Previous dual-boot: deleted old Win8, now Win10 won't boot

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  1. Posts : 57
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #1

    Previous dual-boot: deleted old Win8, now Win10 won't boot


    EDIT

    What actually went wrong and how to prevent this from happening to you:

    NavyLCDR said:
    What happened was that when you installed Windows 10, the setup program saw the system partition and boot files on the old hard drive and, by default, updates the old system partition/boot files to add Windows 10 as a second option rather than creating a new system partition and boot files. When you formatted the old hard drive, you erased the system partition and boot files too.

    If you want a 100% independent clean install on a new drive, you need to install Windows onto the new drive with no other drives connected. After that is done, then you connect your old drives and just add boot entries for the previous OS to the new system partition/boot files.


    Solution #1 (slightly longer & requires two drives, but worked perfectly): Image your C:/ partition using Macrium, format & reinstall Windows (without any other drives connected) which allows Windows to create all the correct partitions, and restore your image back onto just the new C:/ partition. Instructions.

    Solution #2:
    manually add the EFI partition that was missing. A normal clean install creates 4 partitions, but I only had two: I was missing the crucial EFI and the non-essential recovery partitions. Instructions.

    -- original post below --

    Hi! I had Windows 8.1 Pro x64 on an old hard drive (250GB). I installed a new hard drive (500GB) and did a clean install of Windows 10 on the new hard drive (using my Win8 CD key).

    It worked fine for two weeks. I never booted into Win8 again, but every time I booted, it gave me the option of Windows 10 vs Windows 8. Always picked Windows 10.

    Then, last night, I wanted to use that old hard drive with Win8 for storage. I formatted it via Windows and secure erased it (via gparted on a live USB--this did require disabling secure boot, but I re-enabled it after secure erasing). After rebooting, Windows 10 won't boot: "no bootable devices detected".

    The hard drive with Win10 is still recognized in the BIOS, no problem. But, even in the BIOS, it's not seen as a UEFI bootable device.

    What I've tried so far:

    1. Startup Repair (using the Win10 USB live installer tool thing) -- "Startup repair couldn't repair your PC." Log file is blank, sadly.
    2. bootsect /nt60 C: /mbr -> it works successfully, saying "successfully updated NTFS filesystem bootcode" and "bootcode was successfully updated on all targeted volumes", but I still can't boot.
    3. bootrec /fixmbr -> completes successfully, still can't boot.
    4. bootrec /rebuild bcd -> finds the Win10 install, I select it, and then it says, "the requested system device cannot be found."

    I ran diskpart and here's what I'm looking at:

    Code:
    List Disk
    
    Disk 0 - Online - 465 GB - 0 B (under free) - blank (under Dyn) - * (under Gpt)
    That makes me worried. Should it be Gpt? It shouldn't, right?

    Code:
    List Partition
    
    Partition 1 - Reserved - 16 MB (under size) - 1024 KB (under offset)
    Partition 2 - Primary - 465 GB (under size) - 17 MB (under offset)
    Shoot, this looks bad, too, right? Shouldn't I have 4 partitions? I did a clean install and it was with "raw unallocated space". But, somehow, only two partitions.

    Code:
    List Volume
    
    Volume 1 - C - NTFS - Partition (under type) - 465GB (under size) - Healthy (under status) - blank (under info)
    --

    Am I SOL? Is this unsaveable? I had no idea it was so bad to format a hard drive I hadn't even booted from in 2 weeks, but maybe that Win8 hard drive was handling some UEFI booting responsibilities that weren't passed onto the new Win10 clean installed hard drive.
    Last edited by ikjadoon; 27 May 2016 at 20:37.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #2

    How did you get from the 250GB to the 500GB? Did you clone? Because if you did, the drives will have the same ID and you can't boot with them connected at the same time.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #3

    Can you boot the system to the custom recovery media made by one of our members, Kyhi, and get a screenshot of the disk layout for us using the Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Partition Manager program he has on there?

    Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

    .
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #4

    Boot from Kyhi's recovery drive above. Open an elevated ("run as administrator") command prompt. Run the following command:

    bcdboot C:\Windows /s C: /f ALL

    The drive letters will be the drive letter that is assigned to the Windows 10 after booting from Kyhi's recovery drive.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 57
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    simrick said:
    How did you get from the 250GB to the 500GB? Did you clone? Because if you did, the drives will have the same ID and you can't boot with them connected at the same time.
    No cloning or anything: totally clean install. It was a brand new drive, did nothing in Win8, and went straight into the Win10 install process via the USB drive. It asked me to pick the drive and I picked the new 500GB drive.

    simrick said:
    Can you boot the system to the custom recovery media made by one of our members, Kyhi, and get a screenshot of the disk layout for us using the Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Partition Manager program he has on there?

    Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

    .
    Sure! Unfortunately, both the Win10 images (x64 and x86) are at their share limits and I can't download them now. I'm checking to see if there's a mirror available.

    But, in the mean time, I bet I can find a Macrium Reflect that has a live USB version and just boot from there?
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 57
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    NavyLCDR said:
    Boot from Kyhi's recovery drive above. Open an elevated ("run as administrator") command prompt. Run the following command:

    bcdboot C:\Windows /s C: /f ALL

    The drive letters will be the drive letter that is assigned to the Windows 10 after booting from Kyhi's recovery drive.
    Wait, can I do this from the Windows 10 installation tool? I have a Command Prompt there from "Repair your PC" (instead of Install now) -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Command Prompt?

    Is that command prompt OK or I need the command prompt from Kyhi's recovery image?
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #7

    ikjadoon said:
    Wait, can I do this from the Windows 10 installation tool? I have a Command Prompt there from "Repair your PC" (instead of Install now) -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Command Prompt?

    Is that command prompt OK or I need the command prompt from Kyhi's recovery image?
    Should be able to do it from Windows installation disk command prompt, as long as the installed Windows 10 gets a drive letter.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 57
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    NavyLCDR said:
    Should be able to do it from Windows installation disk command prompt, as long as the installed Windows 10 gets a drive letter.
    It does have a drive letter, from what Diskpart showed me (the normal C).

    So, I ran the command from the Windows 10 installation tool. It seemingly worked because it said "Boot files successfully created." Yet, when I tried to boot, same error: "No bootable device is detected."

    It's odd; all of these things are seemingly "working" (except Startup Repair and bootrec /rebuildbcd), yet it still can't boot. I'll work on getting a partition layout from Macrium.

    Thank you kindly for your help so far; I really appreciate it!
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #9

    ikjadoon said:
    I'll work on getting a partition layout from Macrium.

    Thank you kindly for your help so far; I really appreciate it!
    Booting from Kyhi's recovery drive - then run Macrium Reflect on it. Under the restore menu is a utility for fixing Windows startup/boot problems. Run that utility, see if that brings everything together to get the new hard drive to boot.

    What happened was that when you installed Windows 10, the setup program saw the system partition and boot files on the old hard drive and, by default, updates the old system partition/boot files to add Windows 10 as a second option rather than creating a new system partition and boot files. When you formatted the old hard drive, you erased the system partition and boot files too.

    If you want a 100% independent clean install on a new drive, you need to install Windows onto the new drive with no other drives connected. After that is done, then you connect your old drives and just add boot entries for the previous OS to the new system partition/boot files.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 57
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    NavyLCDR said:
    Booting from Kyhi's recovery drive - then run Macrium Reflect on it. Under the restore menu is a utility for fixing Windows startup/boot problems. Run that utility, see if that brings everything together to get the new hard drive to boot.

    What happened was that when you installed Windows 10, the setup program saw the system partition and boot files on the old hard drive and, by default, updates the old system partition/boot files to add Windows 10 as a second option rather than creating a new system partition and boot files. When you formatted the old hard drive, you erased the system partition and boot files too.

    If you want a 100% independent clean install on a new drive, you need to install Windows onto the new drive with no other drives connected. After that is done, then you connect your old drives and just add boot entries for the previous OS to the new system partition/boot files.
    OK. I'm still searching for a mirror (OneDrive sharing limit exceeded, unfortunately); does the normal Macrium Reflect WinPE environment have this restore menu or is that just in Kyhi's?

    I can install Macrium Reflect on another Win10 x64 PC (though just Win10 Home instead of the Win10 Pro on the system I'm using--don't think that matters, though?) and then create the Macrium WinPe Rescue USB from there? Or....maybe it's just better to wait until Kyhi can provide another mirror?

    Ohhhhh, I understand the problem. True; I was surprised when it automatically configured the dual-boot option. Shucks...well, now I know. I had an inkling about removing the Win8 drive, but I had thought--incorrectly--that because it was technically an upgrade and technically that I was using the Win8 key, it would be better if I left the Win8 drive in. Thank you for the explanation.

    On a whim, I hadn't tried Startup Repair in a few hours, so I gave it another shot: still nothing. I think it's going to take some partition management tricks--you're right. I really should have 4 partitions, not 2.
      My Computers


 

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