How to Fix Inaccessible Boot Device in Windows 10 After Update
The Inaccessible Boot Device Error in Windows 10 is a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error that troubles a lot of Windows users all across the globe. It is commonly known to take place after you carry out a Windows Upgrade or Windows Reset. The error is usually associated with SSD (Solid State Drives) but could also happen with HDD (Hard Disk Drives). As it is a BSOD error, it could cause trouble while booting the PC. So, you may or may not be able to boot your PC. In this article, we take a detailed look into the reasons and solutions around inaccessible boot device Windows 10 after update issue.
Why Am I Getting Inaccessible Boot Device Error in Windows 10?
When the Windows Operating System on your PC is starting up and cannot access the system memory partitions, the inaccessible boot drive error shows up. There are several reasons why this error could be troubling you. Issues with Device Drivers, problems due to system updates, hard disc issues, malware infection, etc. are some of the main reasons behind this error.
Will I be able to Fix Inaccessible Boot Device Error?
Do not worry if you are unable to boot into Windows 10 because of this BSOD error.
You can access the Windows Automatic Repair Mode, where you get a number of troubleshooting options. These troubleshooters will help you get rid of issues like the Inaccessible Boot Device error.
Solutions to Fix Boot Device Inaccessible Windows 10 Error:
There are several solutions that you can try to get rid of this issue for good. In the following section, we will take a look at those solutions.
Uninstall the latest Windows Update
This error majorly occurs after a Windows update. So, if you have recently updated Windows 10 on your PC, this method will help you out.
Now, uninstalling Windows updates when you can boot into Windows 10 is very easy. But, it’s a different ball game altogether when it comes to doing the same without Windows. For this, you will have to enter the Automatic Repair Environment on your PC. Let us check out the steps involved in this process:
Step 1: Before doing anything, make sure your PC is powered off.
Step 2: Turn on your PC by pressing its Power button as soon as the startup screen appears on the monitor; press and hold the power button for around 5 seconds till it powers off. Now, repeat this process 2-3 more times. You will enter the Windows Automatic Repair Mode. This mode will bring up the automatic diagnostic tool to check your PC for issues when this happens.
Step 3: Once the diagnostics are complete, you will see a couple of options on the screen. Here, select Advanced Options. The Windows Recovery Environment will open up.
Step 4: On the next screen, select the Troubleshoot option.
Step 5: Next, select Advanced Options.
Step 6: Again, you will be able to view a bunch of options. Here, select the Command Prompt option. After doing so, your PC will restart and boot into Command Prompt screen.
Step 7: In the Command Prompt window, type dir c: and press the Enter key.
Step 8: Now, type Run DISM / Image: C:\ / Get-Packages
Step 9: On the Command Prompt screen, you will now see a list of Windows Update packages installed on your PC. These packages are marked with the date of installation. Make sure to note down the name of the package that was recently installed on your PC.
Step 10: In this step, enter the following command and press the Enter key to uninstall the latest package:
DISM.exe /image:C:\ /remove-package /[package name]
Make sure to replace the [package name] in the above command with the name of the latest package you noted down.
Once the above command has run successfully in the command prompt, the latest update will be removed and will be replaced by the package that was installed before that.
Now, restart your PC. You should be able to login to Windows 10 now.
Remove Pending Windows Update Package
It may happen that while updating Windows 10, the update package may get stuck, causing the update process to go into a pending state. At times, an awaiting update could be the reason behind the Inaccessible Boot Device error in Windows 10. Let us check out the steps required to remove Pending Update Packages. Just like the above solution, this, too, needs to be carried out in Command Prompt through the Windows Recovery Environment. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Follow Step 1 to Step 6 mentioned in the above solution to open Command Prompt on your PC.
Step 2: In the Command Prompt, type the commands mentioned below and press the Enter key after entering each of the command lines:
reg load HKLM\temp c:\windows\system32\config\software
reg delete “HKLM\temp\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\SessionsPending”/v Exclusive
reg unload HKLM\temp
Step 3: Now, you will need to load the list of update packages available in your PC. For this, type the command given below and press the Enter key:
dism /image:C:\ /get-packages
From the list of packages that will appear on the Command Prompt screen, note down the package’s name that has the Install Pending tag attached to it.
Step 4: In the next step, we will create a temporary file to hold the pending update packages. To do this, type MKDIR C:\temp\packages and press Enter.
Step 5: Now, type in the command given below to move the pending updates to the temp folder that you created above:
dism /image:c:\ /remove-package /packagename:[package name] /scratchdir:c:\temp\packages
and hit the Enter key.
Make sure to replace [package name] with the name of the pending packages.
Once all these commands are processed successfully in the command prompt, exit the Command Prompt screen and restart your PC. This will solve the problem if the issue is related to pending updates.
Update Device Drivers
Issues with the device drivers could be causing all the trouble around the Inaccessible Boot Device error in Windows 10. If you can boot into Windows 10 somehow, you can try to update a couple of device drivers that could be the reason behind it. If you are unable to boot into Windows normally, try to boot through Safe Mode with networking.
Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1: Press Win + X keys. A menu will open. Here, select the Device Manager option.
Step 2: In the Device Manager window, the first device driver you should be looking forward to the update is the IDE ATA/ATAPI controller device. Click on the device to expand it. Here make a right-click on the Standard SATA AHCI Controller driver and from the options, select the Update Driver Software option.
Step 3: Again, a new window will open. Here, select the option to initiate an automatic search for the latest device driver. Once found, proceed with installing the driver on your PC. After a successful update, restart your PC and see whether you can boot into Windows 10.
BIOS: Enable AHCI Mode
BIOS is the motherboard settings menu of your PC. Here, you can try to enable AHCI mode and see whether that fixes the boot device’s issue inaccessible. To do that, you will need to enter the BIOS menu first.
Restart your computer. As the startup screen appears, press Del or F12 keys to enter the BIOS settings. When in BIOS, find the AHCI Mode option and Enable it. After making the change, exit BIOS and restart the PC to check if the issue is fixed.
Run CHKDSK Command
The Chkdsk command can scan your PC’s hard drive for issues. If any issue is found, then you will have to replace the hard drive.
For this, you will have to run Command Prompt in Admin mode on your PC if you can boot into Windows 10.
Once in Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and press Enter. Proceed with the on-screen instructions and press Y, then hit the Enter key.
If you cannot log in to Windows OS, you will need to initiate Command Prompt in recovery mode. The steps for this are mentioned in the first solution above.
When Command Prompt opens, type chkdsk /r C: and press Enter.
General Troubleshooting
Look for loose connections and faulty hardware in your PC around the RAM, Hard Drive, motherboard, GPU, etc.
