How to fix BCD missing or corrupted errors when reinstalling windows 11

Question

So I decided I wanted to switch to Linux Mint a bit ago and now want to switch back to windows, but when I go into Ventoy to boot the windows 11 iso file it will just stop and show me

"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.' File: \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD Status: 0xc000014c Info: The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors."

I don't know how to fix this as I do not understand what steps it gave me mean. As my USB with the windows iso is already inserted, and my access to a secondary computer is limited to a slow laptop from 2016.

Answer 1

Hello Die Katze, Thanks for posting this in our community.

You're encountering the error "The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors" with status code 0xc000014c while trying to reinstall Windows 11. This usually means the boot files are either missing or corrupted, often due to how the installation media was created.

The safest method is to use the official Windows 11 installation media provided by Microsoft. You can download it from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11. Once there, select "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" and follow the instructions to create a bootable USB drive using the Media Creation Tool. This ensures that all necessary boot files are included and avoids compatibility issues that sometimes occur with third-party tools.

After creating the USB, insert it into your PC and boot from it. If your system supports UEFI, make sure Secure Boot is disabled and the boot mode is set to UEFI in your BIOS settings. Once the installer loads, you can proceed with installation or choose "Repair your computer" to fix boot issues.

Hope this works on your device.

 

Kind regards,

John Oli