Your PC/Device needs to be repaired - UEFI

This message displays when a UEFI disk had its boot parameters changed or you may see this message if you did not clone the disk properly while upgrading a hard disk.

As scary as this message is, it is recoverable and your programs and data are not lost.

Full Text Error Message:
Your PC/Device needs to be repaired.  The Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information.  This article describes how to recover.

File: \BCD
Error Code: 0xc000000d
Error Code: 0x00000034

The error continues:  "You will need to use recovery tools.  If you don't have installation media (like a disk or USB device), contact your PC administrator or PC/Device manufacturer."

You see this error:  On a reboot, typically on a Windows 10/11 computer, laptop or desktop, typically after cloning the hard drive, motherboard changes, etc.

Ideally, if you know you are fiddling with this type of hardware, create a Windows Recovery Disk beforehand -- but nobody remembers to do this.

Prerequisite Steps:
Do these steps to confirm the BIOS is set properly for booting from an external drive.  You will likely need to do these steps if you were trying to change the Boot Device order or if you had enabled the BIOS's "Legacy Boot" options.

These steps vary by hardware vendor, but in general:

a)  Enter the machine's BIOS ("hardware" menus):

Cold-boot the machine.  You should see a DOS-like "Press this key to enter BIOS"

Typically press F2 (vendor-specific.  Sometimes F10, F10, or DEL, Laptops might be Fn-F2) -- pressing this key when the machine's brand-logo appears, just before Windows loads.  Search the web for your particular computer or motherboard.

If the BIOS setup/prompt does not appear on the screen during the cold-boot, it may be hidden from view - another BIOS option.

Alternately, tell Windows to boot into the BIOS on the next reboot:  Open "Settings" (the gear icon), Click on Update & Security.  Click Recovery.  Under the "Advanced startup" section, select "Restart now".

b)  In the BIOS setup screen:

Confirm Boot Mode is set to UEFI. 
Confirm Secure Boot is ON.

c)  In these same hardware setup menus, you can also find "Boot Order" or a "Boot From" menu, where you can choose which drives are the first-order boot drive.  If you are using these steps, and need to boot from USB, you will probably have to allow that possibility in the BIOS menus.  Again, steps on how to do this vary widely.


Solution 1:  USB Recovery Drive

*If* by-chance you had previously built a Windows Recovery Drive, you are in luck!

a)  Boot from this disk * Boot instructions, above
b)  Select Repair. 

The recovery drive is typically a 16GB USB -- and it has to be created from this same computer prior to this error. This cannot be built from another machine. 

The trouble is, nobody has ever built this disk and even if you did, you likely can't find it.  I clipped mine to the back of the computer.

If you are reading this article, and are sweating bullets, this probably means you did not pre-build the recovery disks and this method is too late to be useful; see Solution 2.  Once you recover the disk, consider building a recovery drive with these steps:
 
a)  Click Start, and immediately begin typing: "Create a Recovery drive".
b)  Follow the on-screen instructions and expect an hour to build.  It will require an 16GB or larger USB thumb dive.  You can then later use this drive to recover from UEFI errors.


Solution 2:  Windows 10 Installation Media

If you do not have a recovery disk, you can resurrect the disk with these steps. 
Use this disk to recover from this error using slightly more complicated steps.

From any other computer, build a Windows Installation Media disk.

a)  Search Microsoft.com for "Windows Media Creation Tool" or these links:

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11
https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows10

b)  Download, saving the executable to your downloads directory.
c)  Double-click to run the Media Creation Tool program stub (.exe).
d)  When prompted, insert a 16GB USB drive.  All data on the disk will be erased.

This will take 40 minutes to an hour to write. 
Label the disk as "Windows Installation Media".

e)  Insert the USB into the failed computer and reboot that device, booting from the USB *

*Boot instructions above, where BIOS must be set to allow Boot from USB (Boot order).

Getting to the boot menu varies by manufacturer.
For Dell, press F12 "Boot Options" at the hardware/BIOS banner
Other brands often use F2, fn-F2, DEL, F12, etc.

Using the BIOS screens, boot from the USB disk (here illustrated as boot from DVD):

Allow the machine to boot from that new device...

1.  At the Windows initial Setup screen, click Next
2.  In the lower right corner, select "Repair your computer" by typing "R"  (illustrated, Windows 10)

3.  Choose "Troubleshoot"

4.  Select "Advanced options"

5.  In Advanced, select "Command Prompt"

At the DOS Prompt, type this command: 

Boot /fixmbr  
Press Enter

6.  After the first command, type these commands, pressing ENTER after each:

Bootrec /fixboot
Bootrec /scanos
Bootrec /rebuildbcd   (Selecting "A" - All when prompted)

type "Exit" to close the Command Prompt window.

7.  From the Windows Setup screens, click "Continue"

The PC should now boot properly.
Consider building a Recovery Drive from the first solution, above.


Steps: Booting from a DVD or USB Drive

UEFI-protected disks are new to Windows 8 and newer, and are designed to prevent malware from modifying the boot sectors.  This also protects from booting from an un-trusted or unsigned USBs. 

Booting using a Microsoft program (such as the Windows Recovery Drive or the Windows Media disk), or from a trusted disk imaging or virus vendor's disk will succeed, provided these disks were pre-built on that machine, when the machine was happy. 

The biggest problem is convincing the PC to boot from a disk other than the C: drive.  This is almost always controlled by the BIOS's boot order.


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