having trouble getting Windows to boot

Was having trouble getting Windows to boot (see thread 186846), usually recovered by booting to recovery thumb drive or DVD, asking to repair boot issues, and then selecting exit to Windows. Installed WU KB5006738 and nothing would get Windows to boot.

Tried reinstalling Windows from a rescue thumb drive created by a Microsoft download. It wouldn't accept the option of keeping my files and applications because there was an incomplete Windows Update on the system drive. The Macrium Reflect boot repair didn't do it, either.

I have an Acronis full backup only a few days old. I'm working on a project with a deadline in a couple of weeks and need its files, even since the backup. Found a way to do this online: boot to rescue media, select the option to open a command console, run notepad.exe, and use its File -> Open menu with "Send to" to copy folders to another thumb drive. You may need to run 'bcdedit | find "osdevice" ' to find your system disk. This is huge. Remember it, if you don't have another workaround to recover files from a bricked Windows computer.

The plan is to restore the system disk using Acronis, disable Windows Update, and reinstall Windows with the option keeping my files (and perhaps application installations) from a recovery media created by a Microsoft download. I believe that it's the first 21H1 build.

Try3 said:

Yes.

Please would you take a look at
Use InstallUSB Notepad as a rudimentary File explorer to backup files [post #33] - TenForums
and suggest any improvements you think would be worthwhile
[when I eventually find the time to take lots of pretty pictures I intend to submit it as a tutorial]

I was particularly interested in your comment about running
'bcdedit | find "osdevice"
but I cannot get a response from it when running it from my installation disk even though bcdedit is in the temporary OS's X:\Windows\System32 folder.


All the best,
Denis

I've found that some system utilities are missing or can't find data files when the system is corrupted. In my case, bootrec.exe doesn't have the data files needed to fix things, reagentc.exe is missing, etc. If you use a rescue media built from a Microsoft download, you will have better luck, but rebuilding a corrupted //Recovery partition seems to be best done with a fresh installation of Windows 10.

Try3 said:

Motorfingers,

I think my post must not have been clear enough.

BCDEdit is on the installation disk. But the normal response [when booting into Windows normally]

does not happen. In fact, there is no response. But you said that you had got it to work so I'd like to use it as well.
- I had not thought that the command could be used when booting from the installation disk [because the only active OS at that stage is the temporary OS established by the installation disk].

How did you get a response from the

Code:

bcdedit | find "osdevice"

command when you had booted from the installation disk?


Denis

I didn't know that bcdedit.exe was present in a Windows 10 installation. I just booted my old laptop, and I do see that bcdboot.exe and bcdedit.exe are in the system folder. If bcdedit.exe isn't on your rescue media, you need to boot to another rescue media that has it. The Microsoft download to generate Windows 10 v21H1 ISO files will make a thumb drive that has bcdedit.exe on it. I have a DVD for Windows 10 v1903 that has bcdedit.exe. I have later thumb drives written as rescue media by later builds that do NOT have bcdedit.exe on them.

Try3 said:

Did you get a response from the

Code:

bcdedit | find "osdevice"

command when you had booted from the installation disk?
Or are we talking at cross-purposes?

Denis

I use bcdedit on the Recovery media, which are the installation media (DVD or thumb drive). I didn't know that it was available elsewhere until today.