Windows 10: "inaccessible_boot_device" - PC Won't Boot at All - Black Screen

Hmm. Well, I think I'm gonna finish up updating Windows 7 and re-attempt to get back into Windows 10. If all goes well, I'll just not do the "reset this pc" option and instead, like a week or so from now, pick up a flash drive, put Windows 10 on it and do a fresh install that way. Does that sound good? Unless I'd still have to deal with the partition issue installing from USB, too?

I wonder if all this was caused by something I did/didn't do, but then again, many others have dealt with this same issue so I also wonder if it's just some sorta bug on Microsoft's end. Idk.

 

Got W7 updated, and even downloaded chipset/audio drivers from the MOBO disc. However, I didn't get the W10 icon this time. Any idea why?

Also, could I not just download the W10 ISO file and mount it using Daemon Tools Lite or similar software and install W10 that way?

 

It could take 24hrs to several days before the Get Windows 10 app comes through. You don't have to wait for it.

You could try follow instructions here. Skip when it asks for a key.

Or use the Media creation tool and upgrade from within W7:

Go to the Media Creation Tool site
Select the correct architecture for your machine (32 or 64 bit)
Select the option to make an ISO for upgrading
and select upgrade, keeping apps and files (begin at step 5)

Good luck!

 

I'm gonna try mounting the ISO with Virtual Clone Drive and fresh installing that way. That should work fine, right?

Also, during the installation, if I see 3 partitions again, should I delete 2 of them and only leave the C drive and install on that? Or should I leave them all?

 

My instructions to extract the ISO files show you how to do it in W7, without introducing another variable like Virtual Clone Drive.

Do not - I repeat: DO NOT delete any partitions!

 

Someone else on another site is telling me to delete all partitions, format then install. Now I'm confused. =/

 

It actually didn't even give me the option to mess with partitions. BUT I'M BACK IN W10. Woooo! =D I'll edit the OP and I guess this is now considered solved.

Just wanna say THANK YOU so much for helping me out.

If you feel like telling me how I can check to see if the partitions are how they should be and how to change them and all that, feel free to.

 

Btw, here's my drives/partitions now: https://i.imgur.com/BKq0jv3.png The first two seem to be exactly the same.

What should I do? Delete the first two and keep C/E?

 

YIPPEE!!!

We can do a few things to check out your partitions and make sure your operating system is golden - please give me a couple hours - I will not be available.

Thanks! *Smile

 

Do not delete anything!

I will be back in a couple hours.

 

Okie-dokie.

Btw, here's what someone else said, just so you know: "Delete & reformat both recovery partitions for a start. I have absolutely no idea how your system reserved partition has been assigned a drive letter

The only partition that should have a drive letter is the ( C: ) boot partition. Whether or not this will cause errors for you in the future is unknown."

 

No, I wouldn't delete and reformat both recovery partitions, because then you'll have no way of resetting the W10 operating system. One of those recovery partitions if for W7 and one is for W10.

This is what happens when you upgrade with problems to begin with - the problems carry-over to the new operating system.

Yes, the C partition is the only partition that should have a letter mapped to it - that's what I said when I saw your W7 Disk Management screenshot.

That is why I suggested a W10 clean install, taking the option to save nothing.

Let's have a look at your Disk Management screenshots together:

Windows 7





Windows 10





You can see that the System Reserved partition, which holds the boot files, still has the E drive letter assigned to it. THAT is a problem. You can also see that you have 2 recovery partitions now, one for W7 and one for W10. One you need, I suspect the other, you don't. Which is which? I don't know.

Please sit tight, and I will see if I can grab another member here who is an expert in partitioning to help us out.

 

In the meantime, please verify for me that your system is activated:

Settings>Update and Security>Activation

Please post a screenshot showing the operating system is indeed activated.

 

Please do not mark the thread as solved, or no one will come to help with your partitioning problem.

 

Hardly an expert, but here goes *Wink

I strongly recommend that PLEASE HELP ME picks a path and stay on it until it is exhausted. Bouncing back and forth between forums is frustrating and incongruous. One person tells you something and another person tells you something else. Pick one and stay the course.

System Reserve normally does NOT have a letter so people or pgms don't put stuff there - it's NOT a problem to have a drive letter though. I do recommend removing the drive letter from the System Reserve part, just to be consistent.

Disk Management > Right click the E: partition, Change Drive letter and Paths >
Press the [ Remove ] button - answer yes(OK?) to warning dialog
Windows 7 (and now Windows 10) uses the 100 MB System Reserve part to boot to Windows.
Win7 does not have a 450 MB Recovery part (unless a person made one). Normally a combined Win7 System Reserve and Recovery partition is 300 MB, so that tells me the 100 MB part is just System (bootstrap).

The two 450 MB are not big enough to be OEM Recovery parts, so I suspect both were created by the installs. I also suspect that both are empty.

Go back into Disk management and assign Drive letters to both parts.
The launch a Command Prompt (Admin) and navigate to each part (I'll use D: and E: as examples, but your letters might differ)
In the Command prompt widow type

cd D:
dir /a /s > %TEMP%\Dlist.txt

cd E:
dir /a /s > %TEMP%\Elist.txt

exit

Attach both text files in %TEMP% (you can place that string in a File Explorer address field) to a new post. I expect there will not be anything to see, but I'd rather be sure.

You can leave the drive letters on the two Recovery parts for now, but when all is said and done, the drive letters should be removed so stuff doesn't get written to the parts.

Your system will run as it is, the disk schema is just a bit wonky. The two Recovery drives aren't as much of an issue as the 4 partitions. I suspect, but could be wrong, that the drive is initialized MBR, which means 4 parts is all you get.

The easiest thing is to do a Clean install
See: Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums

You've already upgraded, so you do NOT have to enter a key when prompted (skip or do this later)
You've already tried a Refresh and Reset, so I don't think personal data is an issue (but if it is make a backup).

The Clean Install process takes less than an hour (not including the ISO download time)

Your choice - muddle through Disk management (could take days due to the forum process) or do a Clean install.