"The drive where windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and

[gdfgfdga]

"The drive where windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and

Hey Guys,

I needed*to install SQL Server 2014 Management Studio for a database course that I'm taking. I wasn't able to load the database, so I played around with the C drive permissions and I ended up losing all access to my C drive.*If I try to*go anywhere like Acer Recovery Management or C: Security Tab or UAC, I get "access is denied".*I have my Windows 8 recovery USB and I played around in the command prompt but ended up making it worse. (Before I could still log on and use Chrome) but now I'm getting "\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD - You'll need to use Recovery tools" It*messed up when I tried this command "bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-us /s x: /f ALL" I tried all the other commands from this website:

https://neosmart.net/wiki/the-drive-where-windows-is-installed-is-locked/

except for the paid software:

Easy Recovery Essentials ®


but haven't bought it yet. I know*it can be fixed*from the command prompt but I'm not sure how. When I try "Reset*/ Refresh your PC" from the recovery media, I still get "The drive where windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again"*I have all my files saved on Google drive so I don't mind losing anything. What can you suggest?

 

[gdfgfdga]

System restore doesn't work. There's no available restore points. I get the error "To use system restore, you must specify which Windows installation to restore." Automatic repair doesn't work. It's a problem with the BCD that needs to be fixed from the command line. When I try to back up the BCD, I get the error "The system cannot find the file specified." I also get the error "Failure when attempting to copy boot files." when I try to do "bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s p: /f ALL (P: is the letter I assigned for the ESP volume). It has to be that the*BCD file is missing. I need to retrieve it somehow. Thanks,
*
Sarah

 

[AddRAM]

And I guess you never created a Disk Image ??

 

[gdfgfdga]

And I guess you never created a Disk Image ??

No. I get "Windows cannot find a system image on this computer". I can search on the network but I didn't create an image.

Thanks,

Sarah

 

[samuria]

What did you actually do it sounds as if you changed permissions for the whole drive so you should be able to set it back to give you access iCacls - Modify Access Control List | Windows CMD | SS64.com

 

[gdfgfdga]

What did you actually do it sounds as if you changed permissions for the whole drive so you should be able to set it back to give you access iCacls - Modify Access Control List | Windows CMD | SS64.com

I was told in another forum that it's pretty complicated. I was told to try a clean install using Windows 10 media creation tool. Do you think this will work? Thanks.

Sarah

 

[Pyprohly]

What did you actually do it sounds as if you changed permissions for the whole drive so you should be able to set it back to give you access iCacls - Modify Access Control List | Windows CMD | SS64.com

I was told in another forum that it's pretty complicated. I was told to try a clean install using Windows 10 media creation tool. Do you think this will work? Thanks.

Sarah

What did you actually do?

If you've just changed permissions on the drive then you can simply change them back.

Are you still able to login to your account and take administrative actions?

 

[gdfgfdga]

What did you actually do it sounds as if you changed permissions for the whole drive so you should be able to set it back to give you access iCacls - Modify Access Control List | Windows CMD | SS64.com

I was told in another forum that it's pretty complicated. I was told to try a clean install using Windows 10 media creation tool. Do you think this will work? Thanks.

Sarah

What did you actually do?

If you've just changed permissions on the drive then you can simply change them back.

Are you still able to login to your account and take administrative actions?

No, I can't login anymore. I get the error message "The boot configuration data for your PC is missing or contains errors" File \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD . Could you tell me what to type in the command prompt to get my permissions back using the USB recovery media?

Sarah

 

[gdfgfdga]

I was told in another forum that it's pretty complicated. I was told to try a clean install using Windows 10 media creation tool. Do you think this will work? Thanks.

Sarah

What did you actually do?

If you've just changed permissions on the drive then you can simply change them back.

Are you still able to login to your account and take administrative actions?

No, I can't login anymore. I get the error message "The boot configuration data for your PC is missing or contains errors" File \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD . Could you tell me what to type in the command prompt to get my permissions back using the USB recovery media?

Sarah

I don't remember what I did...but I played around with the C drive permissions (security tab - where it has read,write, etc)

 

[Pyprohly]

I cant speak from experience so I’m not going to offer any advice here just yet.

I’m going to try and see if I can replicate your exact error on a dummy machine and use the recovery media (which I’ve seem to have lost my copy right now) to try and repair things. In the meantime, if anyone else who has experience with this problem steps in, feel free to go with their advice.

Gdfgfdga, do you recall the exact point where you started getting this error? It would help to know what you did to get where you are currently.

 

[gdfgfdga]

Ok Thanks a lot for helping me. I think I deleted the BCD file with the command "bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s p: /f ALL " somehow. But I lost access to my C: when I right clicked on it and went to the security tab and unclicked the check boxes. But if you can try to do a clean install successfully that would be good news. My computer at work and school don't allow me to download the windows recovery tool so I have to wait until this weekend to download the media creation tool.

Sarah

 

[Pyprohly]

I think I deleted the BCD file with the command "bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s p: /f ALL "

Okay, great.

But I lost access to my C: when I right clicked on it and went to the security tab and unclicked the check boxes.

That won’t be a problem as soon as we can get you into your administrator account.

But if you can try to do a clean install successfully that would be good news.

You’re considering a clean install so I presume you don’t want any of your files saved?

No? Then don’t even think about clean installing.

 

[Pyprohly]

I’m unable to follow the exact path of your struggle at this time, however, if your BCD is truely damaged, bootrec /RebuildBcd is the command you’ll want to run. Works nicely.

If after this command succeeds and it still remains that you cannot boot, we can mark BCD failure off the list of possible problems for your boot issue. I’ll have to call in helpers of higher calibre to assist you here as I cannot help in this area.

Do not clean install (you’ll forgo all your files). Do not System Restore (you can, but don’t expect it to repair the BCD or revert permission changes).

 

[gdfgfdga]

I’m unable to follow the exact path of your struggle at this time, however, if your BCD is truely damaged, bootrec /RebuildBcd is the command you’ll want to run. Works nicely.

If after this command succeeds and it still remains that you cannot boot, we can mark BCD failure off the list of possible problems for your boot issue. I’ll have to call in helpers of higher calibre to assist you here as I cannot help in this area.

Do not clean install (you’ll forgo all your files). Do not System Restore (you can, but don’t expect it to repair the BCD or revert permission changes).

I have tried bootrec /rebuildbcd. It says the operation completed successfully but it didn't recognize the Windows installation. It didn't work. I visited an internet cafe near my apartment and used the Windows Media Tool to download Windows 10 using Rufus/USB. When I tried to clean install, I got the error message "WIndows could not retrieve information about the disks on this computer." I think I need to type some advanced commands in the command prompt to fix it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Sarah