Fix 0xC0000034: Object Name Not Found in Windows Boot or Apps

You boot your Windows 10 or 11 machine, and instead of your login screen, you get a black screen with 0xC0000034 — STATUS_OBJECT_NAME_NOT_FOUND. The object name is not found. Infuriating, right? I know. I've seen this more times than I can count, and it almost always comes down to one thing: the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) has a broken entry, or a system file path got corrupted. It's not a hard drive failure (usually). Don't panic. Let's walk through the fixes, starting with the quickest.

1. The 30-Second Fix: Check Your Boot Order and Cables

I know this sounds too simple. But trust me—I've had users spend an hour rebuilding BCD only to realize their BIOS was trying to boot from a USB stick they left plugged in. Or a loose SATA cable. So humor me for 30 seconds:

• Shut down your PC. Unplug any USB drives, SD cards, or external storage.
• Restart and mash the F2 or Del key (your board's BIOS key) to enter the BIOS/UEFI settings.
• Check the boot order. Make sure your main Windows drive (usually a SSD or NVMe) is first.
• If you recently added a new drive, verify it's not stealing the boot slot.
• If you're on a laptop, also check if a recovery partition is flagged as active instead of your main OS partition.

Still seeing 0xC0000034? Move on. But you've eliminated an easy cause.

2. The 5-Minute Fix: Run Startup Repair from Windows Recovery

This error is often a missing or corrupted object entry in the BCD. Windows has a built-in tool that can try to fix it automatically. You'll need a Windows installation USB or access to the Advanced Startup menu.

Steps:

1. Boot from a Windows 10/11 installation USB (or use a recovery drive).
2. On the first screen, click Repair your computer (bottom-left corner).
3. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair.
4. Windows will scan your boot files and attempt to fix them. This takes a couple of minutes.

In about 40% of cases, this resolves 0xC0000034. If it fails, you'll see a log file. Don't bother reading it—just move to the next fix.

3. The 15-Minute Fix: Rebuild the BCD Manually Using the Command Prompt

If Startup Repair couldn't fix it (or you're impatient like me), you're going to rebuild the BCD by hand. This is the fix that works 90% of the time. I've done it on Windows 8, 10, and 11—same process.

What you need:

Boot from your Windows installation USB. At the initial screen, press Shift + F10 to open a Command Prompt. Or go through Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

The commands:

First, figure out which drive is your Windows partition. Often it's C:, but in the recovery environment, it might be D: or E:. Run:

diskpart
list volume
exit

Look for the volume with a size matching your Windows drive (usually around 100-500 MB for the EFI partition, plus your main OS volume). Note the drive letter for your Windows partition. For example, if your main volume is D:, then use D: in the commands below.

Now, navigate to that drive and rebuild the BCD:

bcdedit /enum

This shows you the current boot entries. If you see errors like "The boot configuration data store could not be opened" or missing entries, the store is corrupt. The real fix is to delete the old BCD and create a new one.

attrib -s -h -r C:\boot\bcd
ren C:\boot\bcd bcd.old
bootrec /rebuildbcd

Wait—if your Windows drive is not C: here, replace C: with the correct letter. The bootrec /rebuildbcd command will scan all disks and ask you if it found a Windows installation. Press A (or yes) to add it to the new BCD. Then run:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos

If you still get errors, especially on UEFI systems, you might need to specify the EFI partition. Here's a more direct approach for UEFI/GPT systems:

bcdedit /export C:\bcdbackup
attrib -s -h -r C:\boot\bcd
del C:\boot\bcd
bcdedit /createstore C:\boot\bcd
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /create {bootmgr} /d "Windows Boot Manager"
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device partition=C:
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /create {default} /d "Windows 10" /application osloader
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {default} device partition=D:
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {default} path \windows\system32\winload.exe
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {default} osdevice partition=D:
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {default} systemroot \windows
bcdedit /store C:\boot\bcd /set {default} detecthal yes

Important: Replace D: with your actual Windows partition drive letter. If you're on Windows 11, replace winload.exe with winload.efi (since Windows 11 is UEFI-only).

After those commands, close the Command Prompt, remove the USB, and reboot. This has resolved 0xC0000034 on every single machine I've worked on that didn't have a dead drive.

When None of These Work

If you're still stuck after rebuilding the BCD, you might be dealing with a missing system file or a crashed hard drive. Run chkdsk /f D: (replace with your Windows drive) from the Command Prompt to check for disk errors. Also, try sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\windows to repair system files. If those fail, you're looking at a hardware issue—SMART errors on the drive or a failing SSD. Back up your data while you still can.

A quick note: I've also seen 0xC0000034 pop up when a third-party antivirus or disk encryption tool (like VeraCrypt) corrupts the BCD. If you recently installed such software, that's your prime suspect. Disable or uninstall it from the recovery environment if possible.

Hopefully, one of these steps got you back into Windows. The BCD is fragile, but once you know how to rebuild it, this error loses its bite. You've got this.