Error: Inaccessible Boot Device, How To Fix It Yourself [MiniTool Tips]

If the boot device on your PC is not bootable anymore, the system will detect this and display the corresponding error message to you. The inaccessible boot device is a common error that will prevent you from booting the system successfully.

It’s exciting news that a new Windows 10 update is out, but it’s not a good idea to upgrade to the latest version at once sometimes. Why? That is because problems and bugs can be found easily in a new update. Inaccessible boot device Windows 10 is an error many users said they have met after upgrading their Windows 10 system.

It doesn’t matter whether the inaccessible boot device occurs on Lenovo or computers from any other brands; what matters is how to fix the error properly. In this post, I’ll discuss the inaccessible boot device issue: the possible causes and the useful ways to deal with it.

Stop Code: Inaccessible Boot Device

What’s a Boot Device

Generally speaking, a boot device refers to the hardware which contains the files and drivers required for computer startup or which is able to read those boot files & drivers. Usually, the operating system is loaded from the boot device to start your computer. Common boot devices include hard drive, CD/DVD, USB drive, etc.

Seeing operating system not found? Please learn how to deal with it properly:

0x0000007b Error

When the boot device goes wrong, you’ll see a blue screen with the inaccessible boot drive error message. This is a typical blue screen of death (BSOD). It means the access to the system drive is lost and the startup process can’t be completed. The system will usually shut down after the BSOD to stay away from file corruption or data loss.

Case 1: Blue Screen Stop: 0x0000007b.

I have a one year old Windows7 system, and as of recently, I can no longer log on to my profile. I shut my laptop off, so it could complete updates and now I can no longer start it normally. Every time I choose to 'Start windows normally', I get the Blue Screen Stop Error reading: STOP: 0x0000007B (0xFFFFF880009A9928, 0XFFFFFFFFC000000D, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000). I have restarted my computer more times than I can count, and followed and the recommended 'Startup Repair' options and advanced options. Nothing has worked, and I don't know enough about computers to try anything else. Thank you!- asked J_Lee in Microsoft Community

Case 2: Windows 10 inaccessible boot device.

I am running Windows 10 pro and am getting inaccessible boot device on startup. It tries to fix the pc and then allows me to restore the machine to a previous restore point. At that point I am able to boot into windows. I use norton 360 and also ran herd protector as well as ran chkdsk. After a few hours I shut down. When I try to boot up later I get the inaccessible boot device again and have to go through this process of restoring to a previous restore point. This has been going on for about a week. Is there a way to fix this? Would reinstalling Windows 10 fix the problem? Is this a software or hardware problem? (It seems like it would be a software problem).- said Bob Slotpole in Microsoft Community

What Causes Inaccessible Boot Device Error

As mentioned before, the Inaccessible Boot Device is a typical BSOD error message many people have ever seen. One important reason why the error is so popular is that it can be caused by a lot of problems.

• The data cable connected to the software is loose or bad.
• The boot device is attacked by virus.
• The configured drivers are damaged, outdated, missing or set inaccurately.
• The driver of a device conflicts with other hardware.
• The boot device is moved to another PC with a separate controller.
• The hardware, motherboard, or storage controller is faulty.
• A different storage controller is used over the default driver of Windows.
• The TrustedInstaller service responsible for committing newly installed updates failed due to Component-Based Store corruptions.
• The drive file system is damaged (how to fix the volume does not contain a recognized file system).
• The Windows registry files are damaged/corrupted.
• BIOS update/reset is failed or not completed.
• The OS upgradation is not done successfully.
• Boot partition files & system data are corrupted.
• The RAM or the boot device itself is corrupted (how to recover data from corrupted disk).
• The mode of storage controller or BIOS settings has been changed.

If you find your PC can’t boot after BIOS update, please recover data from the unbootable disk first. Then, try to repair the inaccessible boot device yourself.

Inaccessible Boot Device Windows 10 Data Recovery

The entire data recovery process contains 3 stages.

• Stage one: find reliable data recovery software and choose a proper edition for your case.
• Stage two: make a bootable USB disk or CD/DVD disc.
• Stage three: boot computer with the disk created in previous stage and use it to recover data.

Choose Recovery Software

Founded over ten years ago, the software development company MiniTool® Software Ltd. has been devoting itself to developing applications for data recovery, partition management and data backup & restore industry. Till now, it has reached over 40 million downloads all over the world. To recover data on the inaccessible boot device, you should turn to MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

Which license to choose?

MiniTool Power Data Recovery provides 8 types of license for you to use in different situations.

• If you are a home user, choose from Free, Personal Standard, Personal Deluxe, and Personal Ultimate.
• For business users, there are Business Standard, Business Deluxe, Business Enterprise, and Business Technician.

You need the Snap-in WinPE Bootable Builder to create a bootable disk so as to recover data from the inaccessible disk. So you can’t choose Free, Personal Standard, and Business Standard.

Make a Bootable Disk

How to create a bootable USB/CD/DVD disk (take the Personal Standard license as an example)?

Step 1:

1. Purchase a license containing the Snap-in WinPE Bootable Builder.
2. Install the Power Data Recovery on another computer that runs properly. (At the end of the installation, a Thanks for Installing MiniTool Power Data Recovery webpage will appear automatically, you can close it.)

Step 2:

1. Choose to launch the software in the last step of installation process or double click on the application icon to open it.
2. Now, a Registration window will pop up; please copy your license code & paste it into the text box.
3. Click on the Register button and click OK in the Thank you window.

