Restore a missing Windows Boot Manager UEFI entry

The Windows partition and EFI System Partition still exist, but Windows Boot Manager is missing from the UEFI boot list. The computer may enter firmware setup, display “no bootable device,” start another operating system, or fall through to network boot.

Searchable Windows error codes and exact messages

When the UEFI entry is truly missing, Windows Boot Manager never starts, so Windows usually has no opportunity to display a Windows error code. Search the exact firmware text first. Common searchable text includes Windows Boot Manager missing, No bootable device, Boot device not found, Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed, Operating System not found, Checking media presence, Start PXE over IPv4, Start PXE over IPv6, and UEFI Interactive Shell.

These identifiers can appear in related branches:

The Windows codes apply only if some Windows boot component actually starts. PXE-E61 and PXE-M0F are useful search identifiers, but they are firmware/network-boot codes—not Windows error codes.

Use this procedure only when the installation uses GPT/UEFI, the Windows volume is readable, and an EFI System Partition is present.

Do not use it when the system disk is absent from firmware, the installation is BIOS/MBR, the EFI partition was deleted, or the Windows directory is damaged. Those are separate conditions.

The exact firmware version and the event that removed the entry may remain unknown. The intended Windows volume, GPT layout, and EFI System Partition must be detected.

• Windows Recovery Environment or Windows installation media started in UEFI mode
• Command Prompt
• A readable Windows directory
• At least one detected FAT32 EFI System Partition

Select Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt. The examples call the Windows volume W: and the EFI System Partition S:. Replace those letters with the detected values.

1. Detect the layout:

   diskpart
   list disk
   list volume
   

2. Map the already-identified Windows volume to its physical disk before selecting an EFI partition:

   select volume W
   detail volume
   select disk <Windows-disk-number>
   list partition
   

3. Confirm that the Windows disk has a marker in DiskPart's Gpt column.

4. Identify the EFI System Partition on that disk by all of the following, not size alone:

   • FAT32 file system
   • System information when shown
   • Located on the intended Windows boot disk or otherwise proven to be its active ESP

5. Select the partition, inspect it, and assign it a temporary letter:

   select partition <EFI-partition-number>
   detail partition
   assign letter=S
   exit
   

6. Confirm that the recovery environment itself started in UEFI mode:

   wpeutil UpdateBootInfo
   reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control /v PEFirmwareType
   

   0x2 means UEFI. 0x1 means the recovery media was started in BIOS mode; restart the media through its UEFI boot-menu entry before attempting to create a UEFI firmware entry.

7. Confirm the Windows directory:

   dir W:\Windows\System32\winload.efi
   

8. Inspect existing EFI files:

   dir S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot
   

9. Enumerate firmware entries:

   bcdedit /enum firmware /v
   

10. Continue only when Windows Boot Manager is absent or points to a nonexistent device or path.

1. Create a backup location on the Windows volume:

   md W:\BootRepairBackup
   

2. If an existing BCD file is present, copy it:

   copy S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD W:\BootRepairBackup\BCD-before-UEFI-entry-repair
   

3. Restore the UEFI boot files to the explicitly detected ESP:

   bcdboot W:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI /v
   

4. Confirm that BCDBoot reports successful creation of boot files.

5. Understand the next distinction: because /s S: was used, the preceding command writes the boot files to that partition but does not itself create the UEFI NVRAM entry.

6. If the computer has exactly one EFI System Partition, create or refresh the firmware entry by allowing BCDBoot to select the system partition:

   bcdboot W:\Windows /p /v
   

7. Enumerate firmware entries again:

   bcdedit /enum firmware /v
   

8. Confirm that Windows Boot Manager now exists.

9. Close Command Prompt, restart, and select Windows Boot Manager if the firmware does not automatically place it first.

Multiple-ESP branch

If more than one EFI System Partition exists, do not run the no-/s BCDBoot command until the intended system ESP has been proven. First disconnect nonessential external disks. If multiple internal bootable disks remain, preserve their existing EFI contents and determine which firmware entry maps to which partition. The /s S: command can still restore files to the selected ESP, but blindly recreating NVRAM entries may point the firmware at a different ESP.

• Boot files successfully created and Windows Boot Manager appears: Restart and verify.
• Boot files successfully created but no NVRAM entry appears: Confirm recovery media was started in UEFI mode and that only the intended ESP is being selected.
• Failure when attempting to copy boot files: Stop. Confirm W:\Windows, free space, and the selected FAT32 ESP. Do not format it.
• The system disk is absent in firmware or DiskPart: This is not a missing-entry problem; use FIX-005.

• Do not format the EFI System Partition as a first repair step.
• Do not create a new ESP while a usable one already exists.
• Do not run bootrec /fixmbr for a confirmed UEFI/GPT missing-entry problem.
• Do not delete non-Windows EFI directories.

This procedure adds or refreshes Windows boot files. It does not intentionally delete other entries. If the new entry changes boot order undesirably, change the priority in firmware setup or use BCDBoot's preserve-order behavior after Windows starts. Retain the BCD backup until two successful restarts are complete.

• Windows Boot Manager appears in the firmware list.
• It points to the expected Windows EFI loader.
• Windows reaches the desktop twice.
• Other intentional operating-system entries remain available.

Confidence is approximately 90% when the Windows volume and ESP are intact and only the UEFI entry is missing. Stop if the disk is intermittently absent, more than one ESP cannot be mapped, or BCDBoot cannot copy files successfully.