Question WIN11 boot-configuration-data-file-doesnt-contain-valid-information error (0xc0000098)

[ricpaul]

Hi all,

Daughter let WIN11 update some files and next time she booted, she got this error.
The Boot Configuration Data file doesn't contain valid information for an operating system

File: \BCD
Error code: 0xc0000098

We resqued her files using Hirens Boot but would very much like NOT to do a clean install.

Background: HP laptop with 128GB M.2 (non NVME afaik) which I replaced with a 1TB Kingston A2000 NVMe. Did a clean install as I couldn't figure out how to do a clone of the original 128GB SSD. Also replaced the 4GB with 16GB (single stick) memory. Worked fine for almost 2 years.

What we tried (while 1TB M.2 was in the laptop) by googling the problem:
Bootable USB with WIN11 (16GB stick): tried windows options to fix the issue, but it didn't work, including the "remove new updates" (or similar, it's in Dutch) which came back with "There is a problem and the previous partsupdate of Windows cannot be removed....."
Via command prompt: X:\>DISM.exe /image:c:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth where C:\> was the 1TB drive (400GB free, so pretty sure it wasn't the USB).

Message "the scratch directory might be insufficient ..."" but got the message "The operation completed successfully".

Then tried the SFC command which returned "There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete. Restart Windows and run sfc again." Which I tried (both by shutting down the computer with the OFF button and when message reappeared by shutting it down from within the Windows-installation window.) Kept getting the "repair pending" message with the USB in the laptop or the original 0xc0000098 error when the USB was not in the laptop.

The via command prompt: x:\sources>bootrec /rebuildbcd
Returned: Scanning all disks ..... Total identified Windows Installations: 1...... Add installation to boot list? Yes/No/All?
Typed "Y" and got "system cannot find path" (in Dutch, so actual English message may be slightly different).

Then did a 5 step check on the disk (scandisk? Screenshot I took starts halfway through Stage 2 so I faild to photograph the command used). "Windows has scanned the filesystem and found no problems. No further action is required..... Total duration 35.08 minutes (2103785ms). Unable to obtain a handle on the event log."

We tried more but with every google search you find something that seems to be the exact thing you're facing so you fail to document every step...

Laptop is away for repair (screen glitches) with original 128GB HD so I have the 1TB NVMe drive mounted in a desktop through PCIe slot.

What can I do to try to fix the issue while the SSD is NOT mounted in the laptop that had the problem? There is absolutely no issue reading the SSD and just checking it (rightclick Properties, Extra, "controleren" (check?) gave zero errors.)



OFFTOPIC: reminds me somewhat of an odd issue with her previous laptop: replaced 500GB hybrid with a 500GB SSD because Windows was thrashing the hell out of that poor thing (as I did with all laptops in the house for the exact same reason). One day the laptop wouldn't boot from the SSD (may not have recognised it anymore, recollection is sketchy). 500GB SSD works fine in other laptops and laptop works fine with the old hybrid disk (as a matter of fact, that laptop is now being used since the new one is away for repair and the 1TB M.2 SSD is in my desktop awaiting your brilliant input to fix Windows).

 

[Lutfij]

You've mention that it's an HP laptop, can you please state the SKU to said laptop? When you've found the SKU to said laptop, use the serial number to narrow down a support page bespoke to your laptop. Corroborate the BIOS version on your laptop at this moment of time and if you have BIOS versions pending update. Source of the installer for your OS?

 

[TerryLaze]

What can I do to try to fix the issue while the SSD is NOT mounted in the laptop that had the problem? There is absolutely no issue reading the SSD and just checking it (rightclick Properties, Extra, "controleren" (check?) gave zero errors.)

Go to disk management, the ssd should have a small ~350mb partition (system, active, primary) at the strat of the disk, right click on it and give it a letter.
Get the free version of easybcd.
Go to file->select BCD store and navigate to that partition you just gave a letter to, find the folder named boot and load in the bcd file that is in there, then go to add new entry and add the windows partition by selecting the drive it currently shows as, you can delete the previous entry or leave it there.
If it can't read the BCD file go to bcd deployment and write a new copy of the BCD to the small boot partition. (select the small partition and press install BCD)
By default easybcd will have the system bcd loaded up so don't skip the step of loading in the correct bcd.

Do not load into the windows of that ssd on your system, it will download all the drivers of your system and could cause issues, if you want to make a test that it boots boot into safe mode or power off before it gets into windows.

You can do all of this just with windows commands if you prefer but it makes it much more dangerous to do something stupid.

Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson! You can mess up your own system if you do something wrong so be very careful and read a few guides online until you are sure you know what you are doing.

