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

.
 

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Have you made backups?
 

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PerpetualCycle said:
Have you made backups?
Click to expand...
The system drive is not mine. It belongs to Mr. Zhang.
He has mentioned no backups, so I assume he has no backups.
If he had backups, he should have mentioned them.
 

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Windows 10
See what happens booting to Windows 11 MCT (Windows 11 iso) > troubleshoot > command prompt > startup repair
 

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Windows 10Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryTyp...NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
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Manufacturer/Model
HP
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Mobile Workstation
In this video, i will show you how to create EFI partition from within Windows Recovery Environment.

 

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Erica6
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Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
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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.
 

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ASUS Zenbook 14
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Yep, Laptop has one.
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Surely, there are billions of locals who could help him?
 

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    Acemagic LX15PRO
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    AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
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    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
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  • Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop
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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?
 

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Windows 10
FreeBooter said:
In this video, i will show you how to create EFI partition from within Windows Recovery Environment.
Click to expand...
Can he boot the PC from a Windows ISO file into "Advanced options"?
 

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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.
 

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Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 5700GMicron Technology DDR4-3200 16GBNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
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 My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
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)
cereberus said:
How did he post then?
Click to expand...
He booted his PC into Linux installed on the same system drive.
His PC could be booted into Linux but not Windows.
 

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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.
 

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Linux UOS Professional
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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.
 

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Linux UOS Professional
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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
 

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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 My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryTyp...NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
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
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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:

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    Win7,Win11i7-97002x16gb 3600mhz
    OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-9700
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x16gb 3600mhz
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    benq gw2480
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    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i

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    win7,win11i5-84002x8gb 3200
    Operating System
    win7,win11
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    CPU
    i5-8400
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    gigabyte b365m ds3h
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    2x8gb 3200
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    xfx pro 450
I think this is not an easy task and you'd better seek help from professionals!
 

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Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
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.
 

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Windows 11 proAMD Ryzen 7 5700XG.SKILL Ripjaws V Series (Intel XMP) DDR4 RAM...ASUS Dual GeForce RTX™ 4060 White Edition
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Windows 11 pro
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
custom build
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Motherboard
AMD ROG STRIX B550-F
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series (Intel XMP) DDR4 RAM 32GB (2x16GB)
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ASUS Dual GeForce RTX™ 4060 White Edition
Sound Card
on-board
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SAMSUNG 32-Inch Odyssey G50D Series
Screen Resolution
2560 x 1440
Hard Drives
Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB, ssd INTEL SSD 730 series 240 GB, and Samsung 840 Evo ssd 500 GB.
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CORSAIR - RMe Series 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Case
Antec 900 Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Computer Gaming Case
Cooling
ID-COOLING SE-214-XT Black CPU Cooler All-Black Layout
Keyboard
Logitech 520
Mouse
Logitech 310
Browser
Google Chrome
Antivirus
Windows Defender
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