Error encountered when trying to access a boot device post-reboot.
Error encountered when trying to access a boot device post-reboot.
Whenever I need to restart my computer via the power button, for instance after a system failure, I encounter a BSOD when trying to boot. This issue arises only when I manually reboot using Windows, not during a standard restart. The crash dump isn't recorded, likely because the drive isn't detected. Following the BSOD, the system attempts another reboot and switches to automatic repair mode, but this fails and brings me back to the Windows recovery screen. Any repair attempts, like performing a system fix, usually don't succeed. However, I discovered that if I proceed to enter UEFI settings on the next restart and simply exit BIOS without making changes, the following boot will be normal, allowing me to access Windows. Once inside Windows, everything functions as expected, despite this recurring problem during hard restarts.
SFC /scannow typically shows no issues. (I used "usually" since I've run SFC multiple times without errors, but just to be safe, I rechecked and it did resolve something this time.) Although in previous runs SFC didn't detect any problems, this latest attempt found and corrected an error. Even though earlier fixes didn't work, it seems this time the issue might be resolved.
DISM and CrystalDiskInfo also report no errors. chkdsk doesn't show anything abnormal.
I've upgraded the BIOS to the latest version, hoping it would resolve the matter (it hasn't yet).
What might be happening?
Sysinfo:
OS Name: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
Version: 10.0.22631 Build 22631
Other OS Description: Not Available
OS Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation
System Name
System Manufacturer: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.
System Model: MS-7D25
System Type: x64-based PC
System SKU: Default string
Processor: 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700KF, 3600 Mhz, 12 Core(s), 20 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends International, LLC. 1.G0, 1/16/2024
SMBIOS Version: 3.6
Embedded Controller Version: 255.255
BIOS Mode: UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.
BaseBoard Product: PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4(MS-7D25)
BaseBoard Version: 1.0
Platform Role: Desktop
Secure Boot State: On
PCR7 Configuration: Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory: C:\WINDOWS
System Directory: C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale: United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer: Version = "10.0.22621.2506"
User Name
Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM): 64.0 GB
Total Physical Memory: 63.8 GB
Available Physical Memory: 47.8 GB
Total Virtual Memory: 67.8 GB
Available Virtual Memory: 45.5 GB
Page File Space: 4.00 GB
Page File Path: C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection: On
Virtualization-based security: Not enabled
Windows Defender Application Control policy: Enforced
Windows Defender Application Control user mode policy: Off
Device Encryption Support: Elevation Required to View
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions: Yes
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions: Yes
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware: Yes
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection: Yes
Since this situation has been ongoing for some time, there have been various situations requiring a forced hard reset, though not always with identical causes. Recently, I encountered a software issue that seems to be linked to driver conflicts, even though I’m not a developer and can’t confirm it fully. Earlier, the problem appeared differently—no crash, just a mistake. I had unintentionally pressed the power button on my PC, which tried to put it to sleep. Unlike my laptop, my PC didn’t enter sleep mode but instead shut down. Pressing the power button again brought up the Inaccessible Boot Device error for the first time.
Which system drive is active? Additionally, which other drives are currently installed?
When you set up or reinstalled Windows, were all these storage devices accessible? It's likely the Windows installer saved the boot files to a different drive than the primary system drive—this happens if possible. If that alternative drive encounters problems, it could explain the issue you're experiencing.
I put Windows in there a long time ago, probably years before Windows 11 was released. About six months after Windows 11 came out, I upgraded to Windows 11. After that, I moved to a bigger SSD, maybe around eighteen months ago, but the problems started recently. I remember from earlier that besides the C drive, there were other drives in the system with EFI system partitions. These were added later and shouldn’t have boot partitions. It wouldn’t make sense to install Windows on them since they were added much later. Still, I’m curious if a BIOS bug could be causing the boot sequence to read incorrectly. Should I consider removing those EFI partitions? They seem to just hold data and apps.
Before you delete the two external drive EFI partitions I would first remove the drives and then see whether the system boots. If it does then you can safely delete those two external EFI partitions.
When you talk about a 'hard reboot' do you mean a cold boot - ie. from power off? Most people I think use the term cold boot to mean a boot as the power is switched on and a warm boot to mean a restart from within Windows. Are you saying that a cold boot (at switch on) fails whilst a simple restart (warm boot) works ok?
A Windows system that was installed 'years ago' may no longer be completely stable, especially if software and/or devices have been installed and then uninstalled. Many uninstallers are less than thorough and it's common to have shared dlls and even exe files left behind, they can cause problems in the future. That in itself would concern me.
Also, when you say that you 'migrated to a larger SSD (maybe 18 months ago?)' how did you do that? If you used a disk cloning tool they do sometimes introduce issues. Even though you only noticed problems recently they could still be rooted in either that clone or the great age of the install Windows system.
Unfortunately there is no way of determining whether this is a hardware issue and the drive really is inaccessible, or whether it's some kind of partition or filesystem (or other) error that makes the boot partition unusable.