Inaccessible Boot Device error in Windows 10

When I attempt to remove the last or prior to last package using DISM and shown, I keep getting

Error: 0x8000ffff

DISM failed. No operation performed.

It worked once a few days back and after if finished it gave a error (which I didn't write down) but I was able to bott into Windows 10, create a restore pint, install Acronis, make an image backup. Thought I was out of the woods.

Upon reboot, back to INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE and no error 0x8000ffff when attempting same DISM operation.

Any ideas?

Of course it was the patches.  Only Microsoft software changed during the in-place repair.

Only Microsoft software was involved with windows update.

The only thing that was removed during the procedure was removing the bad Microsoft patch.

and lastly,

Microsoft even admitted they were pulling the patches until they could fix it.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/261839-microsoft-pulls-spectre-meltdown-patches-older-amd-systems

And here they admit to having fixed the patches:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4073707/windows-operating-system-security-update-for-amd-based-devices?ranMID=24542&ranEAID=nOD%2FrLJHOac&ranSiteID=nOD\_rLJHOac-\_HQEBR\_XRHQKxjSSaNyFXQ&tduid=(c438b93529abd1646060d8789010252e)(256380)(2459594)(nOD\_rLJHOac-\_HQEBR\_XRHQKxjSSaNyFXQ)()

This is solely Microsoft's fault.  All the 9 January updates were pulled, fixed and re-issued.

The thing is that when you install updates you never know which version you are getting. 

That's why, all the systems with the bad patches that I recovered are now running fine.

Purely Microsoft's Fault.  They didn't test the patches well enough before releasing them.

This is not uncommon.  I have seen numerous updates come down, cause problems, get reported and Microsoft fixes them (sometimes within 24 hours,)  and then they re-issue the update.  If you got the first patch, you had problems, later ones don't have the problem.

"Patches are like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get"

Just google "windows update causes problems"  there are over 1.6 million hits in this one.  460,000 hits in 2017 before the meltdown patches were even distributed,   1.4 million in 2016, 403,000 in 2015 and on and on....

Microsoft was forced to release the Meltdown and Spectre patches before they were adequately tested, because the well kept secret of those CPU flaws became public knowledge. 

It's just that this time the initial patch killed a lot of machines.

My drive is coming up "X:\Windows\System32>" (read only file & can't go directly to drive X: either) that I can not go directly to drive D:. I can go to drive D: & then back to C: but it will not allow any DOS repairs or edits to drive X: . It is an older AMD A6-3650 cpu (over clocked) with Version 10.0.16299.15 after the update from 1709. It also created 4 partitions on my drive.

 I have played with this Win 10 Creators Update mess for 3 days without any success. I have plenty of backups, bootable USB iso copies & even a new copy of Win 10 Pro, but it will not let it do any options on BSOD menus or even let me format the HD. I also keep backup drives unplugged after backups and they are of no use with this nightmare. Was on phone with MS for 4 hours today (waste of time). It's about time to fire up my wood chipper :(

Try the solution I posted on page 17

Yes the first part of the solution is about the same, HOWEVER you only get to boot once in many cases.  Because one half the patch that makes the machine unbootable, gets installed on the first normal boot, often you get into windows only once.

I imaged the drives on another PC before experimenting.  After DISM and the first boot into windows, once you shut down, the machine is unbootable permanently (or until the real solution to the problem is found).  There are hundreds of pending actions (deletes and renames) that finish replacing files on the first boot. 

As I stated, going in and using the regback registries does not solve the problem because some of those pending actions replace files that will cause the system to be unbootable.

Since the only time you can do an in-place upgrade (repair install) is from within windows, after that first boot, reinstall windows from within.

The reinstall cancels all the pending actions and replaces all the files that are patched and causing problems.

Once you reinstall, make sure you check that system protection is enabled on the C: drive and that you make at least one restore point.

Only then can you be sure that you will have a bootable machine after you shut down or restart.