How to Fix “bootrec /fixboot access is denied” Error on Windows 10

Bootrec /fix boot is a command line that is run on the Command Prompt when some user fails to boot after upgrading Windows. But sometimes this command also falls in another error saying “bootrec /fixboot access is denied”.

Here are the solutions to resolve “bootrec /fixboot access is denied” error, these solutions will equally work for Windows 10 and Windows 7;

Pre-requisite:

Before trying any solution, backup your discs as some solutions can damage the hard drive data.

Contents

Solution 1: Using Diskpart:

This solution will work for GPT drives only. You will need a bootable USB of Windows 10 for

trying this fix. Follow this step by step guide to fix bootrec /fixboot access is denied error for GPT drive.

  • Step 1:

Insert a DVD or Flash drive, having a minimum of 8 GB storage and containing Windows Creation Media Tool, to your computer.

  • Step 2:

Launch Media Creation Tool and Click on “Create Installation Media for another PC”. Before clicking on the “Next” button, check the checkbox with the text “Use recommended settings for this PC”.

  • Step 3:

From the next screen, Choose USB and again select “Next”. After processing for a few seconds your USB will become a bootable Windows 10 Flash drive.

  • Step 4:

Now Insert the USB in your PC and reboot it.

  • Step 5:

Select the boot drive as your USB. Now select basic settings such as language, date, time and currency from the initial steps of the installation wizard.

  • Step 6:

When you will get the screen with the button “Install now” and a link saying “Repair your Computer”. You must click on the link saying “Repair your Computer” instead of clicking the button “Install now”.

  • Step 7:

Now click on the “Troubleshoot” option to open Advanced options Window.

Now click on “Command Prompt” option from the following window:

  • Step 8:

After clicking, Command Prompt will be opened. Now type “diskpart” command on the Command Prompt and press Enter key.

  • Step 9:

Now type the command “list disk” on the Command Prompt and press Enter key.

  • Step 10:

On this step, you need to identify the disk number which is applicable for the boot drive. Usually, that is disk 0. Otherwise, you have to identify the disk and then type that disk number with the select disk command.

Type “select disk 0” on the Command Prompt and press Enter

  • Step 11:

You will be notified that disk 0 has been selected. After selecting the disk, list partitions of the same disk by typing the command “list partition” on the Command Prompt and pressing Enter.

On pressing Enter you will get the list of partitions of the selected disk. Now, you need to pay attention to EFI partition. Here’s how to identify your EFI partition;

  • A drive that is formatted with FAT32
  • Size of that drive will be around 100 MBs
  • The status of this drive will be “hidden” in the info column.

Now type the command “select partition {partition number of EFI partition}” and press Enter key.

You will be notified that the specified partition has been selected.

  • Step 12:

Now assign a letter to this partition by typing the command “assign letter = N:” and press Enter. “N” can be replaced by an alphabet of your choice as long as no other partition is using it. You must remember this alphabet as it will be needed in further steps.

Now, type “exit” command and press Enter key to come out of the diskpart.

  • Step 13:

Now on the Command Prompt type “{alphabet used for EFI partition}:” and press Enter key. Now, format this partition by typing the command “format  N: FS: FAT 32” and pressing “Enter”.

Fix the boot settings by typing the BCD Boot command, “bcdboot C:\windows /s N: /f UEFI” and pressing Enter key.

  • Step 14:

Now your boot settings are configured. Run bootrec  /fix boot command on Command Prompt. Bootrec /fixboot error is denied error must have resolved now.

Solution 2: Run CHKDSK :

The first solution does not work for some users, as in their cases there are no EFI partitions. Nothing to worry about here’s another fix for bootrec /fix boot access is denied error. Follow the first seven steps from solution # 1 to open Command Prompt, then;

  • Step 1:

Type the command “chkdsk c: /r” on the Command Prompt and press Enter key. The letter C in command is denoting the drive that contains your Windows. If that is different in your case, then you can change the letter in the command. If you don’t know which drive has Windows on your computer then you can identify it by running the “diskpart” then “list volume” command on the Command Prompt and checking according to the size of the partition.

  • Step 2:

The fixing process will start on pressing Enter. Let the process finish and then reboot the system.

Hopefully, your “Bootrex /fix boot access is denied” error will be resolved after running chkdsk command on Command Prompt and you will get a smooth startup. But if, you encounter some errors

Solution 3: Run Automatic Repair:

This is another solution for bootrec /fix boot access is denied error. For trying this solution you must complete all the steps of Solution 1, or we can say that following solution 1 is a pre-requisite for this fix.

After completing the steps of solution 1, insert the installation media into your computer. After selecting the keyboard layout, currency, and language settings. Select the option of “Troubleshooter” and then “Advanced Options”.

From the menu of Advanced Options select “Startup Repair”. The Startup Repair automatically resolves many startup errors. It identifies the root cause of the problem in startup log files and fix them.

Windows will now prepare for Startup Repair and show the same message for a few seconds. Then you will be asked to select your account and enter the password. Startup Repair wizard will start now. Follow the instructions and finish the process step by step.

After finishing the wizard click on “shut down” and restart the computer to check if it boots normally.

Solution 4: Use BOOTMGR Compatible Code:

This fix resembles the one we have followed in solution 1, but here you don’t need to identify the disk number and boot drives. You just have to run the commands on Command Prompt and wait for the process to complete.

  • Follow the steps 1 to 7 of solution 1 to open Command Prompt. Type the command “bootsect/nt60 sys” on the Command Prompt and press Enter.
  • Now, wait for the process to complete.

This “bootsect/nt60 sys” command changes the boot manager settings in order to target boot volumes.

Solution 5: Disable Fast Boot in BIOS:

You can use this solution if any other solution doesn’t work, but this one causes problems. Fast boot or Quick boot can be enabled from BIOS settings. When you turn on your PC, there are certain tests that run every time. Enabling fast boot skips those tests and boots the computer faster.

  • Step 1:

Turn on the PC and enter the BIOS menu by pressing the BIOS key. BIOS key is different for different manufacturers. You might see the message “ Press {BIOS key} to enter Setup”. Identify the BIOS key from the instruction and press that key to enter the BIOS setup.

  • Step 2:

Select the Boot tab from the startup menu. The option that we need to disable is also different for different manufacturers this is because the BIOS menu is set up by the manufacturers. Usually, it is named as Quick boot, Fast boot, or Quick Power-on self-test. Identify the option and disable or toggle it off.

  • Step 3:

For this fix, you need to enable secure boot. Use the right arrow key to open security menu, when you get the desired menu, navigate down by down arrow key to the option of SEcure Boot Control and press Enter.

On pressing Enter you can toggle between enabled and disabled.

  • Step 4:

Another requirement of this fix is to change the boot mode to legacy.  The option is located under the Boot tab with different names according to the manufacturers’ choice. Identify the option, and change its value to legacy.

  • Step 5:

Navigate to the exit and exit after saving the changes. The PC will start botting now. Boot again to check whether it boots smoothly or the problem persists.

If none of the solutions work for you, then you can save your data and reinstall Windows 10.

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