Windows Shows Error 0xc000000f and Your PCDevice Needs to Be Repaired - How Do I Fix It
A blue Recovery screen says the Boot Configuration Data is missing or contains errors, and Windows will not start at all. The good news: Windows itself is usually intact — only its boot files are damaged, and they can be rebuilt in about fifteen minutes from a WinPE toolkit USB.
🎥 The WinPE toolkit USB used for this repair is built step by step in the video
The BCD (Boot Configuration Data) is the small database Windows Boot Manager reads to find and start Windows. It breaks after failed updates, sudden power loss, dual-boot experiments, disk errors or a careless clone — and when it breaks, the PC stops before Windows even begins loading. Rebuilding it does not touch your files or programs; it only rewrites the boot files. One honesty note before starting: if this error keeps coming back every few days, the disk underneath is probably failing — Fix 5 covers that check.
RECOVERY SCREEN — THE ERROR ITSELF
Recovery
Your PC/Device needs to be repaired
The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors.
File: \Boot\BCD Error code: 0xc000000f
You'll need to use recovery tools. If you don't have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your PC administrator or PC/Device manufacturer.
📷 What this error looks like — note the file name \Boot\BCD and code 0xc000000f; that combination is exactly this fix
1
Boot WinPE and Open a Command Prompt
Boot your Ventoy toolkit USB and choose Sergei Strelec WinPE (or boot a Windows ISO from the same USB and choose Repair your computer → Troubleshoot → Command Prompt)
In Strelec, open the Command Prompt from the desktop or Start menu
Everything in this guide is typed at that prompt — commands are shown exactly as they must be entered
2
Find the Real Windows Drive Letter
Inside WinPE, drive letters are shuffled — your Windows partition is often D: or E: here, even though it is C: normally. Never guess; test it.
Type dir C:\Windows and press Enter — if a file list appears, C: is your Windows drive
If it reports the file is not found, try dir D:\Windows, then dir E:\Windows, until one works — note that letter, call it the Windows letter
Now run diskpart, then list vol — note the small FAT32 partition of about 100–300 MB (the EFI partition, often with no letter), and your Windows partition
Leave diskpart open if your PC is UEFI (most PCs from the last decade) — you need it in the next step. For a Legacy/MBR PC, type exit and go to Fix 4
3
UEFI PCs: Rebuild the Boot Files with bcdboot ⭐
This is the modern, reliable method. Still inside diskpart:
Select the EFI partition: sel vol 2 (use the volume number that matches the small FAT32 EFI partition on your PC — the number differs per machine)
Give it a letter: assign letter=Z:
Leave diskpart: exit
Rebuild the boot files, using your Windows letter from Fix 2 (this example uses C: — replace it with yours if different): bcdboot C:\Windows /s Z: /f ALL
📷 What success looks like — one line confirms the new boot files were written
The WinPE environment these commands run in is part of the toolkit built on screen in the video above — one USB gives you the PE desktop, the prompt, and every supporting tool.
4
Legacy/MBR PCs: Use the bootrec Commands
On older Legacy BIOS machines with an MBR disk, the classic trio applies. Type each command and press Enter after each:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd — when it finds your Windows installation and asks to add it to the boot list, press Y
Honest note: on UEFI/GPT machines bootrec /fixboot commonly answers "Access is denied". That is expected behaviour there — use the bcdboot method in Fix 3 instead of fighting it.
5
Restart, Verify — and Check the Disk if It Returns
Close the prompt, restart the PC and remove the USB — Windows should start normally
If the same error returns within days, treat it as a disk warning, not a Windows quirk: boot the toolkit again and open CrystalDiskInfo to read the drive's health
You can also check the file system from the PE prompt with chkdsk C: /f (use your real Windows letter) — a drive producing new errors repeatedly should be backed up and replaced
⚠️ Diskpart safety: this guide only lists volumes and assigns a letter — it never formats anything. While following Fix 3, do not run commands like clean or format that you may see in other tutorials unless you fully understand them; a wrong disk number there means erased data.
🎥 Build the Repair Toolkit in Video
Ventoy + Strelec + MediCat + Gandalf on one USB — the complete build, so your repair environment is ready before trouble strikes.
Does rebuilding the BCD delete my files or programs?
No. bcdboot and bootrec only write the small boot files and the boot database. Your Windows installation, user files and programs are not modified — the repair simply teaches the PC how to find and start the Windows that is already there.
bcdboot says "Failure when attempting to copy boot files". What is wrong?
Usually one of three things: the Windows letter in your command is not the partition that actually contains the Windows folder, the EFI partition letter was not assigned, or the disk has errors. Recheck Fix 2, confirm the Z: assignment in diskpart, and run a disk health check if it still fails.
Now the BIOS says "Boot device not found" instead. Is that the same error?
No — that message comes from the firmware, before any Windows file is read. It means the PC is not seeing the disk or not offering it as a boot device. Check that the drive is detected in BIOS, that the boot mode (UEFI/Legacy) matches how Windows was installed, and that Windows Boot Manager is in the boot order.
This guide is based on Technical Anshu's "One USB = All Tools" video • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you'll get help there 🙏