Solved Is it possible to recover the boot files after the EFI system partition was formatted?


Matthew Wai

Matthew Wai

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On a Chinese forum, a member named Mr. Zhang formatted the EFI system partition and created a new one without knowing the consequences.
Now he cannot start Windows 11 because Windows Boot Manager is absent from the boot menu.
He can still access drive C and Windows files because Linux has been installed on the same system drive.
So, is it possible to recover the boot files from drive C or a Windows ISO file?
The following screenshot shows the partitions on his system drive.

partitions.webp

.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Have you made backups?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Audio/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 13900KS P/E cores 5.7/4.4 GHz, cache 5.0 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero
    Memory
    96GB (2x48) G.skill Ripjaws 6800 MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 speakers; Audiolabs 7000a integrated amp; Login Martin Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Eizo CG2730 ColorEdge, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850X 4TB nvme, SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black HDD
    PSU
    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850 ATX 3.0/PCI-E 5.0
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
    Cooling
    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan, 1 T30-120 fan cooling memory
    Keyboard
    Keychron Q3 Max TKL with custom GMK Redsuns Red Samuri keycaps, TX Stabs
    Mouse
    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
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    Defender, Macrium Reflect X ;-)
    Other Info
    Runs hot. LOL. SP: P116/E93/M93
    Phangkey Amaterasu V2 Desk Mat
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox
See what happens booting to Windows 11 MCT (Windows 11 iso) > troubleshoot > command prompt > startup repair
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
In this video, i will show you how to create EFI partition from within Windows Recovery Environment.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
On another pc, install Macrium Reflect (trial version is fine).

Create a usb rescue drive.

Boot from it on friend's pc and select "fix windows boot problems" link.

This will rebuild the boot files.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Surely, there are billions of locals who could help him?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
zbook said:
See what happens booting to Windows 11 MCT (Windows 11 iso) > troubleshoot > command prompt > startup repair
Click to expand...
Do you mean booting the PC from a Windows 11 ISO file?
If so, can you post a download link to the ISO file?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Matthew Wai said:
Can he boot the PC from a Windows ISO file into "Advanced options"?
Click to expand...
Yes, bootable Windows 11 USB media can be used to boot Windows into recovery options.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Thanks a lot to everyone here. I am this Mr. Zhang.
Well um.. I will try these solutions above in a few days. THANK YOU All.

Wow, first time here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux UOS Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HUAWEI Matebook 13s
cereberus said:
How did he post then?
Click to expand...
The thing is ... A few days ago, my computer has installed system A and windows 11. I can boot into either of them. the efi patition is correct.

Then, I don't want to use system A any more. I want to switch system A into system B. So, I installed system B. and I want my computer to have system B and windows 11 together. And I couild boot into either of them.

But this time, when I am installing, I made the mistake. I formatted the efi patition, and build a new efi patition.

Now, the efi patition only records system B.

Although I have all the windows files (C:/ D:/) in my computer, I cannot boot into windows, since the new efi patition have no records of windows 11.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux UOS Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HUAWEI Matebook 13s
Matthew Wai said:
On a Chinese forum, a member named Mr. Zhang formatted the EFI system partition and created a new one without knowing the consequences.
Now he cannot start Windows 11 because Windows Boot Manager is absent from the boot menu.
He can still access drive C and Windows files because Linux has been installed on the same system drive.
So, is it possible to recover the boot files from drive C or a Windows ISO file?
The following screenshot shows the partitions on his system drive.

View attachment 118261

.
Click to expand...
Thank you WAI
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux UOS Professional
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HUAWEI Matebook 13s
Matthew Wai said:
Do you mean booting the PC from a Windows 11 ISO file?
If so, can you post a download link to the ISO file?
Click to expand...



These are links for the bootable Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (MCT) (Windows 11 iso)

www.elevenforum.com

Download Official Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft

This tutorial will show you how to download an official Windows Server or Windows 11 64-bit or ARM64 ISO file from Microsoft. Microsoft provides ISO files for Windows Server and Windows 11 to download. You can use these ISO files to clean install or in-place upgrade Windows 11. The Flight Hub...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com





Links that may be useful:

www.elevenforum.com

Open Command Prompt at Boot in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to open an elevated command prompt at boot in Windows 11. The Command shell is an entry point for typing commands in the Command Prompt console window. By typing commands at the command prompt, you can perform tasks on your computer without using the Windows GUI...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

www.elevenforum.com

Boot to Advanced Startup (WinRE) in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to boot to the advanced startup (WinRE) in Windows 11. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a companion operating system installed alongside Windows 11, typically in a separate partition, that can help with troubleshooting, recovery, or booting from...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

www.elevenforum.com

Use Startup Repair in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to use the Startup Repair tool to help fix common problems that can prevent Windows 11 from starting up. The Startup Repair tool automatically fixes many common problems. The tool also lets you quickly diagnose and repair more complex startup problems. When the...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
Sounds like you might be using linux grub.There is a bootable tool that should be able to add your windows partition to the boot menu.

It is years since I was dual booting windows and linux. This worked well then, it is more recent version now obviously. Worth a try.

sourceforge.net

boot-repair-disk

Download boot-repair-disk for free. A rescue disk that includes the Boot Repair tool. See http://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair-cd/home
sourceforge.net sourceforge.net
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7,win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Perter155 said:
I think this is not an easy task and you'd better seek help from professionals!
Click to expand...
I think there are quite a few professionals on these forums.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics 3.80
    Motherboard
    AMD ROG STRIX B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series (Intel XMP) DDR4 RAM 32GB (2x16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated
    Sound Card
    on-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell s2425hs
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    INTEL SSD 730 series 240 GB. and SamSung 840 Evo ssd 500 GB.
    PSU
    CORSAIR - RMe Series 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
    Case
    COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced
    Cooling
    AMD Wraith Stealth cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech 520
    Mouse
    Logitech 310
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
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