Fixing Windows 11 UEFI Boot Manager Issues When Moving SSD with Native Boot VHDX

Fixing Windows 11 UEFI Boot Manager Issues when Trying to Move SSD and Native Boot to VHDX

If you are here, it means you are having trouble moving your Windows 11 installation from a local SSD to a VHDX while preserving the native boot. You are not alone, as many users face the same issue. This article provides a detailed guide on how to resolve boot manager issues during this process.

Background

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) has replaced the traditional BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) in modern computers. When you install Windows on a UEFI-based machine, the boot information is stored in the EFI system partition (ESP). When you want to move your Windows installation from a local SSD to a VHDX, you need to ensure that the boot manager still points to the correct location.

Symptoms of Boot Manager Issues

When moving a Windows 11 installation to a VHDX, you may encounter the following symptoms:

• Unable to boot after changing the boot order in UEFI settings
• Error messages referring to Boot Manager, or "INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE" or "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" error codes
• Windows stuck in the Automatic Repair loop

Why Boot Manager Issues Occur during Migration

Boot Manager issues arise when migrating Windows 11 to a VHDX due to the following reasons:

• The ESP's location on the SSD does not translate to the VHDX's equivalent location.
• The UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) of the ESP changes during the migration process.

Resolving Boot Manager Issues

To fix the boot manager issues during migration, follow these steps:

1. Backup your data and create a recovery drive or media.
2. Create a VHDX using Disk Management or PowerShell, and format it as NTFS.

New-VHD -Path C:\vhdx\win11vhdx.vhdx -SizeBytes 250GB -Dynamic

3. Mount the VHDX and copy the SSD's system partitions (ESP, MSR, and Windows partition) to it using a tool like Clonezilla.
4. Add the Microsoft EFI partition to the VHDX by executing this command in PowerShell:

Add-Partition -Path (Get-VHD "C:\vhdx\win11vhdx.vhdx").Path -Size 260MB -AssignDriveLetter -FileSystem NTFS

5. Mount the VHDX and then perform a chkdsk on the ESP:

chkdsk /f X:

(Replace X: with the drive letter representing the VHDX's ESP)
6. Perform the bcdboot command to rebuild the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) for the new ESP:

bcdboot C:\Windows /s X: /f UEFI

(Replace X: with the drive letter representing the VHDX's ESP.)

References

• Adding and Formatting Partitions by Using Windows PowerShell
• bcdboot
• Learn.microsoft.com - Copying the boot files to add a boot entry for a volume

Migrating a Windows 11 installation from a native SSD boot to a VHDX in a UEFI environment can lead to boot manager issues due to ESP relocation and UUID changes. To resolve these issues, follow our detailed guide with the provided commands and resources referenced in this article.