Failed Boot Selection Error (4034549)

You receive a "boot selection failed" error after restoring or exporting a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 machine. The machine fails to boot and displays one of the following errors:

• Error: 0xc000000e “The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.”

• Error: “Operating System is not found.”

This error occurs when the System Reserved Partition (SRP) is missing or corrupt.

To resolve this issue, you need to remove the SRP and create a clean version using a Windows Installation CD.

Steps:

1. Set the Boot Volume in BIOS:

   • Access the BIOS settings and set the C: drive as the boot volume.

   • Save changes and reboot the system.

2. Boot from the Windows Installation CD:

   • Press F12 (or the appropriate key for your system) during startup to boot from the Windows Installation CD.

3. Open a Command Prompt:

   • From the installation menu, open a command prompt.

4. Delete the System Reserved Partition (SRP):

   • Run the following commands to delete the SRP:

     
     diskpart
     
     list vol
     
     sel vol #  (replace # with the SRP volume number)
     
     list part
     
     sel part #  (replace # with the SRP partition number)
     
     del vol
     
     del part  (if needed after the previous command)

5. Set the OS Partition as Active:

   • Run the following commands to set the operating system partition as active:

     
     
     sel vol #  (replace # with the OS volume number)
     
     list part
     
     sel part #  (replace # with the OS partition number)
     
     active

6. Repair the Boot Configuration:

   • Run the following commands:

     
     
     bootrec /fixmbr
     
     bootrec /fixboot
     
     bootrec /scanos
     
     bootrec /rebuildbcd

   • Optionally, back up and rename the current BCD file:

     
     
     bcdedit /export bcd.backup
     
     ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old

   • Rebuild the BCD:

     
     bootrec /rebuildbcd

7. Run Startup Repair (StartRep):

   • Reboot the machine to the Windows Installation CD, open a command prompt, and navigate to:

     x:\sources\recovery\

   • Run:

     startrep

   • If the issue persists, rerun startrep multiple times as needed.

8. Check Disk and Partition Sizes:

   • If the resolution fails, verify that the physical disk is larger than the combined sizes of the partitions and their offsets. This is especially important if the original machine was a VM, particularly in VMware environments.

Additional Notes

• Ensure you have a valid backup before performing any partition modifications.

• For VMware environments, review the disk alignment and ensure the virtual disk size is adequate for the partitions and offsets.