Repair EFI and BCD with BCDBoot

What does BCDBoot repair?

On a UEFI installation, the EFI System Partition contains the files firmware uses to start Windows Boot Manager. The BCD store contains configuration pointing to the Windows loader and Windows volume.

BCDBoot copies Windows boot files to the system partition and can rebuild the BCD store.

Prerequisites

Continue only if:

• the SSD is detected reliably;
• the Windows installation is still present and readable;
• BitLocker can be unlocked;
• you can identify the correct EFI partition;
• a backup location is available;
• any dual-boot or custom configuration is understood.

1. Inspect the disk layout

diskpart
list disk
list volume
exit

Windows 11 normally uses UEFI and GPT. An EFI System Partition is usually small and FAT32, but size and file system alone are not proof.

Take extra care if several disks, EFI partitions or Windows installations are present.

2. Check Windows and BitLocker

manage-bde -status
dir D:\Windows
dir D:\Windows\System32\winload.efi

The example assumes Windows is on D:. Check Program Files and Users as well before using that letter.

3. Mount the EFI partition

mountvol S: /S
dir S:\EFI
dir S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot

Expected: the EFI structure and, if present, the Microsoft boot folder are visible.

If several disks or installations exist, verify that S: belongs to the intended Windows installation.

4. Back up the existing BCD

mkdir E:\boot-backup
copy S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD E:\boot-backup\BCD-before

If the BCD exists, inspect it:

bcdedit /store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /enum all

Check:

• the Windows Boot Manager entry;
• device and osdevice;
• the loader path \Windows\System32\winload.efi;
• any extra boot entries.

5. Refresh the Windows boot files

bcdboot D:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI /l en-GB

Expected: BCDBoot reports that boot files were created successfully.

Only if you deliberately want a new BCD

The /c option creates a new BCD store without migrating old settings:

bcdboot D:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI /l en-GB /c

Use /c only if special entries, recovery options or dual-boot settings may be lost.

6. Validate and unmount

bcdedit /store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /enum all
dir S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
mountvol S: /D

Then check in UEFI that Windows Boot Manager on the correct drive is selected.

Windows still does not boot

A successful BCDBoot operation confirms that boot files were written. If Windows then crashes during loading, investigate updates, Windows components, drivers and hardware.

Stop if

• the correct EFI partition cannot be identified unambiguously;
• BitLocker blocks the Windows installation;
• multiple boot configurations exist that you do not want to overwrite;
• the Windows folder or winload.efi is missing;
• the SSD shows signs of failure;
• an important existing BCD cannot be backed up.

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