I recently upgraded my PC with a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM. I heard that you can just transfer your old boot drive to the new setup without needing to reinstall Windows, so I did that. However, now I'm stuck at the BIOS with an "inaccessible boot device" error. I've tried toggling CSM support, booting in both UEFI and legacy modes, and even restoring to an older system restore point, but nothing has helped. Any advice?
3 Answers
Did you have BitLocker encryption active on your drive? Sometimes that can cause boot issues when changing hardware.
Before doing anything drastic, make sure you're not forcing shutdowns during the Windows boot-up to avoid corrupting your files. Boot into your BIOS and locate any settings labeled as SATA operation or SATA mode. If you see Intel VMD, disable it. Also, if SATA is in RAID mode, switch it to AHCI; that's a common issue. After adjusting, try booting again. If that doesn’t work, force a crash three times to get into the automatic repair screen, then go to advanced options and restart in safe mode. Let it settle in safe mode for a bit to register the new hardware, then restart normally. Check that VMD/SATA setting first and keep us updated!
If your drive was from the same manufacturer as the new motherboard, you might get lucky with it working right away. But if they’re different, that could be the problem.
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