Question Can install media make a disk bootable?

[emptyyetfull]

I have a problem. I have a PC with a 240 GB SSD and a 2 TB SSD and two 4 TB HDD.
The UEFI bios only shows the 240 ssd as bootable after a clean reinstall of win 11 (with USB media) even though I installed win 11 home on the 2TB ssd.
If I boot on it, it says a file file missing, and it gives me option to choose another OS, I then choose win 11, and it boots fine into my 2 TB SSD.
Now it has started bitlocking all my drives except the 240 GB, that's apparently default in 24H2.
That's going to take forever and I would like this problem fixed, so I have some questions about my options:
Is it safe to restart the PC, go into bios as disable the 240 SSD, boot onto the install media, choose repair?
Will that repair mess up the bitlocking in progress? Will repairing even be able to move the boot to my 2TB drive or am I forced to use some commandline?

 

[SkyNetRising]

The UEFI bios only shows the 240 ssd as bootable after a clean reinstall of win 11 (with USB media) even though I installed win 11 home on the 2TB ssd.

In UEFI mode only drive containing bootloader is bootable.
If you installed new windows on new drive with old drive still connected, then new drive doesn't get bootloader created on it.
There's no need to have multiple bootloaders.

Is it safe to restart the PC, go into bios as disable the 240 SSD, boot onto the install media, choose repair?
Will that repair mess up the bitlocking in progress?

Just turn off bitlocker.
Control Panel\Bitlocker Drive Encryption

Will repairing even be able to move the boot to my 2TB drive or am I forced to use some commandline?

Yes you'll have to use command line, to make 2TB drive bootable. It's quite easy actually.
Or you can redo clean install of windows with only single drive connected.

 

[emptyyetfull]

In UEFI mode only drive containing bootloader is bootable.
If you installed new windows on new drive with old drive still connected, then new drive doesn't get bootloader created on it.
There's no need to have multiple bootloaders.

Just turn off bitlocker.
Control Panel\Bitlocker Drive Encryption

Yes you'll have to use command line, to make 2TB drive bootable. It's quite easy actually.
Or you can redo clean install of windows with only single drive connected.

Will it take just as many hours to turn bitlocker off (since its 1/3 progress now) as it took to encrypt as far as it has gotten now?
Will this guide from win 10 work for win 11 as well:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/changing-windows-boot-manager-drive.3571420/#post-21561626

 

[SkyNetRising]

Will this guide from win 10 work for win 11 as well:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/changing-windows-boot-manager-drive.3571420/#post-21561626

I don't know.
Every situation can be different.
You'd have to show screenshot from Disk Management first.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

 

[emptyyetfull]

 

[SkyNetRising]

Bootloader is small 100MB EFI system partition.
That's what makes a drive bootable.

You can see it yourself - only 223GB drive has bootloader on it.
That's the only bootable drive in your system.

To make 2TB drive bootable, execute from elevated command prompt.
If you get any errors, then stop immediately and show screenshot.

diskpart​

list disk​

select disk 3​

(select 1907 GB disk)​

list partition​

select partition 3​

(select 644 MB recovery partition)​

delete partition override​

create partition efi​

format fs=fat32 quick​

assign letter=J​

exit​

bcdboot C:\windows /s J: /f UEFI​

Last message should be "Boot files created successfully".
If you want to be able to boot into windows 10 from new bootloader, then execute also

bcdboot O:\windows /s J: /f UEFI​

Boot into BIOS and set first boot device to Windows Boot Manager on 2TB drive.
And get rid of bitlocker after this.

Note - don't worry about recovery partition being deleted. It will be recreated after next major windows update.

https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/e/elevated.htm

 

[emptyyetfull]

Thank you!
Wont this reduce the recovery partition size when it gets recreated? I remember an update that did not work due to my recovery partition being too small.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Wont this reduce the recovery partition size when it gets recreated?
I remember an update that did not work due to my recovery partition being too small.

No. It won't reduce recovery partition. Recovery partition will be deleted.
Recovery partition will get recreated to appropriate size after next major windows update.

 

[emptyyetfull]

Worked perfectly, thanks again.