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

2018-08-20T18:09:36+00:00

It is August of 2018 and I just got this problem. My comp is a Dell rebuild and after hours of dancing around previously listed supposed solutions that did not work (with the exception of i have no win10 software to boot from, no backup or product key, no other computer to download anything) I stumbled across this, thank you very much btw HOWEVER, up on entering this into my command prompt I get "The scratch directory size might be insufficient to perform this operation. This can cause unexpected behavior. Use the /ScratchDir option to point to a folder with sufficien space....." and there i am stuck (not very computer literate)
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Anonymous

2018-08-20T19:44:21+00:00

These solutions only apply to machines who got the buggy patch from Microsoft in January of 2018.

There are plenty of other reasons to get an inaccessible boot device.

Try a different thread as anything offered here will not solve your issue.
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Anonymous

2018-08-20T20:03:41+00:00

It is August of 2018 and I just got this problem. My comp is a Dell rebuild and after hours of dancing around previously listed supposed solutions that did not work (with the exception of i have no win10 software to boot from, no backup or product key, no other computer to download anything) I stumbled across this, thank you very much btw HOWEVER, up on entering this into my command prompt I get "The scratch directory size might be insufficient to perform this operation. This can cause unexpected behavior. Use the /ScratchDir option to point to a folder with sufficien space....." and there i am stuck (not very computer literate)

To solve the scratch directory problem, add this to the end of your dism command line:

/scratchdir:d:\

where d: is the drive letter of your windows installation. If your windows installation is on drive e, use e:\

If you can't fix your inaccessible boot device problem, your best bet is to reinstall a fresh copy of Windows 10.

If you have access to another computer, use it to Google: windows 10 media creation tool

The first result will lead you to a Microsoft page where you can download a small program to create Windows 10 installation media (on either a DVD or a USB drive). Make sure you download the same 32-bit or 64-bit version that you had before. You can then boot from this DVD or USB drive to install a fresh version of Windows 10.

If you've had Windows 10 installed and activated on your problem PC before, it will have a digital license stored on Microsoft's servers. During installation, leave the product key field empty and select to install the same version of Windows 10 that you had before (either Home or Pro). During installation, you have the option to save your files, but all installed programs will be deleted.
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Anonymous

2018-08-21T15:32:50+00:00

in the menu for install, delete all particions, after deleting, format entire disc, than just install clean system to your HDD, and than you will need to reply all you need from my last post.
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