Cant boot into windows after changing volume label

Analysis​

• You have several partitions: some are NTFS (likely Windows), some are FAT32 (for live systems like KALI and YUMI), and two DVD/CD-ROMs.
• The system is booted into a Windows Recovery/Preinstallation Environment (notice the path is X:\windows\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe).
• The Windows System Reserved partition is visible, but Windows’ main partition isn’t clearly labeled as “Windows” in the list (G: and H: are likely your main Windows installations).
• Your boot process is skipping Windows and going straight to an external/removable volume or Linux.

Causes​

• You might have changed a volume label, partition, or boot order, or your EFI boot record is messed up. Sometimes Linux distros overwrite or hide the Windows bootloader, especially with dual boot setups.

Steps to Fix​

• Disconnect any USB sticks or external HDDs not needed for booting. Sometimes the BIOS/UEFI just boots to the first available device.

• Enter your BIOS/UEFI settings (usually pressing Del, F2, F10, F12, or Esc during boot—check your manufacturer’s splash screen).
• Set “Windows Boot Manager” as the first priority in the boot order.

• In Command Prompt (what you have open), enter these commands one by one, pressing Enter after each:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd

• If you get “Access Denied” on /fixboot, enter:
  bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s X: /f ALL
  (Change C:\Windows if your Windows partition is actually G: or H: per your volumes.

• After successful repair, remove any live USBs and reboot. Windows should boot.

If You Still Can’t Boot​

• Go back to BIOS and try “Boot override” or manual boot to any “Windows Boot Manager” entry.
• You may need to repair your EFI partition using diskpart if it's missing labels or active flags. Let me know if you want those detailed steps.

WindowsForum AI said:

Thank you for the clear photo and details! Here’s what’s happening and what could help:

Analysis​

• You have several partitions: some are NTFS (likely Windows), some are FAT32 (for live systems like KALI and YUMI), and two DVD/CD-ROMs.
• The system is booted into a Windows Recovery/Preinstallation Environment (notice the path is X:\windows\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe).
• The Windows System Reserved partition is visible, but Windows’ main partition isn’t clearly labeled as “Windows” in the list (G: and H: are likely your main Windows installations).
• Your boot process is skipping Windows and going straight to an external/removable volume or Linux.

Causes​

• You might have changed a volume label, partition, or boot order, or your EFI boot record is messed up. Sometimes Linux distros overwrite or hide the Windows bootloader, especially with dual boot setups.

Steps to Fix​

1. Unplug All External Drives

• Disconnect any USB sticks or external HDDs not needed for booting. Sometimes the BIOS/UEFI just boots to the first available device.

2. Set Windows Boot Manager as First Boot Option

• Enter your BIOS/UEFI settings (usually pressing Del, F2, F10, F12, or Esc during boot—check your manufacturer’s splash screen).
• Set “Windows Boot Manager” as the first priority in the boot order.

3. Repair Windows Boot Loader
Since you’re already in the recovery environment, do the following:

• In Command Prompt (what you have open), enter these commands one by one, pressing Enter after each:

Code:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd

• If you get “Access Denied” on /fixboot, enter:
  bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s X: /f ALL
  (Change C:\Windows if your Windows partition is actually G: or H: per your volumes.)

4. Reboot Without USBs

• After successful repair, remove any live USBs and reboot. Windows should boot.

---

If You Still Can’t Boot​

• Go back to BIOS and try “Boot override” or manual boot to any “Windows Boot Manager” entry.
• You may need to repair your EFI partition using diskpart if it's missing labels or active flags. Let me know if you want those detailed steps.

---

Let me know which drive is your actual Windows install (G:, H:, or another) if the above doesn’t resolve it, or if you see any specific boot errors—screenshots help!
We’ll get you back into Windows!

Click to expand...

• bootrec /fixmbr worked (good sign).
• bootrec /fixboot failed: Element not found.
• bcdboot returned BCD error codes 0xc00000bb (Failed to set element application device, Failed to populate BCD store).

• The EFI System Partition (ESP) is either missing, not properly formatted, or not assigned a drive letter.
• The system can’t find/copy necessary boot files because Windows partitions or ESP aren’t correctly selected.

1. Identify the EFI Partition​

Volume 4 (512 MB, FAT32, Ltr G

• Volume 4 (G fits this description.

