Get "No Bootable Device" Error When Booting from Cloned Disk

Nick_01

I cloned my old HDD (installed Windows 10) to a new SSD using a cloning tool. The process completed without any errors. My BIOS sees the SSD, but when I try to boot from it, I get the error: "No bootable device".

What could have gone wrong? Why is this happening?

Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thanks in advance.

Larryb_mw

Nick_01 This usually happens when the SSD was cloned successfully, but the boot information was not copied correctly.

The most common causes include one or a combination of the following:

• The hidden EFI/System Reserved partition was not cloned

• BIOS boot mode does not match the disk type (like GPT→UEFI, MBR → Legacy/CSM)

• The Windows bootloader became corrupted during cloning

• The SSD is not set as the first boot device in BIOS

To fix this, check your PC is using MBR or GPT. If they do not match, change the BIOS setting or convert the disk style accordingly. Then enter BIOS and set the SSD or “Windows Boot Manager” as the first boot option. To avoid confusion, it is also recommended to temporarily disconnect the old HDD and test the SSD alone.

If the issue still exists, boot from a Windows installation USB and run Startup Repair first. If that does not work, rebuild the boot files manually with commands like:

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /rebuildbcd

Or you can try to reclone the entire disk instead of cloning only the Windows partition. During the process, make sure the EFI/System Reserved partition is included.