How to Fix Inaccessible Boot Device After Clone?

Summary: Inaccessible Boot Device is a BSOD error that may occur due to several reasons, such as corrupt system files, faulty hard drive, etc. This blog mentions several effective methods to resolve the Inaccessible Boot Device error on Windows 10.

The Inaccessible Boot Device error is a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error that occurs during Windows startup. It displays the error code 0x0000007b. The error message indicates that Windows lost access to the system partition during startup. There are several reasons, such as corrupt system files, incompatible device drivers, malware attack, faulty hard drive, etc. that may result in this error. If you come across this error after cloning, you will not be able to boot the Windows normally from the cloned disk and also not able to access the stored data. In this blog, we have mentioned some troubleshooting methods to Fix the Inaccessible Boot Device error.

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Methods to Fix Inaccessible Boot Device after Clone

Proceed with the below-given methods to Fix the Inaccessible Boot Device error in Windows 10.

Method 1: Change the Boot Order

The Inaccessible Boot Device error may occur if you set the wrong drive to boot from. If you have more than one hard drive on your computer, then go to the BIOS setup and change the boot order to start from the cloned hard drive. Here are the steps:

  • Restart your computer.
  • When the startup screen appears, press any of these keys (F2, F8, F12, or Del) continuously to enter BIOS Setup.
  • Select Boot and choose the cloned hard drive as the first boot option.
  • Further, press the F10 key to save and exit the BIOS.
  • Now, restart the PC and see if it starts without any issue.

Method 2: Check if you have Cloned the Wrong Disk

Another reason behind the Windows 10 Inaccessible Boot Device error is that you might have cloned the wrong disk. Thus, you have to re-clone the hard drive. To check if you have cloned the wrong disk, follow the below steps:

  • Firstly, you have to install the cloned hard drive on your computer.
  • Then, restart your computer from the original disk.
  • Open Windows File Explorer and the cloned drive.
  • Further, search for the “Windows” folder on the cloned drive:
  1. If you get one, it signifies that you have an operating system installed on the drive. Hence, something else is causing the Inaccessible Boot Device error.
  2. If you couldn’t, then it means you have cloned the wrong disk. Thus, you need to re-clone the hard drive.

Method 3: Run the CHKDSK Utility

When the hard drive consists of bad sectors or is infected with the virus, it can result in issues, such as Inaccessible Boot Device error. To fix this, you can run the CHKDSK utility.

Note: The CHKDSK utility prevents Windows from reading and storing data stored in the bad sectors. On running the CHKDSK utility, you may lose all the data stored in the bad sectors. Thus, make sure to create data backup before proceeding.

Follow the below-given steps to run the CHKDSK utility on Windows 10:

  • Type cmd in the Search Box and select Run as administrator.
  • Then, type in the command “chkdsk f: /f” in the text field and press the Enter key.
  • The process may take some time to complete.
  • Once done, close the window and reboot your system. Then, check if it helped you fix the Inaccessible Boot Device error.

Method 4: Run System File Checker (SFC) Scan

System File Checker is an in-built Windows utility that checks for system file corruption. It scans all protected system files and replaces the corrupted files with the correct ones. To run an SFC scan, follow the below-given steps:

  • Open Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
  • In the text field, type SFC/scannow and press the Enter key.
  • Once finished, close the window and restart your PC to check if the Inaccessible Boot Device error is fixed.

Method 5: Update Device Drivers in Windows 10

One of the primary reasons behind the Inaccessible Boot Device error on Windows 10 is faulty, incompatible, outdated, or corrupt device drivers. Thus, you can update your drivers by following the below-given steps:

  • Open Device Manager and the device category for which you want to update the driver.
  • Right-click the selected driver and click on Update Driver.
  • Further, click on Search automatically for drivers. Windows will start searching for the latest drivers.
  • If Windows couldn’t find any, select the Search for updated drivers on the Windows Update option. It will display all the available updates.
  • Lastly, click on ‘Install Now’ to install the latest updates and driver software on your Windows 10 system.

Summing It Up

Above we have mentioned the possible reasons that may result in the Inaccessible Boot Device error on Windows 10. We’ve also mentioned some effective solutions that can help you fix the issue. In case none of the above methods works and the issue persists, we would suggest you get in touch with a data recovery service provider, like Stellar. The experts at Stellar first understand and diagnose the issue and then fix it accordingly.

Related Blog Post: How to fix your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart?

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