Step 3:

1. Connect a USB flash drive or insert a CD/DVD that you want to use as bootable disk. (What if USB flash drive is not recognized by your PC?)
2. Click on the Bootable Media button at the bottom left corner to open MiniTool Media Builder.
3. Select WinPE-based media with MiniTool plug-in.
4. Choose to create a bootable CD/DVD, USB flash drive, or build an .iso image.
5. Choose Yes in the Build boot disk window to confirm or choose a storage location for the .iso image file & click Save.
6. Wait for the building process to complete and click Finish.
7. Remove the disk from current computer properly.

Boot Your PC to Recover Data

How to boot your PC when running into stop 0x0000007b error?

Step 1: connect the bootable USB flash drive or CD/DVD to your PC with inaccessible boot device BSOD problem.

Step 2: restart your PC and press the certain button before Windows logo to enter BIOS Setup Utility.

Step 3: modify the boot sequence to make computer boot from the disk you made. Then, exit and save changes.

Step 4: wait for the countdown to end or click OK button to continue in both screen resolution changing window and MiniTool Power Data Recovery launching window.

Step 5: click the first option to launch the data recovery software finally.

Step 6: select an option from the left-hand panel and specify the drive containing your needed data from the right.

Step 7: click Scan to detect files in that drive. Then, browse the search result and pick out the data you need.

Step 8: click Save and choose another drive to store the files waiting to be recovered. At last, click OK to confirm your selection.

Step 9: wait for the recovery to complete.

Please be advised that you can use the trial edition first to recover data from a working PC if you suspect the performance of Power Data Recovery.

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Inaccessible Boot Device Windows 10 Fix

You may be wondering how do I fix my boot device when finding invalid boot device error on a blue screen, right? There are some simple solutions to the Inaccessible_Boot_Device and 0x0000007b error.

• Modify the boot options when you think the boot device is at fault.
• Update the faulty drivers.
• Uninstall your graphics card driver.
• Scan the device for viruses and kill them.
• Disconnect all the external devices and try to restart your PC.
• Go to check the disk firmware version to make sure it is compatible with your system. If not, please update to the latest firmware version.
• Enable AHCI mode in the BIOS.

In the following content, there are still some advanced methods for you to repair the inaccessible drive.

Fix 1: List Disk in Command Prompt

1. Restart your computer and boot into Advanced options.
2. Select Command Prompt.
3. Type diskpart and press Enter.
4. Type list disk command and press Enter to see whether the boot device is recognized by your PC.

You can also run list volume command in diskpart to see the partitions mounted on the computer.

How to fix when DiskPart encountered an error?

Fix 2: Check the Integrity of Boot Configuration Database

The boot configuration parameters are contained in Boot Configuration Database; they decide how your OS is booted. How to check:

1. Repeat step 1 and step 2 in previous method.
2. Type bcdedit and hit Enter.
3. Check the identifier, device, and path (identifier should be set as default; device should point to the correct partition; path should be correct).
4. If anything is wrong, you should rebuild BCD.

Fix 3: Run chkdsk /r to Check Disk for Errors

1. Repeat step 1 and step 2 in fix 1.
2. Type chkdsk *: /r (* is the drive letter of your boot device) and hit Enter.
3. Wait for the process to complete.

If you finally boot into your system, but find CHKDSK has deleted some of your files, you should recover them by using methods mentioned here:

Fix 4: Uninstall the Packages Installed Recently

1. Press the power button to start your PC.
2. Hold the power button down until your PC shuts down automatically.
3. Repeat this process for at least 2 times to see Preparing Automatic Repair.
4. Wait for Diagnosing your PC to complete.
5. Select Advanced options.
6. Choose Troubleshoot.
7. Choose Advanced options.
8. Choose Command Prompt.
9. Type dir command and hit Enter to see where your system is installed.
10. Type dism /image:*:\ /get-packages (* is the letter of your system drive) and hit Enter to see the packages you installed.
11. Browse the packages in the list to decide which one may cause the error by looking at the installation time.
12. Type exe /image:c:\ /remove-package /package name:* (* is the name you can find after Package Identity in the list) and hit Enter.

You can also try to remove the Update Pending packages.

Fix 5: Revert to Last Known Good Configuration

1. Restart your computer.
2. Wait for the screen with the logo of manufacturer to pass.
3. Repeatedly tap F8 (or another button/button combination) as soon as the logo goes away.
4. Navigate to Last Known Good Configuration option in Advanced Boot Options window.
5. Hit Enter and wait for the process to complete.

These methods are also useful for inaccessible boot device Windows 8. The steps to recover data and repair inaccessible boot device Windows 10 SSD are the same.

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What does invalid boot device mean?

Invalid Boot Disk Error is also one of the most common errors occurred during system startup and bothered lots of people. This error can be the result from virus attack, recent software/hardware installation, hard drive failure and other reasons.

Problems related to inaccessible boot device error:

• No boot device available
• What causes Reboot and select proper boot device
• How to fix disk boot failure

Verdict

It’s likely that you could run into inaccessible boot device/0x0000007b error during computer startup. When you see such error on a blue screen, you shouldn’t get into panic. What are the right things to do?

• Firstly, recover your data from the boot device to prevent damage caused by data loss.
• Secondly, use the methods mentioned in the last part to try to fix the error yourself.
• If both failed, ask professionals for help.

Hope you can solve the inaccessible boot disk error and reboot your PC successfully.