Fixing “Winload.efi is Missing or Contains Errors” in Windows 10

Let’s consider one more common Windows 10 boot error that occurs due to the damaged or missing winload.efi file. The problem manifests itself in the following: Windows stops booting with a BSOD and the error message appears on the boot screen:

This error occurs when the system boot file \windows\system32\winload.efi is missing or its structure is corrupted. Typically, the problem comes up after performing an incorrect system update, if the disk or file system is damaged, when the disk is repartitioned using third-party tools, updating the antivirus, after cloning a Windows image to another drive, replacing the computer’s motherboard (or other significant hardware changes), etc.

The solution depends on whether you have used the UEFI or Legacy boot mode before the problem occurs. Next, consider the basic steps that will help you to fix this error and boot Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 correctly.

Enable Legacy Boot Mode (CSM) and Disable Secure Boot

Most computers with UEFI support can boot from both GPT partition table disks and legacy MBR disks.

The key to enter the UEFI menu depends on the device vendor. As a rule, these keys are F2, F8, Del or Esc. Or press the ESC button directly on the error screen

1. Try to enable CSM Boot compatibility mode in UEFI settings (in some versions of UEFI firmware it is called Legacy Boot);
2. Find and disable Secure Boot mode in the UEFI settings. The location of this setting also depends on the UEFI firmware. Usually, it can be found in the Security, Authentication, or Boot sections. On HP laptops the Secure Boot is located under the Security section. Change the Secure Boot mode to Disabled or Off;
   Tip. Earlier we already talked about what UEFI is and why you need the Secure Boot mode. Probably, the system boot error that is related to unavailability of the winload.efi file, will be fixed after disabling the Secure Boot mode in the UEFI settings.
3. Make sure that your hard disk is selected as the first boot device; Check the boot device priority. Make sure your Windows hard drive is selected as the primary boot device in the UEFI settings;
4. Save the changes and restart the computer;
5. If the UEFI Boot menu is available when the computer boots, try manually selecting the entry OS Boot Manager (UEFI) – Windows Boot Manager.

Use Automatic Startup Repair to Fix Windows Bootloader

Try to fix this error using Automatic System Repair tool. To do it:

1. Boot from Windows 10 install media (or bootable UEFI USB flash drive);
2. Click Repair your computer or press R;
3. Go to Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup repair;
4. The Recovery Wizard will start. Then follow its instructions.

If you don’t have Windows installation disk, you must restart the computer three times in a row by pressing the Power button until the WinRE recovery console screen appears. Select See advanced repair options. Then follow the instructions above.

Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection (ELAM) on Windows 10

If the previous methods did not fix the error with loading winload.efi, to disable ELAM (Early Launch Anti-Malware) Protection, which is enabled by default for the Windows bootloader.

To do it:

1. Do steps 1 and 2 from the Solution 2;
2. Go to Troubleshoot-> Advanced options -> Startup settings;
3. Restart your computer with the Restart button;
4. After the next boot the system will automatically open Startup Settings (by the way, from this step you can start Windows in the Safe Boot mode);
5. Press F8 to select the item 8) Disable early launch anti-malware protection.

Fix File System Errors and Run System Files Integrity Check

Check your disks for errors, there may be disk or file system errors on the partition with the winload.efi file. To check all the disks for errors and fix them, run the command:

chkdsk /f /r

After this, it is also recommended to check the integrity of the system files using the sfc tool. To use the sfc utility in offline mode, you need to specify the path to the system drive and the path to Windows folder. You can determine the drive letter assigned to the Windows partition with the command:

Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice"

Suppose, in your case this is a D: drive. The system file check integrity command looks like this:

sfc /scannow /offboot=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows

You also need to perform an offline check of the Windows Component Store using DISM. You need to compare your image with the original wim installation file of your Windows 10 build (suppose the original wim image is on drive E:):

Dism /image:D:\ /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:E:\sources\install.wim

Repair BCD and Winload.efi File for UEFI Device

If your Windows 10 was installed in native UEFI mode on a GPT disk, we recommend that you follow the instructions on how to recreate the Windows 10 EFI bootloader on UEFI devices. I recommend using the article on the link, everything is described there in detail. Here’s a short guide:

Boot your device from recovery/install media and open the command prompt:

1. Execute the command: diskpart
2. List the partitions on the disks: list volume
3. Find a partition labeled ESP or EFI with a size of 100 MB. Remember it (the size and name of the partition may differ depending on the version of Windows, but the main thing is that its file system must always be FAT32). If the EFI partition was accidentally deleted, it can be restored as follows;
4. Select this partition: select volume 2
5. Assign a drive letter to the partition: assign letter=Z
6. Exit the diskpart: exit
7. Now you need to re-create the bootloader configuration. Copy the boot files from the Windows directory: bcdboot c:\Windows /s Z: /f ALL (replace c:\ with the drive letter on which you have the Windows installed). If you did everything correctly, the message will appear:  Boot files successfully created;
8. Reboot your device and check if the boot problem with winload.efi file is fixed.

Rebuild the BCD and Master Boot Record using Bootrec and Bcdedit

If you have Windows installed in legacy BIOS mode (not in UEFI mode), then you can rebuild the boot records and the MBR bootloader using the bootrec tool.

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 from the Solution 2;
2. Go to Troubleshoot > Command Prompt;
3. In the command prompt , run the following commands one after another:
   • bootrec /FixMbr – writes the MBR to the system partition;
   • bootrec /FixBoot – overwrite a new boot sector on the system partition;
   • bootrec /ScanOs – scans the disk for the installed OSs;
   • bootrec /RebuildBcd – rebuild bootloader configuration.
4. Close the command prompt with the command:  exit
5. Restart your computer.

If the previous method did not help, you must rebuild the boot configuration file (BCD) for the MBR in the Recovery Console command prompt:
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device boot
bcdedit /set {default} device boot
bcdedit /set {default} osdevice boot
bcdedit /set {default} device partition=c:
bcdedit /set {default} osdevice partition=c:
bcdedit /set {default} path \windows\system32\winload.efi

Restart the computer and check if the problem is fixed.