How to fix "inaccessible boot device" error

Hi there,

OS: Windows 10 professional
Hardware: I don't know
Error: "Inaccessible boot device"

HOW I GOT THE BLUE SCREEN

1. I updated iTunes (delayed the reboot)
2. I opened Excel, saw the message "office needs to updated" and clicked "update"
3. I rebooted the PC. I don't think it has been reboot since early January
4. I have this continuous blue screen

THINGS I TRIED

1. Tried to reboot in Safe Mode (via Advanced Options F5 / F4): no luck, still the blue screen.
2. Did a system restore to the below 3 points - all apparently finished successfully but all resulted in the same blue screen
    
3. 

INSTALLED PACKAGES: "Dism /Image:C:\ /Get-Packages"
Here is my list of installed packages (I've highlighted the latest ones). Since I doubt this PC has been rebooted since the beginning of January and since there isn't a package which says "24 March" (yesterday when I started getting a blue screen) - I am not actually sure which package(s) I must uninstall. I have highlighted those packages which were installed this year.

QUESTIONS:
1. Should I uninstall packages and if so which ones should I uninstall and in what order?
2. Is there another solution I should try before trying to uninstall a package?

Thanks very much in advance,
Michelle

Edited by michellepace, 25 March 2018 - 09:19 AM.

Hi, well you cannot remove packages from win10 in normal mode, and get it done successfully. Besides these packages are windows updates and the computer has restarted many times as part of the update process. Also they all appear to be in an installed or superseded state, this is good, which means they are likely not the problem, if it were so it would be the last one. I think your best bet is to follow these instructions, it forces windows to run a regback (registry restore) this should fix your problem it is important that you read these instructions carefully and follow them accordingly, let us know how you get on:-

I have written a full list of instructions for this, hopefully you can follow them and have success, copied from my notes:-

If you have made a recovery disk (always do this as prompted during install and after) change boot order in BIOS to boot from it. If not create a OS media install disk, (you will need to do this on another computer, either dvd or usb) get from:-

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

Booting from this you select “Repair your computer” option (will also have to change boot order in BIOS). This opens the RE ( a recovery disk will open to the RE) here you select Troubleshoot, then Advanced, from the options select Command prompt.

There is another way to access the RE this involves booting, and then when windows attempts to load pressing and holding down the shutdown button to force a shutdown. Doing this, two or more times alerts windows to a problem, and it will boot to the RE. Unfortunately here begins a game of Russian roulette, if the system runs a startup repair (diagnosing system) it is likely to leave the regback  with 0 bytes, if it attempts to repair registry (happens for some not others) so this is a last resort.

Once into the RE selecting command prompt, we need to establish what drive the RE has assigned the OS, (in the RE the OS is often given another drive letter, we need to know this for our cmd’s to work) you will see a X:\sources prompt, default is X:\Windows\System32> at this we type :-

Bcdedit | find “osdevice”  (type exactly as you see here, spaces and syntax important, the | is called a pipe and can be found above the \ key)

This cmd will return:-  osdevice…..partition X (where X is a drive letter, we use this letter in the following cmd’s, often in windows ten this is the D drive, you use what the cmd returns, our example use’s D)

At the X:\Windows\System32> prompt type:-

D: (press enter) the prompt now looks like:-

D:\>

At this type:-

cd d:\windows\system32\config\regback (press enter), the prompt changes to this directory.

Next type:- Dir (press enter)

The contents of the regback folder will appear. Make sure there is data in the folder (not 0 bytes) and check the creation date, if it was before your problem, proceed, if not exit out, it won't work.

If you proceed then next type:-

copy *.* d:\windows\system32\config (press enter)

Type:- ALL to the override prompt, it will say files copied, 5 hives will be copied. Exit out and restart computer.

NOTE:- before anyone mentions doing a backup.. we are restoring a backup, I see no reason for doing a backup of a backup, never had a problem with this on thousands of machines.

This is a copy of the cmd prompt with cmd's as an example for you:-
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.16299.15]

X:\windows\system32>D:

D:\> cd D:\windows\system32\config\regback

D:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack>Dir

Volume in drive D has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 5B06-A0F0
Directory of D:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack

28/01/2018 21:35 <DIR> .
28/01/2018 21:35 <DIR> ..
28/01/2018 21:35 704,512 DEFAULT
28/01/2018 21:35 90,112 SAM
28/01/2018 21:35 32,768 SECURITY
28/01/2018 21:35 88,342,528 SOFTWARE
28/01/2018 21:35 19,267,584 SYSTEM
5 File(s) 108,437,504 bytes
2 Dir(s) 412,430,352,384 bytes free

D:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack>copy *.* D:\windows\system32\config

NOTE:- It is important that you use the exact syntax seen here, spaces are important.