windows 7 - The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible 0xc000000e

A family member of mine recently went on vacation and turned off their computer, something they normally do not do, upon returning home it would not turn on and now returns a black screen with the error message in that is shown the code block below. Generally friends and family come to me for help with computers and I have no problem, however this time I am a bit stumped. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Windows Boot Manager

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next."
3. Click "repair your computer."

If you don't have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

Status: 0xc000000e

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

Before going to this error message it briefly flashes the Windows loading screen. I have been able to confirm through the Windows RE Command Line and the dir command that the C: drive is accessible and likely is just suffering a bootup issue.

I have tried:

• Launching the repair process discussed in the error message three times however each time it requires a restart and then returns to the same error message.
• Changing the boot order to be hard drive first
• Getting into safe mode: safe mode results in same error message
• I have checked to make sure the BCD (bcdedit, Boot Configuration Data) is still intact as per https://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH160475

I plan to try (but would like additional comments on):

• sfc /scannow; requires a restart and thus will likely result in the error message again
• A memory scan
• Bootrec as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392#method1
• Swapping IDE cables/ports
• Resetting the BIOS

I noticed others with similar issues around the web are dual-booting however this machine is not setup in a dual-boot environment. Additionally at one point this error message supposedly showed up before I started working on the computer:

The instruction at 0xfbe2584d referenced memory at 0x00000008. The memory could not be read.

As previously stated any additional suggestions or words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Method 1:

Ensure the System Reserved Partition was backed up and restored as per the TechNote:

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH129112

Method 2:

Is the System Reserved partition an EFI partition?

If yes, refer http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH124326

Method 3:

Repair the current OS using the Windows 2008 / 7 DVD:

1. Boot to the Windows DVD

2. Select Next > Repair your computer

3. Select Next > Command Prompt

4. Change directory (cd) to X:\sources\recovery, then type StartRep.exe to launch a quick automated startup repair utility which corrects boot environment values. This step may require more than one attempt and should be repeated a couple of times if the first repair fails.

5. If step 3 fails, open the command prompt and type bcdedit. This will display the values for Windows Boot Manager.

6. Review the values for Device. Is it set to unknown, as shown below? If so, proceed to step 7.

   

7. At the command prompt, type the following commands (c: is the default system partition. If your original partition was another drive letter, this value can be set to that drive letter):

   bcdedit /set {DEFAULT.EN_US} device partition=c:

   (press enter)

   bcdedit /set {DEFAULT.EN_US} osdevice partition=c:

   (press enter)

   bcdedit /set {BOOTMGR.EN_US} device partition=c:

   (press enter)

8. Reboot the system after removing the OS disk.

I had the same problem recently and here is what worked for me. Note that I had a recovery flash drive I had created when I originally turned on the laptop.

1. Install Windows 7 from recovery flash drive. Let it go through its setting up your computer the first time routine but click restart later at the end.

2. Download and install EasyBCD. I got it here but there were many places Google returned when searching easybcd download.

3. Run EasyBCD to find the boot info for Windows 7. In my case, I clicked advanced settings and saw that the entry for device was blank. I set it to C:.

4. Reboot.

I had no problems since.

You must have an original CD with your machine which should be inserted in place of any other bootable CD.

I had the same problem after a format on a Dell Inspiron. I ended up making a Windows start up disk on my HP laptop because I knew the Dell had Windows 64-bit just the same as my HP.

I booted off the start up disk I made and it states I had boot errors and asked if I want to repair. I selected yes, and the problem was solved.