Error 0xc0000001 prevents Windows 8.1 from booting at all

SaraG

New Member
Messages
3
Background:

• Upgraded to Windows 8.1 preview from Windows 8, works fine for weeks.

• Randomly crashed one day. I believe it may have been waking from sleep mode when this happened. It cited:

"Recovery

Your PC needs to be repaired

The application or operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors.

File: c:\system32\winload.exe
Error code: 0xc0000001"

• I've tried many recovery paths. BCDedit, bcdboot, fixboot, Windows 8 & 8.1 recovery media. For all of these I think I am either doing them wrongly or I get an error message that says it can't access/edit the bit where Windows 8.1 preview is.

• On a different drive I have a copy of Windows 8 that I used to clone to the other harddrive (now containing crashed 8.1 preview) over a year ago. They are unrelated I believe.

• There's a suspicious lack of Windows related folders on the D:\ drive containing the crashed Windows 8.1. D:\windows doesn't exist and D:\WINDOWS only contains one folder: "logs". The other folders such as "program files" are all locked.


This issue has baffled me. Does anyone have any ideas?

Or, if you think it would help, logs or tests that I can provide to help clarify my issue?

Many thanks.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
While waiting for a reply, please run these free hardware diagnostics: Hardware Diagnostics
In particular, run the hard drive test on the hard drive that's missing the files (the D: drive)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Hi guys,

I really appreciate your prompt replies.

What I've done so far:

• I set up BSOD/crash reporting and booted into the failing drive (to the same error message as last time).

• I ran the SF Diagnostic Tool but it was only returning information on the drive that I'm booted into currently, the one which is working fine. Am I doing this wrong?

• Ran a third party hard drive diagnostics test (SeaTools) which encountered no errors at all - everything came back fine.

Apologies if I'm doing this wrong, many thanks for your help!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
It's a bit difficult to tell what's happening here.
The working installation of Windows may contain clues if hardware is at fault.

But we'll need more info from the faulting drive.
In particular, we'll need reports from the failed Windows installation

If, as I suspect, the installation has been wiped from your hard drive, then there won't be much of anything available.

So, upload the info from the SF Diagnostic tool and we'll see what we've got there.
We'll be able to see the hard drives that are connected to the system - and we can work on extracting info from them once we have an idea of the composition of the system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
View attachment 34045

Attached is the SF Diagnostic's dump.

I'm inclined to agree with your diagnosis, intrigued to wonder why Windows would randomly remove an installation though. Any ideas?

Also, any chance of salvaging any files?

Much appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I don't see any signs that may indicate hardware failure in the uploaded reports

According to the MSINFO32 report you have 2 drives - C: and D:
C: is 465 gB with 39 gB free
D: is 464 gB with 305 gB free

Presuming that D: is the lost installation, it seems that there are almost 160 gB on that drive.
If you have a "Users" directory on the D: drive, I would suggest backing it up now (even if it's locked) as it may be the only way to backup the data from there. If you do back it up, don't try to open it just yet - wait on the results of the malware scans I suggested in the next paragraph.

My first suspicion here is a virus. Please run a virus scan on the D: drive to see if it's infected. As there are some errors with your Microsoft Security, I'd suggest using an independent scanner. I list a bunch of free scans here: Free Online AntiMalware Resources
I am not a malware fighter, so I'd suggest posting over in the System Security forum for further assistance if you are infected: System Security - Windows 8 Forums

My next suspicion is a deletion of the Windows directory. If that's the case, you can use the free software from here to see if the data is recoverable: Data Recovery - Data Recovery Software - RAID Recovery - NAS Data Recovery
Be advised that actually recovering the data will cost about $80 (US) - the free program will only tell you if it's recoverable.
There is a free program that does this ( PC Inspector - kostenlose Software für die Datenrettung von CONVAR - Die Datenretter. ), but it's too confusing for me to use/explain. Frankly, I don't think that this is needed (as you can just reinstall Windows). Your personal data is contained in the Users directory, not the Windows directory.

This doesn't explain the locked directories - but they may just be the result of it being a different installation.
If that's the case, I'd try accessing one of them to see what response the system gives you (AFTER scanning for malware!!!)
If the system is infected, don't try this.

Beyond figuring out why this happened, I have to wonder if this is worth the time for you.
If you recover your data (from the Users folder, NOT the Windows folder) successfully (and without infection), the question then becomes one of what's most desirable for you.

We may never find out exactly what caused this - so I question if the time spent on this is worth the effort.
Repairing this installation may be an option, but then again it may take much more time than a fresh install
And, if you do repair it - then we have to wonder if this problem will crop up again.
IMO the most effective thing here is to:
1) Backup your personal data from the D: drive (the Users folder)
2) Wipe the D: drive clean with a program such as DBAN or KillDisk
3) Install Windows again on the D: drive, update it and customize it for your needs
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
hi
just thought id jump on this one as im having similar problems.
my windows will load up to the tile icons then go to blue screen and load up the tiles again(all tiles are blank)and keep looping.
ive had the same error code and my problems started christmas morning, about the same time as the original post.
ive found the system had updated on midnight of the 25th.
i had the night before transferred a lot of photos to my hard drive but no where near the capacity of the drive.

i have the error code of 0xc0000001 \windows\system32\winload.efi

ive tried in cmd
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuild

if i type bcdedit /enum /v i get

windows boot manager
identifier 9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795
device partition=\device\harddiskvolume 3
path \efi\microsoft\boot\bootmgfw.efi


windows boot loader

id d28cbc4c-0ae6-11e2-a149-9819565557f4
device partition=c:
path \windows\system32\winload.efi


ive tried recovery and it reinstalled windows and did the same thing.

any ideas.
many thanks andy
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Please run these free hardware diagnostics: Hardware Diagnostics. Let us know the results and we can move on from there.

Please provide this information so we can provide a complete analysis (from the Pinned Topic at the top of the forum): http://www.eightforums.com/bsod-cra...e-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

Please start your own topic. It's confusing to work 2 different systems in one topic. Also, most of us work from the oldest topics to the newest one's - and we're a bit behind right now..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
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