2. Assign the EFI Partition a Drive Letter​

1. Open diskpart again:

1. List your disks/volumes:

list disk
list volume

1. Select the EFI volume (use the correct number):

1. Assign it a letter (use S: — something not already assigned):

assign letter=S
exit

3. Format the EFI Partition (IF NEEDED — WARNING: This erases ESP; only do if nothing else works!​

4. Re-run Boot Repair​

• Replace C:\Windows with the correct letter (could be G:\Windows, etc.—whichever contains your actual Windows folder).
• /s S: uses the letter just assigned to the EFI partition.

5. Reboot​

Troubleshooting​

• If you get another BCD error, confirm the EFI partition is FAT32, not NTFS.
• If you're unsure about partition letters, post dir S:\ and dir C:\Windows for clarity.
• If you see “Element not found” with /fixboot, it often means the active boot partition isn’t set or the ESP is confused.

• \EFI\ (folder)
• Inside \EFI\, subfolders like Microsoft\, and files like bootx64.efi
• No large application files or project folders

• The actual EFI partition is either not mounted, is corrupted, or has been overwritten.
• The disk structure has been altered, and Windows boot files have nowhere proper to go.

What To Do Next​

1. Recheck All Small FAT32 Partitions​

• From your prior diskpart, Volume 4 (G or Volume 9 (FAT, 32 MB, Removable) could be candidates.
• Try assigning letters to each small, FAT32 partition (not the large NTFS partitions).

diskpart
select volume 9
assign letter=Z
exit
dir Z:\

• If you see an EFI folder here, that's your ESP.

2. If EFI Folder Is Missing Everywhere​

3. Once You Find a Valid ESP​

• Adjust C:\Windows to match your Windows install location as needed.

4. If You Only See Data/Apps and No EFI Partition Exists​

• Post the output of diskpart list disk and diskpart list volume again, so I can double-check your structure.

• Small (usually 100–500 MB)
• Formatted as FAT32 (never NTFS)
• Contain only the \EFI directory and bootloader files

The Good News: Boot Repair Success!​

• S: is your (likely newly recreated or correctly reassigned) EFI partition.

Next Steps​

1. Remove any USB drives (except your installer media if you still need it to boot).
2. Reboot your system.
   • Go into BIOS/UEFI Setup.
   • Ensure "Windows Boot Manager" (or similar) is set as the first boot device.
3. Try booting into Windows.

If it fails with a new error or gives a blank/no bootable device warning:​

• Document the error or take a picture.
• If you see a GRUB menu (from Linux/Parrot), we might need to also repair/reinstall the GRUB or update its config if you want to keep dual booting.

• Volume B (NTFS, 1 TB+) is NOT your EFI partition—do not use it for boot files.
• S: (512 MB, FAT32) is correct, now contains Windows bootloader, and you should try to boot Windows.

• EFI (this is what we want to see)
• FileHistory
• TeraBoxDownload
• No files at the root, and still a lot of free space.

Next Steps​

1. Check for Microsoft Bootloader​

• If you see files like bootmgfw.efi or BCD, that’s good.
• If those subfolders/files are missing, your bootloader may need to be rebuilt.

2. Rebuild Bootloader—If Needed​

(Use the correct Windows partition if it's not C

3. Clean Up ESP Data​

• Only EFI should exist in the root of B:
• Consider moving or deleting anything else after you successfully boot, to keep the ESP safe!

4. Reboot and Test​

1. Remove any unnecessary USB drives.
2. Reboot, set “Windows Boot Manager” first in BIOS/UEFI.
3. Boot into Windows.

• B: 512 MB FAT32 with an EFI folder → This is your correct EFI System Partition (ESP).
• S: Contains Windows OS files and expected app/data folders; it is NOT the ESP.

Next step recap​

• Ignore S: for boot repairs.
• Focus all bootloader repair on B:.

Action Steps (Final Verification)​

1. Verify Windows boot files on B:
   dir B:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot
   • If you see files like bootmgfw.efi or BCD, your ESP is healthy.
   • If not, run:
     bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s B: /f UEFI
     (Replace C:\Windows with your actual Windows partition if needed)
2. Remove all external drives, reboot, and ensure “Windows Boot Manager” is first in BIOS/UEFI order.

If Issues Persist​