Windows 0xc000000e: BCD, SSD and EFI Diagnostic Guide

First decision: is the system disk actually visible?

If the SSD model is absent from BIOS/UEFI storage information, starting with `bootrec`, `bcdboot` or SFC is incorrect. Verify physical detection, slot, storage controller and drive health first.

If firmware sees the disk but WinRE or Setup does not, investigate the storage driver layer such as Intel VMD/RST/AHCI. Rewriting boot files does not make an invisible controller appear.

diskpart
list disk
list volume
exit

Do not assume C: in WinRE

Windows Recovery Environment can assign drive letters differently. Before running `bcdboot C:\Windows`, verify which volume actually contains `Windows\System32`.

If BitLocker is enabled, a locked volume can make the Windows directory appear unavailable. Check `manage-bde -status` before concluding that Windows is gone.

dir C:\Windows\System32

dir D:\Windows\System32

manage-bde -status

Verify the EFI System Partition

On UEFI/GPT systems the EFI System Partition is usually a small FAT32 volume, but size alone is not a safe identifier. Inspect disk, partition and volume relationships. Multi-disk systems can contain multiple ESPs.

The Windows directory and the active EFI System Partition do not have to be on the same physical disk. If 0xc000000e started after removing another disk, this distinction is particularly important.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition
list volume
exit

bcdedit /enum firmware

Controlled boot repair with BCDBoot

Microsoft's BCDBoot tool is designed to copy boot-environment files from a verified Windows installation to the system partition. On UEFI systems it can rebuild boot files after the correct Windows and EFI volumes are identified.

If Windows is D: and EFI is S:, `bcdboot D:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI` can be appropriate. These letters are examples; never copy them without verifying your WinRE layout.

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

bcdedit /enum {bootmgr}

Special scenario after SSD cloning

After cloning, the Windows partition may be on the new SSD while the EFI System Partition remains on the old disk. The system boots with both disks attached but fails when the old one is removed. The fix is to repair boot architecture, not necessarily reclone user data.