Making a Specific Volume Bootable using CMD in Windows 10

Making a Specific Volume Bootable using CMD in Windows 10

In this article, we will discuss the steps to make a specific volume bootable using the Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows 10. This process is useful when you want to install a new operating system or recover a non-bootable system. Before we begin, it is important to note that this process requires administrative privileges, so make sure you are logged in as an administrator.

Identifying the Volume

The first step is to identify the volume that you want to make bootable. To do this, open the Command Prompt by searching for "CMD" in the Start menu, right-click on it, and select "Run as administrator". Once the Command Prompt is open, type the following command and press Enter:

This will open the DiskPart utility. Now, type the following command and press Enter:

This will display a list of all the volumes on your system. Identify the volume that you want to make bootable by looking at the "Volume ###" and "Label" columns. Once you have identified the volume, note down its drive letter and volume number.

Preparing the Volume

Now that you have identified the volume, the next step is to prepare it for making it bootable. To do this, type the following command in the Command Prompt and press Enter:

Replace with the volume number of the volume that you identified in the previous step. For example, if the volume number is 0, the command would be:

Once you have selected the volume, type the following command and press Enter:

This will erase all the data on the volume and prepare it for making it bootable. Be careful while using this command, as it will permanently erase all the data on the volume.

Creating a Primary Partition

Now that the volume is prepared, the next step is to create a primary partition on it. To do this, type the following command and press Enter:

This will create a primary partition on the volume. Now, type the following command and press Enter to select the partition:

Replace "1" with the number of the partition that you just created. For example, if it is the first partition, the command would be:

Formatting the Partition

Now that the primary partition is created, the next step is to format it. To do this, type the following command and press Enter:

This will format the partition as NTFS. The "quick" option will speed up the formatting process by skipping some of the checks. Once the partition is formatted, type the following command and press Enter to assign it a drive letter:

Replace with the drive letter that you want to assign to the partition. For example, if you want to assign the drive letter "F", the command would be:

Making the Partition Active

Now that the partition is formatted and assigned a drive letter, the final step is to make it active. To do this, type the following command and press Enter:

Copying the Boot Files

Now that the partition is made active, the final step is to copy the boot files to it. To do this, type the following command and press Enter:

Replace with the path to the Windows installation files. For example, if the Windows installation files are on the "C" drive, the command would be:

This will copy the boot files to the active partition. Now, you can restart your computer, and it will boot from the new bootable volume.

• Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
• Identify the volume that you want to make bootable using the list volume command.
• Prepare the volume using the clean command.
• Create a primary partition using the create partition primary command.
• Format the partition using the format fs=ntfs quick command.
• Assign a drive letter to the partition using the assign letter= command.
• Make the partition active using the active command.
• Copy the boot files to the active partition using the bcdboot /s : command.

References

• Microsoft. (2021). Diskpart Command-Line Utility. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/diskpart
• Microsoft. (2021). Format Command-Line Utility. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/format
• Microsoft. (2021). Assign Command-Line Utility. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/assign
• Microsoft. (2021). Active Command-Line Utility. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/active
• Microsoft. (2021). Bcdboot Command-Line Utility. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/bcdboot