I'm struggling with the INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) message during a cloning process. Normally, I see this error due to issues with the storahci or stornvme drivers on boot, especially when transitioning between SATA and NVMe drives. However, I've tried a few different approaches and still can't seem to pinpoint the problem.
Here's what I've done so far:
- Set AHCI and NVMe to start on boot in the registry.
- Disabled VMD in the BIOS to ensure AHCI is active.
- Experimented with Secure Boot settings.
- Rechecked partitions, even creating a new EFI System Partition and ensuring winload.efi is correct.
- The original clone came from an HP laptop with an AMD chipset, and I've disabled all AMD drivers because I'm cloning to Intel laptops. Interestingly, the cloning worked fine to another HP AMD machine.
- Verified that the relevant driver files are intact and not corrupted.
- Disabled other RAID/VMD services that might interfere with the boot process.
- System checks with SFC and DISM returned fine results.
- Fresh installs work fine, and I can boot if I copy the Windows directory, but that creates user profile issues.
- I also noted that boot logging isn't creating any log files for diagnosis.
- Safe boot options lead to the same BSOD, and I can't get memory dumps.
I'm at a standstill and would prefer not to do a clean install, but I'm also just curious to figure this out. What else could be causing this issue? Am I overlooking something, perhaps a registry filter related to AMD controllers?
4 Answers
To get a better understanding of the BSOD, make sure you're able to retrieve the dump files. These logs can provide useful insights into what's going wrong. If you can boot into Windows or Safe Mode, check the Minidump folder at C:WindowsMinidump for any files. If you find any, zip them up and share them through a file hosting site. If you only have one log, ensure you're set to generate small memory dumps moving forward for future errors. These can be invaluable for identifying the root cause of the BSOD.
Have you ruled out whether you're booting in UEFI or Legacy BIOS mode? Another thing to consider is if Bitlocker is somehow affecting the boot process, especially if you're using EFI partitioning. Make sure the EFI entry is valid and updated for the new partition GUIDs—you might want to check that too. Just brainstorming here!
Removing mounted devices keys in the registry can help sometimes too, but you're right—this might not be the root cause here. You might want to dive deeper into potential AMD driver remnants that could be lurking. It's definitely a tricky situation.
You've mentioned that fresh installs run without issues, suggesting either a cloning problem or a hardware issue with your target drive. Since cloning the AMD to Intel system fails while AMD to AMD works fine, it's likely a driver conflict, especially with legacy AMD drivers conflicting with Intel architecture. I've always found that cloning across different hardware can run into complications. Sometimes it’s more stable to do a clean install instead, just to avoid these kinds of headaches, but kudos on your determination to find a solution!
Thanks for the encouragement! I think tracking down a kernel-level AMD driver might do the trick. It's quite rare for an Intel to Intel cloning issue, but this AMD to Intel situation has proven tricky.
You're right, it sounds like a driver issue layered with some corruption. Tracking down remnants in the registry can be tedious, but you might uncover the key to solving this puzzle!
Does the issue occur during the initial boot or after Windows starts? If it's happening right at the boot, it might indicate some corruption. Cloning can be finicky, especially when the hardware isn't identical. If it only happens after Windows has loaded, it may point to a failing storage drive.
Since the fresh installs work perfectly fine, it hints there might be something unique about the original drive's partition setup or files that aren't transferring correctly. Just curious if you've double-checked for other potential drive or system health flags.
The BSOD appears on boot. Both the new and old drives are in good condition, and the clone integrity checks out. This issue seems tied to the NVMe driver not loading properly, possibly because something is blocking it.
No Bitlocker is active. I've checked that too, and the EFI System Partition looks good. Adjustments to storahci and stornvme have typically solved similar issues for me, but I'm trying to figure out if there's any hidden registry filters linked to AMD drivers that could be causing problems.