from 8.1)
Cable Networked
I get the usual merry-go-round of BSOD options; and, without available Reset points, I want to avoid a complete re-install, and try for a resolution that also avoids the task of re-installing all the apps and settings. I'd appreciate advice.
Here's what I have done thus far:-
1. I temporarily attached the HDD to my Win10 PC, and used EaseUS Partition Manager to scan the file structures, and also did a complete disk surface scan. No problems reported. C:\ is Boot (and installed apps); Logical Partitions D:\, E:\, G:\ & H:\ hold all data.
2. Back in the DELL where it belongs, I can get to a command prompt through Advanced options (and have an early Win10 Pro Install USB which gets me there too). DISKPART's 'List Volume' indicates the reassigned boot partition letter. All the volumes show up as NTFS (including 'Sytem Rese' - is this correct?), and Healthy.
3. I tried 'X:\Windows\system32\bootrec /fixmbr', and got 'The operation completed successfully'. But on re-boot, the same BSOD loop of unsuccessful repair. I then tried 'fixboot' and got 'Access is denied'. Went no further, as some of the existing advice seemed as if it was addressing UEFI boot and other issues.
4. I note that the OP of 'INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE on startup' commented that he had "made a mistake by not having my path set to X:\Sources> ". This is a reference to point 12) in the the comprehensive advice from zbook (thank you zbook); but i must confess that I don't understand the reference to X:\Sources in that line, or why it matters:-
"12) Click command prompt > Administrator: X:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe > X:\Sources> ".
(I think there is an extra 'Type cd \Sources' instruction missing?) But, in any case, Zablablukas reports that after reworking the commands from X:\Sources>, it "still hasn't fixed the problem". My mileage didn't differ.
5. I have successfully attached an external USB backup drive, with enough space to backup the entire system from the command prompt before a re-install, should that be necessary. Its volumes show up in DISKPART's list. (Though I could, alternatively, re-attach the HDD to my PC to do a backup). I also have plenty of space on H:\ (HDD 'Housekeeping' Volume) to backup the complete contents of the boot partition prior to a Reset, if that would be useful.
So now, with your helpful advice, I may follow this plan:-
6 Execute whatever additional commands you may advise me to try, before proceeding to the more drastic and time-consuming options.
7 Next, if I execute an 'attrib -s -h -r *.* /S /D /L' command in the root directory of the boot volume, will that enable me to then do a backup copy of ALL the files in the volume, so that I can later overwrite all the apps and settings (and the registry) that will be messed up by a Reset? Can I avoid having to reinstall everything in this way? And if so, what pitfalls/shortcuts may there be?
8 I note that in at least one existing IBD thread there is advice about reverting to an earlier version of the registry, but I am unsure if this should be necessary, or if it is, at what stage it should best be done?
9 If all else fails, I will have to backup the HDD and re-install Win10 Pro. But my USB install version is from way back when we first installed the free distribution. Some tips on where to find the very latest update and how to overwrite it onto the USB stick would be appreciated.
Looking forward to your contributions. Thanks!