Some Windows 10 users encounter error code 0xc0000034 during startup and the operating system refuses to boot. Here is a short fix for this error.
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What is the EFI Partition
On UEFI systems the information saved in the EFI partition is used to boot the operating system as well as possibly other utilities.
The EFI partition, also called ESP (EFI system partition), contains the boot loader for loading the various installed operating systems, the drivers for the hardware used by the firmware when starting the machine, utilities bootable before operating system execution and log files.
Fix “0xc0000034” on Windows
Windows installation CD/DVD required! Some of the solutions below require the use of the Microsoft Windows installation CD or DVD. If your PC didn’t come with a Windows installation disc, or if you no longer have Windows installation media, you can use Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows instead. EasyRE will find and fix many problems automatically and can also be used to fix this problem with the instructions below.
Easy Recovery Essentials is guaranteed to automatically fix the “0xc0000034” error using the built-in automatic repair option. EasyRE is currently available for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and can be downloaded and created on any PC.
How to fix the error BCD error 0xc0000034 on a LEGACY based system *
* Note: The following steps to repair the Boot Configuration Data, usually work on older PCs, which do not support UEFI. (e.g. PCs running Windows Vista or Windows 7) and some newer PCs running Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 installed in Legacy mode. If your system supports UEFI, read the instructions for UEFI-based systems above.
1. Start your computer from the Windows recovery media. 2. Press Next on the Language Options screen. 3. Choose Repair your computer. 4. Then choose Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Command Prompt. 5. In the command prompt give the following commands in order:
Solution
The fix I applied was totally different than the previous solutions. Thanks to “NeoSmart Technologies” for providing the command line editor commands in an easily digestible way. This solution is especially for Windows 8 or 8.1 users. For Windows 7 or Vista, you may need to try slightly different commands. Note: Because Windows won’t boot, you need a Windows 8 installation DVD to boot and access the Command Prompt tool found under the “Repair your computer” option. The process involved applying commands in the command prompt window in a 5 step process. Step 1: We first need to make sure that the MBR and boot sector contains the correct references to the Windows 8 bootloader.
Step 2: Next we need to get rid of the old BCD register and create a new one. Note:Â the important thing is that C: refers to the boot drive and also to the Windows installation drive. If you have a dual boot system, find out which partition is the active one.