Bootrec Fixboot Element Not Found in Windows 7, 8, 10- Fixed

“a few hours ago, my computer ran into a problem and it automatically start Automatic Repair. However, the startup repair does not work, saying “the problem is related to partition table but is unable to automatically fix it”.

I try to create an exact copy of BCD, but when I type bcdedit /import to restore it, I get an error saying the store does not exist. I haven’t made any changes in the past few weeks, so I don’t know what caused this. Any suggestions would be appreciated.”

Bootrec fixboot element not found error

When your computer run into boot issues, you will be asked to run bootrec /fixboot command. However, you may find that bootrec /fixboot does not fix your problem, such as, Windows automatic repair loop and it leads to “element not found” error in Windows 7/8/10 as well as Server 2008/2012/2016. That’s the problem we are going to solve today. Why you receive this error?

Most commonly, the reasons for this error are inactive system partition, EFI partition without a drive letter, damaged BCD or MBR.

After having a general understanding of this error, you may wander how to fix bootrec fixboot element not found. But, before that, you should go to safe mode and create a system backup or disk backup for your computer. If you cannot go to safe mode, you can create a bootable media or repair disk on a working computer first.

Backup your computer just in case

Creating a backup won’t make things worse. With it, you can restore your computer to an earlier date. At least, you can restore files from backup if the hard drive is corrupted.

To create a backup, you need a good backup software. AOMEI Backupper Standard is worth a shot. It’s easy to use and free. And it offers you all the basic backup solutions, including System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, File Backup. Also, it supports corresponding restore solutions, such as, System Restore, Disk Restore, etc.

It can satisfy all your basic needs. If you want more advanced features, you can upgarde to AOMEI Backupper Professional or AOMEI Backupper Server. It allows you to backup when USB plugged in, run differential backup, delete backup files with a specific role, etc.

Now, see the detailed steps to backup system.

Step 1. Restart your computer several times and then select Safe Mode with Networking.

Step 2. Download AOMEI Backupper Standard, install and launch it. Connect USB or external drive to your computer and make sure it can be detected.

Step 3. Click Backup and System Backup.

Step 4. Select the destination path for your backup.

Step 5. Click Start Backup and wait until the operation is completed. Click Finish and safely remove your device.

How to fix bootrec fixboot element not found

Now, coming to our point, bootrec /fixboot return element not found - how to solve. Before any operation, You should think about the following questions first..

1. Your system partition is active or not. If you are not sure, you can go to comamnd prompt, type list disk > select disk 0(0 refers to the disk with boot issues)> detail disk > list partition > select partition 1 (1 is the number of system partition) > detail partition, then check the Active option. If it says Yes, the system partition is active. If not, it’s inactive.

2. What is the partition style of your disk?

3. Do you convert MBR to GPT disk before you get bootrec fixboot element not found in Windows 7/8/10.

Then, you need to start your computer with repair disc or installation disc, then go to command prompt.

Fix 1: Activate system partition

If your system partition is inactive, you need to ask bootable media for help and activated it. The detailed steps are below.

Step 1. Type the following commands in the pop-up window and hit Enter after each one.

diskpart

list disk

select disk n (n is the disk with boot issues)

list partition

select partition m (m is the drive letter of your system partition)

activate

exit

Step 2. Restart your computer and try bootrec commands again.

Fix 2: bootrec fixboot element not found on GPT

If you recently convert MBR disk to GPT, your problem may be caused by no drive letter assigned to EFI partition. EFI partition is used to store the BOOTMGR and BCD files, which is required to boot your computer. Thus, you are supposed to assign a drive letter for the EFI partition.

Step 1. Go to command prompt and type diskpart in the window.

Step 2. copy the following commands one by one and paste it to command prompt window. Please remember to press Enter to run these commands.

List volume

Select volume r (r is the EFI partition)

Assign letter=s

Exit

Step 3. Restart your computer to make changes available. Then, try to run bootrec / fixboot command.

If you receive bootrec fixboot element not found on MBR, you can try to rebuild MBR with AOMEI Partition Assistant.

FIX 4: Bootrec fixboot returns element not found

Corrupted BCD is one of the reasons for bootrec issue. You can try to repair BCD and see if it works.

Step 1. Get to command prompt and type the following commands, then hit Enter.

cd /d b:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot(b is the drive letter of bootable drive)

bootrec /fixboot

ren BCD BCD.bak

bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb /s b: /f ALL (the /f ALL updates the BIOS settings including UEFI firmware/NVRAM; the /l en-gb localize for UK/GB locale.)

Step 2. reboot your computer.

Fix 5: CMD bootrec fixboot element not found

This way is referenced in the forum and some users say that it’s very useful. You can try it if you don’t have any clue for your problem.

Step 1. Open CMD via bootable media, type the following commands and hit Enter to run it.

chkdsk C: /r (C: refers to the drive letter of system partition)

bcdboot C: \windows

Step 2. Try the bootrec commands and see if there are any error message.

In the end

Any operation has potential risks, but you don’t know or find it. Thus, before you start to resolve bootrec fixboot element not found, you need to create a backup for your computer.

AOMEI Backkupper Standard is a reliable backup and restore software, which can not only help you backup system but also assist you in restoring system image from external hard drive or other storage devices. Besides, it’s still a disk cloning software. You can use it to clone MBR disk to GPT, clone only os, move system reserved partition to another drive, etc.