 

[johnbl]

4: kd> !error 0xc0000098
Error code: (NTSTATUS) 0xc0000098 (3221225624) - The volume for a file has been externally altered such that the opened file is no longer valid.

you might run cmd.exe as an admin then start
diskpart.exe
run the commands
list disk
select disk x (where x is the drive in question)
list volume
list partition

here is what my system drive looks like:

DISKPART> list volume

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 C NTFS Partition 237 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 1 ESP FAT32 Partition 500 MB Healthy System
Volume 2 NTFS Partition 533 MB Healthy Hidden

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 System 500 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 Reserved 128 MB 501 MB
Partition 3 Primary 237 GB 629 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 533 MB 237 GB


DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 4
Type : de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
Hidden : Yes
Required: Yes
Attrib : 0X8000000000000001
Offset in Bytes: 255501271040

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
* Volume 2 NTFS Partition 533 MB Healthy Hidden



there are bugs where the hidden and system partition get assigned drive letters after becoming unhidden and assigned a drive letter incorrectly
check to see if the hidden or system partition are being assigned a drive letter.
(some people say this can happen if you cancel out of certain windows updates, partition becomes unhidden during the update and does not get hidden when the update is stopped)

if this is the error, then the fix would be to set the bit
for that partition(no drive letter or hidden bit)
via diskpart.exe command (be sure to select correct drive/partition)
DISKPART> gpt attributes 0X8000000000000000

0x8000000000000000=
GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_NO_DRIVE_LETTER

0X8000000000000001 (no drive letter, required partition)

 

[ricpaul]

Lots of info that I am going to let sink in and possibly try. Will keep you updated.

You've mention that it's an HP laptop, can you please state the SKU to said laptop? When you've found the SKU to said laptop, use the serial number to narrow down a support page bespoke to your laptop. Corroborate the BIOS version on your laptop at this moment of time and if you have BIOS versions pending update. Source of the installer for your OS?

Bios, dunno as laptop is currently off for repair (send in on last day of warranty as daughter hadn't mentioned the frequent glitches on the screen until we started battling this problem).
Cannot find an SKU, but Model 15-fq1008nd , ProdID 9EY61EA#ABH and S/N# 5CDxxxxx (no clue if I should post or not so only wrote part of it.)
Laptop came with WIN10, as said I reinstalled WIN10 myself (might still have the USB-stick to check version) but it had since been upgraded to WIN11 and as far as I know some update LONG AFTER the initial update to WIN11 is the likely culprit to the current issue (which makes johnbl's theory quite interesting).

 

[ricpaul]

Here's the diskpart info as adviced bij johnbl. BTW, "E:" is the laptopharddrive I am trying to repair.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>e:

E:\>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.19041.964

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: DESKTOP-47LDCM6

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 931 GB 0 B *
Disk 1 Online 465 GB 0 B *
Disk 2 Online 931 GB 1024 KB *

DISKPART> select disk 2

Disk 2 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list volume

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 C NTFS Partition 930 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 1 Herstel NTFS Partition 529 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 2 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy System
Volume 3 NTFS Partition 516 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 D NTFS Partition 465 GB Healthy
Volume 5 Herstel NTFS Partition 529 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 6 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 7 E NTFS Partition 930 GB Healthy
Volume 8 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 9 NTFS Partition 644 MB Healthy Hidden

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 System 100 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 Reserved 16 MB 101 MB
Partition 3 Primary 930 GB 117 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 644 MB 930 GB

DISKPART> detail partition

DISKPART> select partition 1

Partition 1 is now the selected partition.

DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 1
Type : c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b
Hidden : Yes
Required: No
Attrib : 0X8000000000000000
Offset in Bytes: 1048576

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
* Volume 8 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy Hidden

DISKPART> select partition 2

Partition 2 is now the selected partition.

DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 2
Type : e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae
Hidden : Yes
Required: No
Attrib : 0X8000000000000000
Offset in Bytes: 105906176

There is no volume associated with this partition.

DISKPART> select partition 3

Partition 3 is now the selected partition.

DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 3
Type : ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7
Hidden : No
Required: No
Attrib : 0000000000000000
Offset in Bytes: 122683392

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
* Volume 7 E NTFS Partition 930 GB Healthy

DISKPART> select partition 4

Partition 4 is now the selected partition.

DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 4
Type : de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
Hidden : Yes
Required: Yes
Attrib : 0X8000000000000001
Offset in Bytes: 999527809024

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
* Volume 9 NTFS Partition 644 MB Healthy Hidden

DISKPART>

 

[SkyNetRising]

Here's the diskpart info as adviced bij johnbl

Please show screenshot from Disk Management instead (upload to imgur.com and post link).
Add descriptions to identify , which drive is from the laptop.

 

[ricpaul]

"Schijf 2" (disk 2) and "E:" is the M.2 disk I am trying to repair. "Herstel" means repair. Does this give any info to narrow down the issue? Let me know if anything is unclear or what I should look for next. All help is very much appreciated!

