Inaccessible Boot Device error in Windows 10

Anonymous

I manage multiple computers running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit with the latest Current Branch and recently had multiple computers randomly startup with this BSOD: Inaccessible Boot Device.

I have tried everything:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-fix-update-causing-inaccessible-boot-device-error-windows-10

Which recommends deleting registry keys and install packages, though no pending installs could be found

SFC /SCANNOW - No corruption found

CHKDSK /R - Some minor issues corrected

BOOTREC - Scan OS shows 0 windows installations

FIXBOOT - Successful, but this tool finally made the entire process fail without being able to get to the recovery environment, just boots to the legacy screen and shows options for safe mode, but those fail too.

I am at my wits end, because I find thousands of websites and desperate users and admins, but the only fix that works is to clean install. I can't clean install the whole company. This is insane, there has to be a better known cause / fix out there...

*Modified title for accuracy*

*Original title: Inaccessible Boot Device error - cause? fix?*

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous

WIN 10 BSOD FIX - Inaccessible Boot Device - THIS WORKS! I Just Repaired 2 computers that went down at the same time last night on 1/16/18

Good Afternoon Bobby,

Here is the fix I came across from another kind IT tech, please see below. Credits go to them, I'm just forwarding so everyone can finally get their computers back up and running.

Boot Windows 10

Go to Repair

Go to Tools/Options to get a command prompt.

Confirm the drive letter for the Windows image. Usually D: –> dir d:

Run the following to view the installed packages which will also show a date of install.

Dism /Image:D:\ /Get-Packages

Find the package(s) that were just installed by date. Run the following command on the last installed package:

example: dism.exe /image:d:\ /remove-package /packagename:Package_for_KB4014329~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.1.0

Reboot.

The patch that caused my issue was from 1/6/18 or 1/10/18 Remove the latest windows update entry with Rollup Fix in it's name. Once complete, close command prompt, turn off computer. Power back up. You should be back into WIN10.

If you still receive BSOD, rinse and repeat with the next latest update, try it again. You'll eventually boot right back into WIN10.

I hope this helps.

Have a great day.

Showster

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506 additional answers

Anonymous

2018-01-14T15:26:56+00:00

You located in Canada and have the Canadian keyboard installed?

No, located in the U.S. with U.S. English keyboard in all 3 cases.
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Anonymous

2018-01-14T05:21:29+00:00

You located in Canada and have the Canadian keyboard installed?
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Anonymous

2018-01-13T14:41:57+00:00

I will try DISM the next time it happens. I believe it is an issue with the latest security updates, but it is affecting all types of machines. Mostly older computers, but we run Intel processors primarily.

I've had it happen on 3 different, older laptops running Windows 10, both 32- and 64-bit versions. It definitely occurs after one of the Windows Updates applied during January 2018. In all cases, chkdsk and sfc showed no major problems.

In 2 of the 3 cases, I fixed it using System Restore to go back to a time before the Windows Updates were installed. Both systems required 20-40 minutes to complete, which was much longer than I would have expected, but they did complete eventually.

After rebooting those systems, I reran Windows Update. The January 2018 updates installed without issue and I was able to reboot successfully.

Unfortunately, the default configuration of Windows 10 is to have System Restore disabled. This was the case on the third system, a very old Acer laptop which I was using mostly for testing purposes of older hardware. Without System Restore, the only other option present was to do a System Reset. That completed successfully, but I lost all of the non-store apps installed on this machine.

I would strongly advise everyone to turn on System Restore on their main disk drive, allocating about 5% to keep an adequate number of restore points. System Restore does not add any noticeable time to Windows Update on Windows 10.

If there's another way to test for and fix a damaged or missing disk driver (Intel SATA in this case) on Windows 10 from the repair console, I would appreciate a pointer. This has to be done only with the resources already available on the broken system.
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Anonymous

2018-01-13T01:07:42+00:00

We appreciate the update. Don't hesitate to post back so we can know the results and assist you further.

Keep us posted.
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