Laptop Won’t Load BCD on Windows 10: Essential Troubleshooting Tips
If your laptop won’t load BCD on Windows 10, keep reading this guide for effective repair solutions to restore your failed device to full functionality.
My laptop won’t load BCD on Windows 10!
My laptop (Windows 10) is refusing to boot after a recent update?Upon startup, I persistently encounter a 'The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing...' error, leaving me unable to access my desktop or files on a black screen. How can I fix this and get my laptop running again?
- Question from User
The BCD is a critical component of the Windows boot process, essential for starting up the operating system. However, when you power on your laptop, your system may fail to boot due to an inaccessible Boot Configuration Data file.
Why does this happen? A laptop's inability to load the BCD file can result from various issues, such as corrupted BCD, file system errors, or incorrect configurations. Don’t panic! This post will demonstrate how to repair laptop booting problems and get your system running smoothly. If you're facing similar challenges, read on to find the best solution for your situation.
How to fix a laptop that won’t load BCD effectively?
This section offers four effective approaches to fix various boot issues, including the “laptop won’t load BCD on Windows 10” error. These solutions are explained step by step to help you out in the best possible way.
Method 1. Repair Using Professional Software
A straightforward way is to use professional software to repair the failed system. AOMEI Partition Assistant, an all-in-one partition manager, not only supports repairing the BCD file but also addresses other boot issues.
With its powerful Boot Repair function, you can create a bootable USB for repair in just a few clicks and then execute an automatic repair, restoring your device to optimal performance quickly and efficiently.
Here’s how to repair laptop booting problems using AOMEI Partition Assistant:
Step 1. Install AOMEI Partition Assistant on a working PC and connect an available USB drive to it.
Step 2. Launch the software and select the Boot Repair option located under the Recover section.
Step 3. Click on the create a bootable disk option to create a WinPE boot repair disk.
Step 4. Connect the created disk to the faulty PC and configure it to boot from USB. Then it will automatically load the Boot Repair tool to detect boot issues.
Step 5. Select the repairable boot entries that you want to repair and click the Repair button.
Step 6. Once the process completes, remove the USB drive and boot the PC from the original system drive.
In addition to repairing startup issues, AOMEI Partition Assistant also includes rich features to simplify your PC disk partition management. Common problems like resizing partitions, cloning disks, and recovering partitions can be effortlessly addressed.
Method 2. Enable Automatic Repair
Windows provides the Automatic Repair feature to diagnose and fix common startup issues without requiring manual intervention. If your laptop cannot boot properly, you can simply restart it to trigger the feature. Here are the detailed steps to enable Automatic Repair:
Step 1. Hold the power button to shut down and restart your laptop.
Step 2. Repeat the process 2-3 times until you see the “Preparing Automatic Repair” message on the screen.
Step 3. Then your laptop will enable the Automatic Repair to diagnose and fix boot issues. If it succeeds, Windows will boot normally. If not, click the Advanced options to see more recovery tools.
Method 3. Rebuild the BCD
If Automatic Repair is unable to fix your system, click Advanced options to access additional recovery tools. When your laptop won’t load BCD on Windows 10, it's likely there’s an issue with the BCD files. In this case, you can repair or directly rebuild the BCD to restore your laptop to full functionality. Follow these steps to open Command Prompt and rebuild the BCD file using commands:
Step 1. After accessing Advanced options, select Common Prompt and allow it to load.
Step 2. Type the following commands and press Enter one by one:
- bootrec /fixmbr
- bootrec /fixboot
- bootrec /scanos
- bootrec /rebuildbcd
Step 3. Quit CMD and restart your computer to check whether it has been repaired.
Method 4. Reinstall Windows
If the methods discussed above don’t work, you can also reinstall the operating system to resolve issues related to a corrupted BCD. However, it's important to note that this process may erase your data. Therefore, it is advised to back up essential data before proceeding.
► If you can access your files, back them up to an external hard drive or another device.
► If your system won't boot at all, consider using a live USB or connecting the hard drive to another device to retrieve your files.
Here’s how to reinstall Windows 10:
Step 1. Create Windows 10 Installation Media like a bootable USB drive.
Step 2. Insert the drive into your laptop and restart it. When it boots, press F12 (or other keys) to enter the boot menu and select the installation media as the boot device.
Step 3. After starting up successfully, select your language and preferences, then click Next.
Step 4. When prompted, click on Install Now.
Step 5. Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) to reinstall the system.
Step 6. Choose the partition where Windows is currently installed, then follow the prompts to complete the installation process.
Conclusion
Experiencing issues with loading the BCD file can be incredibly frustrating, especially during urgent tasks. This guide presents four effective solutions to address startup issues related to the BCD. If your laptop won’t load BCD on Windows 10, try these methods to repair the problem and restore your device to normal functionality.