Fix STATUS_NO_SUCH_DEVICE (0XC000000E) Boot Error

You're staring at a black screen with STATUS_NO_SUCH_DEVICE (0XC000000E) right after the BIOS logo. The PC spins, then stops. No Windows logo, no spinning dots. You've already checked that the SSD is plugged in, and it shows up in BIOS. So what's the deal?

This error shows up in two common situations: after you've cloned your Windows drive to a new SSD or NVMe, or when you've changed the boot order or unplugged a secondary drive. The boot manager (Windows Boot Manager) is stored on a separate partition, and that partition pointer has gone stale. The OS loader can't find the device it expects, so it bails out with 0XC000000E.

What's actually happening here is that the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) on your system partition holds a device and osdevice entry that points to a specific disk signature and partition offset. When you clone or move drives, that signature changes. On older BIOS systems, the bootmgr could still find the partition by scanning. But on UEFI systems, the BCD is strict—it looks for the exact device identifier and fails when it doesn't match.

The good news: you don't need to reinstall Windows. The fix is rebuilding the BCD from the Windows Recovery Environment. But before you run any commands, get the boot order right.

Fix Step-by-Step

Boot from a Windows installation USB. If you don't have one, create it on another PC using the Media Creation Tool (Windows 10/11 both work).
At the installer screen, click Repair your computer bottom-left.
Go to Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Command Prompt.
Run these commands in order. Don't skip any. The first two are the real fix, the rest are verification.

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd

If bootrec /rebuildbcd says Total identified Windows installations: 0, that's a clue your BCD is completely missing or the disk layout is EFI-only. In that case, you need to rebuild the BCD manually.

bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
ren C:\boot\BCD BCD.old
bootrec /rebuildbcd

The ren command might fail with “access denied” if your system partition isn't mounted as C:. Check your drive letters first—the EFI partition often has no letter. Use diskpart to assign one temporarily.

If the manual rebuild still finds nothing, the partition layout is off. Run diskpart and verify that the EFI System Partition (FAT32, ~100MB) exists and has the boot flag.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition

You should see a partition of type System (that's the EFI one). If it's missing, you're looking at a crashed GPT table or a failed clone. The only reliable fix then is to use bcdboot to recreate the boot files on a fresh EFI partition.

Using bcdboot when the EFI partition is corrupted

If the EFI partition exists but is empty or corrupted, run this from the Command Prompt where D: is your Windows drive:

bcdboot D:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI

Where S: is the drive letter you assigned to the EFI partition in diskpart. This command copies the boot manager files and creates a new BCD pointing to your Windows installation.

Why the Original Error Happens

Let's get into the why because it matters for avoiding this later. On a UEFI machine, Windows stores bootmgfw.efi on the EFI System Partition (ESP). The BCD inside that partition contains entries like this:

device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
osdevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2

When you clone a drive, the partition offset and the disk signature change. The BCD still points to the old harddisk volume number. So bootmgr looks for a device that no longer exists—hence “STATUS_NO_SUCH_DEVICE.” The bootrec /rebuildbcd command scans all disks for Windows installations and rewrites the BCD with correct identifiers. That's why it's the core fix.

Another trigger: you had two drives, and you removed the one that held the System Reserved or EFI partition. Windows itself was on the other drive, but the boot files were on the removed one. The error appears instantly. The fix is either to reconnect the old drive and copy the boot files, or run bcdboot to recreate them on your remaining drive.

Also check your BIOS boot mode. If you had UEFI and switched to Legacy, or vice versa, the boot manager can't find the right files. 0XC000000E is the generic response. Set it back to UEFI with CSM disabled if your drive is GPT.

Still Failing? What to Check

If the commands run clean but you still get the error, you're not dealing with a BCD issue anymore. Check these in order:

Physical connection. On some SATA ports, an SSD can drop out during POST. Try a different cable and port. For NVMe, reseat the drive—it's a common cause after a case swap.
BIOS boot order. You might have multiple bootable devices. Hard-hang the boot order so the drive with Windows is first. Some motherboards (looking at you, ASUS) have a separate “Boot Override” that ignores order.
Partition style mismatch. If your disk is MBR but the firmware boots in UEFI mode, or vice versa, Windows won't start. Go into BIOS and switch the boot mode. You'll see the same error if you force Legacy on a GPT disk.
Drive encryption. BitLocker can cause this after a hardware change. The BCD may be intact, but the loader can't decrypt the boot volume. You'll need your recovery key and will have to disable BitLocker from another OS.

One last thing: don't trust the error message's suggestion to insert your installation media and reboot. It's a template. The real fix is almost always the bootrec or bcdboot path above. If that doesn't work within two attempts, start checking hardware—dead SSDs and flaky SATA cables produce the exact same code.