Inaccessible Boot Device Windows 10

[Steve9832]

My HP Omen 880 blue screened with the INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error after rebooting from a virus definition update today.  After trying to restore to every single restore point back 3 weeks and having no luck, I tried every hard drive repair option without any success.  I finally found this outstanding solution which fixed it.   If you very carefully follow the instructions using the DISM command, that finally allowed my machine to boot again.   I kept removing everything installed from most recent, backwards to the patch mentioned below on  1/5/2018 or 1/6/2018 and then my machine finally booted again:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-performance/inaccessible-boot-device-er...

I hope this saves someone a  little stress from the blue screens about the inaccessible boot device.

[rjchavez]

In my case, I have an HPE-480t, which still runs great even with WIN10, the I cannot get to boot after the 1709 update.  I've tried removing the updates using DSIM (some work but some are permanent and do not remove), but still get the BSOD with INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE.  The only thing that saved me was a 2-week old backup -- not even restore points were able to revert the issue.

Time to buy a new PC?  I guess that's what MS would love all 300M of us to do...

[rjchavez]

BTW, I think at least for some of us, disabling the Windows Update service may be the only way to go

[Steve9832]

I agree on disabling the Microsoft Updates.  Even after using DISM to remove all of the updates back to the meltdown patch, when it finally successfully booted again, it immediately starting downloading the patches that I had removed before I could even get logged in.  That corrupted the OS beyond repair and put it into an endless loop of "INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE".   I couldn't do the startup repair (even trying it 3 times) nor remove the patches a second time as they were then in an "unconfigured state".  I ended up starting from scratch and reinstalling as Windows 10 was beyond repair after the Msoft patches were pushed down a second time.   I have disabled the Microsoft Update service for now as was mentioned in the last post.  

As was also mentioned previously, I did not update or change the BIOS when this happened.  I simply received Windows 10 patches from Microsoft which destroyed my installation.  A clean reinstall of Windows 10 was the only option after working with Microsoft for many hours trying to repair the original installation. 

[lwlopez1]

FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED FIXED

Method 1:
Crash the computer a few times on purpose (This will trigger a Windows 10 Automatic Repair)
Get to the Windows Automatic Repair screen
Advanced options
Run a System Restore
Restore to a time before the crash
Reboot
You may only get one shot at this
Start
cmd (Right Click Command Prompt and Run As Administrator)
Command Prompt
dism /online /remove-package /packagename:Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~16299.214.1.17
Press Enter (Return)

This is the same fix for INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE from another older package name Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~16299.192.1.9 and substitute this package name for the one listed in the Method 1 above.

In January, computers received INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE from the January roll up called 16299.192.1.9 

In February, other computers received INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE from the February roll up called 16299.214.1.17

If you already ran a DISM to remove the package during an Windows Automatic System Repair, there have been instances that the package is no longer valid to remove and you are hosed plenty. Attempt to repeat the multiple crashes, run another system restore and then attempt an in-place upgrade or boot to a fresh Windows Media Toolkit for Windows 10 and be sure to choose the option to KEEP MY FILES AND APPS and not the KEEP MY FILES. The difference is KEEP MY FILES AND APPS is the option that keeps all of your programs installed without having to reinstall everything! The package will install itself quickly after reboot and force pending operations that make the next boot a complete start over. If you have to start over, because of the BIOS you are using and the Spectre/Meltdown update provided from Microsoft, disable this update by using the Microsoft Catalog Update to stop it, or get into Windows 10 Settings and change the optional updates to 365 days(that's the max), the security updates to 30 days (that's the max) and Pause the updates (1 month max). There is not platform that is immune to this bug. We have seen it on DELL, HP, LENOVO, Toshiba, Surface. We have also seen the USB ports not working out there too. There has been mention of SSD and firmware for some SSD drives causing this too. Also, a simple corrupted bcdedit/bootrec cure for this error as well. Easy rule: If it happened after a Windows Update, it was likely a Windows Update. If it happened after a hard lockup and the computer was forced off, the hard disk should be the focus for a chkdsk. Look for a STOP 0x0000007B for a chkdsk.

None of this is recommended by Microsoft for Security purposes
All of it is recommended by MILE Technologies (us) for functionality and business continuity.

-miletx.com

[RStoneman]

I assist in resolving issues for many of my friends and find that ever since the Windows Fall Creator release I am seeing the Inaccessible Boot Device on many HP Laptops and Desktops.  I personally have a HP Probook 650 G3 and an HP Envy Desktop which have had several of these Stopcodes. Amongst my friends, I have seen at least 8 other cases. My most recent encounter was after an update of iTunes. Although restore point recovery option has generally worked temporarily, issues seem to return and eventually the respore point method fails forcing a reset.  I have no solutions and continue to research what might be the root cause. The stopcode issue is pervasive - not related to a Hardware or Bios issue as others have suggested.   

[Der43e]

Did you find the cause of the problem? I am faced with the same problem on HP elitebook, that this product after an update but impossible to find which one! I first believed in the KB4054788 but after uninstalling it with DISM this didn't fix the problem...

a system recovery fixed the problem but it may return soon after.

I tried to block the update KB4054788 with the Microsoft tools but the problem came back, which makes me say that it's not this update that is the problem.

[Steve9832]

I'm not sure if anyone has come up with a 100% reliable solution to the problem yet.  After removing one of the patch bundles with the name *RollupFix* in the title with a date of early January, Windows did boot one more time successfully but as you pointed out, the patch bundle immediately started coming back down again and then the machine wouldn't boot ever again as the dism trick stopped working.  When the patch bundle came down again, the machine wanted to reboot and the bundle was then in an "unconfigured" state so I couldn't remove it a second time.

After spending many hours with Microsoft support, they told me the patch bundle caused the corruption and the machine would never boot again reliably.  The only solution was a complete re-install of Windows 10.  I have done that on all of the machines with the issue and so far, none have failed again with the "inaccessible boot device" error.  It's a painful solution but the only one that I have found to work consistently on machines with the boot device error.  I wish I had better news as the complete reinstall is obviously time consuming.  On the bright side, Windows should detect your original version and should move it to a "windows.old" folder where you can find your original data once the machine boots again cleanly with the new install.  All of your other directories/folders outside of windows should remain in the original location assuming you just reinstall windows and do not format your harddrive.  

If you're unlucky enough (like me) to not have a recovery partition on your hard drive to reinstall Windows 10 from, you can create bootable media by downloading Windows 10 from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

It detected my Windows 10 license from the motherboard and the reinstall took less than 20 minutes after screwing around for 3 days trying to recover my original installation unsuccessfully. 

Good luck!

[mdklassen]

Please read:   How to recover devices from an unbootable state after installing the January 2018 security update

for Microsoft's recommended "workaround".

[Steve9832]

mdklassen, great link, thanks!  Unfortunately, that did not work on any of my machines previously as Windows tries to reinstall that bundle that was removed through DISM which caused the machine to hang again on boot.  Maybe enough time has passed now that a new bundle replaces the January bundle removed by dism? 

Microsoft told me last month that the machine would never boot again reliably without a complete reinstall.  The repair option would just run countless times saying that no errors were detected yet the machine still stopped with the inaccessible boot device error.  

Thanks.