Troubleshoot Windows Server 2008 boot failure after exiting rescue mode

Rescue mode is a maintenance state that allows you access to an unresponsive server. You can use rescue mode to fix configuration problems or to copy your data and move it to another server.

Entering your server into rescue mode temporarily sets aside your original disk. Meanwhile, a new server builds based on the original stock image of your selected operating system (OS). Your original volume then attaches as a secondary device to the rescued instance. Then you have the opportunity to assign a drive letter to your existing drive in order to access it.

After the rescue image completes building, you receive an email with the new password for the temporary rescue mode image. After you enter rescue mode, you have 24 hours to repair your instance before it automatically reverts to the previous instance.

Some versions of the Windows® OS modify the original disk signature when mounting a secondary drive. If you reboot, you are likely to receive a winload.exe error or a 0xc000000e error. This situation occurs with the BCD boot loader and not with the NTLDR loader.

If you receive one of these errors, you can re-rescue the system and fix the boot loader so that it has the proper signature. Use the instructions in the following sections to edit the boot loader settings.

Windows Server 2008

Ensure that the volume has an automatically assigned drive letter, usually D:, by opening Computer Management. Right-click Disk 1 and then select On-line.

For Windows Server® 2008 SP2, the boot configuration data (BCD) store resides on the system partition. When you edit the boot loader settings, you need to ensure that the partition setting is the driver where the system partition is located. By putting the correct disk signature into the BCD store, the Windows server should boot properly.

To update the BCD store with the correct boot loader signature, you need the unique identifier of the Windows Boot Loader. Use the following command to display the settings of the boot loader:

bcdedit /store D:\boot\bcd

The output should look similar to the following example:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {bootmgr}
device                  partition=C:
description             Windows Boot Manager
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
default                 {ntldr}
displayorder            {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489}
toolsdisplayorder       {memdiag}
timeout                 30
resume                  No

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Microsoft Windows Server 2008
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              \Windows
resumeobject            {1d25cc4b-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489}
nx                      OptOut

Take note of the identifier listed under the Windows Boot Loader section. In this example, the identifier is {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489}.

The default path for the BCD store is \boot\bed, so if D: is the drive you are working with, the full path is D:\boot\bed.

Use the following commands to update the BCD store with the Windows Boot Loader identifier:

bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set <uniqueIdentifier> osdevice partition=<driveLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set <uniqueIdentifier> device partition=<driverLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set {bootmgr} device partition=<driveLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set {memdiag} device partition=<driverLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set {ntldr} device partition=<driveLetter>

The commands and output should look similar to the following example:

C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489} osdevice partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {memdiag} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {ntldr} device partition=d:
The operation completed successfully.

Windows Server 2008 R2

Open Computer Management, right-click Disk 1 and then select On-line. D: is the setting for the System Reserved Partition and E: is the setting for your original storage volume.

Note: Occasionally, the drive order flips so that E: is the setting for the System Reserved Partition and D: is the setting for the original storage volume.

For Windows Server 2008 R2, the BCD store resides on the boot partition, which is 100 MB in size. When you edit the boot loader settings, you need to ensure that the partition setting is the driver where the system partition is located. By putting the correct disk signature into the BCD store, the Windows server should boot properly.

To update the BCD store with the correct boot loader signature, you need the unique identifier of the Windows Boot Loader. Use the following command to display the settings of the boot loader:

bcdedit /store E:\boot\bcd

The output should look similar to the following example:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {bootmgr}
device                  partition=E:
description             Windows Boot Manager
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
default                 {ntldr}
resumeobject            {ca73fe20-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89}
displayorder            {ca73fe21-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89}
toolsdisplayorder       {memdiag}
timeout                 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {ca73fe21-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Windows Server 2008 R2
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence        {ca73fe24-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89}
recoveryenabled         Yes
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              Windows
resumeobject            {ca73fe20-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89}
nx                      OptOut

Take note of the identifier listed under the Windows Boot Loader section. In this example, the identifier is {1d25cc4a-fc03-11de-b973-d1d82d39e489}.

The default path for the BCD store is \boot\bed, so if E: is the drive you are working with, the full path is E:\boot\bed.

Use the following commands to update the BCD store with the Windows Boot Loader identifier:

bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set <uniqueIndentifier> osdevice partition=<driveLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set <uniqueIndentifier> osdevice partition=<driveLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set {bootmgr} device partition=<driveLetter>
bcdedit /store <fullPath> /set {memdiag} device partition=<driveLetter>

Note: The driveLetter that you use is for your original storage volume.

The commands and output should look similar to the following example:

C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {ca73fe21-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89} osdevice partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {ca73fe21-fc0c-11de-8f38-8e2c5384be89} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.
C:\Users\Administrator>bcdedit /store d:\boot\bcd /set {memdiag} device partition=e:
The operation completed successfully.