 

[SkyNetRising]

If windows version on PC, where drive is connected now, is the same as on laptop, where drive came from (windows 11),
then you can repair bootloader this way
(execute from elevated command prompt)

diskpart​

list disk​

select disk 2​

(select M.2 disk)​

list partition​

select partition 1​

(select 100MB EFI system partition)​

assign letter=H​

exit​

bcdboot E:\windows /s H:​

How to Open the Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 10

Much of the time, opening the Command Prompt as a regular user is all you need. Sometimes, though, you’ll need to open the Command Prompt as an administrator so that you can run commands that require administrative privileges.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[ricpaul]

Desktop is WIN10, laptop M.2 SSD is WIN11, so I guess I'll not go there until the laptop is back and I can try this with a bootable USB (with WIN11 installation media).

 

[TerryLaze]

Desktop is WIN10, laptop M.2 SSD is WIN11, so I guess I'll not go there until the laptop is back and I can try this with a bootable USB (with WIN11 installation media).

Doesn't matter, the boot files are the same, this does the same thing I explained with easybcd just more complicated since you have to use the command line.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Desktop is WIN10, laptop M.2 SSD is WIN11, so I guess I'll not go there until the laptop is back and I can try this with a bootable USB (with WIN11 installation media).

Then you can boot from windows 11 installation media and do the same thing.
Note - in windows installation environment drive numbers can be different.
So for example your M.2 drive may have drive number 0 or 1. You have to double check that.

Not sure, what will happen, if you use bcdboot from windows 10 on a drive containing windows 11.
For example, if you use bcdboot in windows 7 on windows 10 drive, then it doesn't work correctly.

 

[ricpaul]

Laptop is back (seems like it received a new MB and a new screen according to the work order...) but it is still in the cartboardbox, so haven't put the M.2 SSD back yet.

When downloading easybcd, they advertised EasyRE which, supposedly, is guaranteed to fix the issue (Paid software but Win11 Home version is free)
Should I give that a go or just use EasyBCD? M.2 SSD is still mounted in the desktop. Have some other stuff to do, so any answers until then will be taken into account, otherwise I will probably use EasyBCD as adviced by TerryLaze and if that fails use the installationmedia USB (and just for safety disconnect the normal harddisks in the desktop or place the M.2 back in the laptop first).

EDIT: didn't know which disk I should mark as active (and disk management wouldn't let me anyway, in hindsight I may not have opened diskmanagement as Administrator, not sure if that is (1) possible and if (2) this was why it wouldn't let me): TerryLaze mentioned a ~350MB partition, I had 100 or 644MB partitions. On the 644MB partition, right-click would show a list with everything greyed out.
Partition 1 System 100 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 Reserved 16 MB 101 MB
Partition 3 Primary 930 GB 117 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 644 MB 930 GB
So I installed the M.2 SSD into the laptop again and am running EasyRE ("Recovery Essentials"). It's running as we speak (checking memory atm), so will keep you updated.

 

[TerryLaze]

Laptop is back (seems like it received a new MB and a new screen according to the work order...) but it is still in the cartboardbox, so haven't put the M.2 SSD back yet.

When downloading easybcd, they advertised EasyRE which, supposedly, is guaranteed to fix the issue (Paid software but Win11 Home version is free)
Should I give that a go or just use EasyBCD? M.2 SSD is still mounted in the desktop. Have some other stuff to do, so any answers until then will be taken into account, otherwise I will probably use EasyBCD as adviced by TerryLaze and if that fails use the installationmedia USB (and just for safety disconnect the normal harddisks in the desktop or place the M.2 back in the laptop first).

The RE (recovery environment) would be useful if you didn't have any other system that can boot into windows, since you have full access to the disk the normal free version of easybcd is all you need.

Also you can basically make your own recovery environment,
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-intro?view=windows-11

It's a huge hassle which is why most people use bootable linux live distros to do any work they need to.

 

[ricpaul]

Thanks guys (and girls).

I took the easy way out: EasyRE did find some errors, indeed linked to the update. Computer starts up normally again from the 1TB.

Here's a screenshot from EasyRE:

Can't post the image for some reason, so here's a link.

 

[ricpaul]

Great. Having similar issue with a WIN10 laptop. And EasyRE isn't free for WIN10. And [rant] as usual WIN10's own recovery options (rollback update, fix errors, etc.) is completely and utterly useless [/rant].
I can't be the only person dealing with this, right? Laptops are from different people (not me) who don't do crazy things with them apart from letting windows install updates...

So rereading the thread.

(Supposedly also an update processing @ 7%, they just let the computer run, it eventually restarted and then stuck on "one moment please" with the rotating circle of balls (for an entire day before they gave up and shut it down).