Hi everyone! I've been having some serious booting issues with my Windows 11 PC. It frequently displays a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with the error message INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE (error code 0X7B). Surprisingly, sometimes it does manage to boot normally after several attempts—like 20-30 reboots! Once it's up and running, everything works great.
I can still see the NVMe SSD where Windows 11 is installed in the BIOS, but when I try to boot directly from it, I just get the message to select a proper boot device. However, when I access the Windows Recovery Environment and use CMD with Diskpart, the SSD doesn't show up at all.
I checked with CrystalDiskInfo and it shows the SSD is still in perfect condition. This Kingston KC3000 SSD is about three years old. I'm wondering if this could be a failing SSD, a motherboard issue, or some software glitch. Any ideas?
4 Answers
Also—if the SSD is detected in BIOS but not in Windows at times, it might be an issue with the M.2 slot. Swapping the SSD to a different slot might help rule that out. I’ve seen plenty of folks find success with that!
It's also worth checking the Event Viewer logs for any drive-related errors, particularly WHEA_Uncorrectable_Error messages. This might give you more insight into what's failing. If you've had the PC for a few years, getting a new SSD under warranty might be the next best step if the troubleshooting doesn’t lead to a fix.
I’ve seen issues like this and sometimes it’s not obvious. Remember that SSD health reports can be deceptive—just because CrystalDiskInfo says everything’s fine doesn’t mean it actually is. Retrieving dump files from a successful boot can really help diagnose BSODs better, so if you can boot into Windows, check for dump files in C:WindowsMinidump and upload them somewhere we can see them.
It sounds like a frustrating situation! Since you're able to see the SSD in BIOS, it might not be a total write-off yet. I’ve dealt with similar issues before, and it's worth considering reseating the SSD first—just unplug it and plug it back in to ensure a good connection.
Also, make sure to check for any firmware updates for your SSD. Overheating could also be part of the issue, especially if your SSD is located right above the GPU. Keep an eye on those temps! If the re-seat doesn’t fix it, you might need to look into getting a new SSD, especially since you mentioned warranty.
For sure, I’d also recommend monitoring the SSD temps, especially if it’s been fine all this time. If it’s overheating, that might be causing intermittent boot issues.
Yeah, I plan to check for those dump files next time it boots! Thanks for the tip.