I accidentally wiped my Windows EFI partition while distrohopping, and now I've wiped the entire NVMe drive to start fresh with a clean install of Windows. However, I'm facing two major hurdles. First, I'm seeing the error '0xc000000d' because the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is missing, which means my previous Windows installation is unbootable. Second, when I try to install Windows, it reports 'No Drives Found.' I suspect this is related to the Intel RST/VMD since I'm using a 12th Gen Intel system. My hardware includes an Intel Core i3-12100F CPU, a GIGABYTE H610M-K DDR4 motherboard, and a Goodram PX500 Gen2 NVMe SSD. So far, I've toggled VMD in the BIOS, reset the BIOS, disabled Secure Boot, tried with CSM enabled, and have the Intel RST VMD driver files ready on a separate USB, but the installer still can't see the drive after the error. I don't have access to any other Windows machine, so I can only prepare the installation media using my Debian system.
3 Answers
It’s a bit puzzling how you ended up with a missing BCD after wiping the NVMe drive, since that would have included all your Windows files. Here’s what I suggest: 1. Make sure the NVMe drive has no partitions or formatting at all. 2. Look in your UEFI settings and enable AHCI mode while disabling CSM. 3. Disconnect your Debian drive and any other storage devices. 4. Try booting from the Windows installer again after that.
What’s your main goal here? Are you just trying to get Windows installed, or is there something else going on with the USB drive you're using? Make sure that drive is properly set up for booting, as that can sometimes cause issues with drive detection during installation.
Have you thought about using the built-in recovery tools in Windows 10 or 11? Those systems have some pretty robust options for fixing boot issues. You could use the USB boot drive, access the command prompt, and maybe run Fdisk to re-partition. Don’t forget about the possibility of needing special drivers for your hardware, though; sometimes these need to be added to your installation media to be recognized.
Yeah, I’m just trying to get Windows installed. The USB should be good, but I'll double-check it. Thanks for your input!