[Solved] Bootrec Fixboot Access Denied

Many Windows users are reporting an issue with the command “bootrec /fixboot“. They receive an error message “Access is denied” when they run this command in the Windows RE (Recovery Environment).

This is very frustrating. You may be having an error on your Windows computer and you want to use this command to fix it. But you can’t because of the access denied error.

Don’t worry. This can be fixed… The following are a few methods that have helped many Windows users fix this issue.

Try these fixes

You may not have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.

1. Run the DiskPart command
2. Run Check Disk to fix your issues
3. Restore your system to fix your issues

Method 1: Run the DiskPart command

Your access may be denied because you’re having issues with your EFI system partition. To fix your issue, you should try using the DiskPart utility to reassign a drive letter to your EFI system partition and reformat it.

* EFI system partition is a partition that stores the boot loaders, applications and drivers required to start your computer.

* DiskPart is a command utility you can use to manage the partitions on your computer.

Here’s how you can do it:

1) Boot your computer from your Windows installation media, then run the Command Prompt in your Windows RE.

2) Type the following line and press Enter:

diskpart

3) Type the following line and press Enter to list all the disks on your computer:

lisk disk

4) Type the following line and press Enter to select your system disk:

select disk 0

(“0” here refers to the number of the disk you store your operating system. Usually it’s 0, but if not you should replace it with the number you use.)

5) Type the following line to list all the volumes on this drive:

list volume

6) Type the following line and press Enter:

(“#” here refers to your EFI volume number and it differs depending on your system configuration)

select volume #

7) Type the following line and press Enter to reassign a driver letter to this volume:

(In this example, we use the letter “s”. But it can be replaced by any other letter that hasn’t been used by the other volumes.)

assign letter=s:

8) Type the following line and press Enter to exit the DiskPart utility.

exit

9) Type the following line and press Enter:

(Replace the letter “s” with the letter you’ve chosen in step 7.)

s:

10) Type the following line and press Enter to reformat this volume:

(Replace the letter “s” with the letter you’ve chosen in step 7.)

format s: /fs:fat32

11) Type the following line and press Enter:

(Replace the letter “s” with the letter you’ve chosen in step 7.)

bcdboot c:\windows /s s: /f uefi

12) Close the Command Prompt and then open it again. Then check to see if you’re able to run the “bootrec /fixboot” command.

Hopefully, this works for you. But if not, you may need to use other fixes to resolve your computer issue instead of the bootrec /fixboot command. The following are two fixes you should try…

Method 2: Run Check Disk to fix your issues

You can run the Check Disk utility of Windows to fix your system issues.

Check Disk is a utility that can find and fix your system errors. You can run it from the command line using Command Prompt.

To run Check Disk:

1) Boot your computer from your Windows installation media, then run the Command Prompt in your Windows RE.

2) Type the following line and press Enter:

chkdsk c: /r

3) Wait for the process to complete, then check to see if you’re able run the “bootrec /fixboot” command.

If not, you should try the method below…

Method 3: Restore your system to fix your issues

Another effective way is to restore your system from a restore point. It’ll undo certain changes to your Windows system and help you fix your system errors.

NOTE: You can restore your Windows system only when you’ve previously created a restore point.

To restore your Windows system:

1) Boot your computer from your Windows installation media, then go to the menu where you find Command Prompt.

2) Select System Restore.

3) Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your system from a restore point.

Hopefully one of the fixes above helps you resolve your problem. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below.

By Jonny Lin

Jonny, a Microsoft Certified Professional, is a technical writer and technology enthusiast. He believes technology should bring users satisfaction, not annoyance, so he writes to help people overcome their tech troubles.

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