Troubleshoot BSOD INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE and change in Bitlocker Protector Identifier after Update Installation

Daniel Zuluaga 1 Reputation point
2022-11-07T00:49:29.567+00:00

Esteemed Community Members,
I am seeking advice on troubleshooting a blue screen error of death (BSOD) INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE on my personal machine running Windows 11 version 21H2 after trying to install the October 25, 2022 update KB5018483. The machine starts, brings up Bitlocker which prompts and accepts my password, but then the system fails to load, producing the aforementioned error. After attempting to restart a second time, instead of the BSOD a recovery screen is brought up with the error code 0xc0000225.

From Windows Recovery Environment I tried to restore to a previously created restore point. If I remember correctly, this brought up a Bitlocker recovery key prompt. Strangely, none of the Bitlocker Key Protectors’ identifiers matched the ones of the recovery keys I had meticulously archived a couple of weeks ago! What could have caused this change and is it permanent? So I skipped the recovery key prompts which then resulted in “no restore points found” or something in that vein.

Launching the Startup Repair resulted similar Bitlocker Recovery Key prompts which I skipped for the same reason outlined above. Then the program proceeded to execution, but reported that repair was impossible. An explanation might be that I am not using the standard Windows Boot Manager (on the EFI system partition \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI) but GRUB (on the EFI system partition \EFI\ubuntu\grubX64.efi) to chain-load the Window’s Bootloader.

Looking into the folder \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\ and comparing its contents to the ones on a functioning machine, some anomalies are apparent, however non of the log files has been written to after 2022-11-05 when the machine corrupted – so I am unsure whether the analysis of those files would reveal anything enlightening...

Size [B] Modification Date Modification Time Filename
57344 11/6/2022 21:41:00 BCD
65536 10/19/2022 10:27:00 BCD{04026d47-1a25-11ec-8570-8a3db309ac80}.TM.blf
524288 10/19/2022 10:27:00 BCD{04026d47-1a25-11ec-8570-8a3db309ac80}.TMContainer00000000000000000001.regtrans-ms
524288 10/19/2022 10:27:00 BCD{04026d47-1a25-11ec-8570-8a3db309ac80}.TMContainer00000000000000000002.regtrans-ms
2024824 10/16/2022 5:00:00 bootmgfw.efi
2007904 10/16/2022 5:00:00 bootmgr.efi
65536 10/16/2022 18:10:00 BOOTSTAT.DAT
1783144 10/16/2022 5:00:00 memtest.efi
100000 9/6/2022 8:22:00 FveTcg_0.log
83288 9/5/2022 9:57:00 kdstub.dll
4933 6/22/2022 10:52:00 boot.stl
62824 6/22/2022 10:52:00 kd_02_1137.dll
9992 11/4/2021 17:21:00 winsipolicy.p7b
65536 9/20/2021 17:38:00 BCD.LOG
8192 9/20/2021 17:38:00 BCD.LOG1
0 9/20/2021 17:38:00 BCD.LOG2
100000 9/20/2021 17:51:00 FveTcg_1.log
100000 9/20/2021 17:51:00 FveTcg_2.log
65864 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_10df.dll
434504 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_10ec.dll
270656 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_14e4.dll
82248 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_15b3.dll
78144 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_1969.dll
65864 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_19a2.dll
57672 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_1af4.dll
328008 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_02_8086.dll
53568 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_07_1415.dll
82240 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kd_0C_8086.dll
53576 6/5/2021 16:06:00 kdnet_uart16550.dll

How would the rebuild of the BCD via bootrec /RebuildBcd affect the loading of the Bitlocker encrypted drives?
What other steps could be undertaken in your view to identify the cause of corruption and deduce possible fixes?

Thank you for your time and advice!

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3 answers

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  1. Dave Patrick 353.7K Reputation points MVP
    2022-11-07T01:19:53.48+00:00

    Something here could help.
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/bug-check-0x7b--inaccessible-boot-device#cause

    as to bitlocker; without the correct key the only option is a clean install.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

  2. Daniel Zuluaga 1 Reputation point
    2022-11-07T14:57:01.27+00:00

    Thank you for pointing me to the Bug Check documentation, @Dave Patrick .
    I was about to setup the debugging environment in hope to retrieve the Stop Code Parameters, however, I do not have a USB debug cable and I would not know how to setup the target computer (or can UsbView be run from within Windows RE).
    It remains a mystery to me what induced the change in Bitlocker's Protector Identifiers, I will probably give Bitlocker the boot if I do not find an explanation. Luckily, I was able to decrypt the drive from another machine and backup the recovery keys pertaining to the changed protector identifiers.
    So now the question imposes, whether I should permanently decrypt the drive and try to troubleshoot the problem form there or continue troubleshooting with the recovery keys at hand.

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  3. Dave Patrick 353.7K Reputation points MVP
    2022-11-07T15:00:06.417+00:00

    Certainly, up to you on what to do next. A clean install would likely be the simplest / quickest solution.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--