Windows 10 boot error after disk partition

0

I attempted to create an 18 GB partition (with 64 GB unused on a 231 GB SSD) with a disk management program (AOMEI Partition Assistant). I pressed Apply which was followed by a restart, which resulted in the following error message thrown by the Windows Boot Manager:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
  1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer.
  2. Choose your language settings, and click Next
  3. Click "Repair your computer."
If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.
  File: \Boot\BCD
  Status: 0xc000000f
  Info: The Boot Configuration Data from your PC is missing or contains errors.

I booted from the Windows installation media USB and selected Start-up Repair in the Windows Recovery Environment. The Start-up Repair option failed to fix the problem.

windows
windows-10
hard-drive
boot
partitioning
asked on Super User Feb 24, 2021 by blake tadner • edited Feb 25, 2021 by blake tadner

1 Answer

0

To save your data, stop using the SSD in any way that allows writing to it. For example, boot from a live USB, e.g. a live Ubuntu drive. Then mount the SSD read only to avoid damage to the file system and its data. The use a tool such as Clonezilla to make a disk image.

You should be able to access all data from that disk image, rather than directly from the SSD. To be safe, make a copy all your personal files from the image (yes, this is redundant, but if your data has value, worth the trouble).

Now you can make changes to the SSD, such as trying to restore Windows, knowing at least the data is safe. You might be able to fix the SSD file system and find the data is still there... or you might find the data gone, except in your backups.

answered on Super User Feb 25, 2021 by DrMoishe Pippik

User contributions licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0