System fails to start after partition adjustments.
System fails to start after partition adjustments.
Last night I adjusted my partitions on my computer because there were many unused small ones. I simplified it to just two: one for the SSD and one for the HDD. After resizing, everything ran smoothly and the PC booted up correctly. However, I began experiencing strange issues—when trying to put the PC to sleep it wouldn’t accept it, sometimes it would refuse. When attempting to start, the system asked for a boot device even though the C drive (with Windows) was selected. I’ve tried tweaking settings and reverting changes, but nothing resolved the problem. Do you know what might have gone wrong or how I can fix it? Thank you for your help.
You're asking about the message "PC asks for a boot device." It means the system is trying to determine which storage device should start the operating system because it doesn't recognize a bootable file. Both your drives should appear in the UEFI setup. This situation might happen if one drive is faulty or if Windows was accidentally altered. You can attempt to boot from an installation media to resolve the issue and adjust the boot loader settings. There are some command-line options you can explore for further troubleshooting.
UEFI advises restarting and choosing the correct boot device or inserting the boot media into the selected device, then pressing a key. Both my drives appear in the UEFI setup. I believe you’re correct about the “Windows issues.” Regarding installation media, could you clarify what you mean?
There seems to be an issue with locating the ISO instead of the executable for the Media Creation Tool. You might try using a bootable USB to install Windows. To verify your UEFI supports NTFS, check the BIOS settings or use a tool like chkdsk.
Click the link provided. Check if it remains active; if not, select "Download Now" under the Windows 11 installation media options. A tool for creating a Windows 10 installation media will appear. Use this to generate a USB drive that contains the installer. You can then install Windows there. Explore your storage devices via UEFI and verify the contents of the C drive. Ideally, you should be able to access the FAT 32 formatted EFI partition correctly.
It seems you were working on partition management for your storage devices, but accidentally removed essential boot sections. UEFI systems often require specific drive partitions for Windows to start correctly. Even if the partitions appear empty or are small, deleting them can cause boot failures. You might try removing the associated drive letters in File Explorer, though this isn’t recommended unless you’re certain of what you’re doing. Unless you’re familiar with the purpose of a partition, avoid touching it. A reliable solution is using tools like Macrium Reflect to repair or reorganize your Windows boot sections. If that fails, consider transferring your main Windows partition to an external drive via sector copy or cloning. After that, format the new drive and reinstall Windows. You can then use software such as Aomei or Macrium to replace the old partition with a fresh copy, restoring your data. If you don’t need critical files, a complete reinstall is also an option.
I agree with your assessment. I removed partitions I thought weren't essential and plan to test alternative approaches next week. Your detailed guidance and the tools you mentioned are really helpful. I'll share my results soon. Thank you for the clear explanation.
I agree with you there. There is usually a ~100 MB partition for boot / EFI. Possibly aanother few 100's of MB for a recovery partition. If you deleted the ~100 MB "EFI System Partition" then that could be why...
You need to transfer all your files from the old drive to the new one. Use a tool like DiskPart, File History, or a backup software to move the data safely.