Solved: The Boot Configuration Data Store Could Not Be Opened

User Case

Some Windows users have reported the "Boot configuration data store could not be opened" error when trying to run the BCDEdit command in Command Prompt. Most of the time, this error is accompanied by a sub-error such as "Access is denied" or "The requested system device cannot be found". This issue is not unique to a particular Windows version, as it is confirmed to occur on Windows 7, Windows 8 / 8.1 and Windows 10, 11.

What Is BCD and BCDEdit?

Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store is an important Windows component where Windows boot options are stored based on the BIOS or UEFI boot mode of the computer. It provides a command-independent, firmware-independent boot options interface. You can manage the BCD and boot options with administrator-assigned privileges.

BCDEdit is a command line tool for managing Boot Configuration Data (BCD). It contains a store for describing boot applications and boot application settings. Speaking of its capabilities, BCDEdit can be used for a variety of purposes, including adding boot menu potions, modifying existing stores, and creating new stores from scratch.

What Causes the Error that the Boot Configuration Data Store Could Not Be Opened?

After analyzing a large number of user reports and posts, we found that the boot configuration data store could not be opened error often occurs when they improperly clone a disk using a third-party tool and then run the BCDEdit repair command. We found that the error is mainly related to the following reasons.

🔮 Command Prompt window do not have administrator privileges. Managing the BCD requires administrator privileges to access it. You may encounter this error if you are not running the BCDEdit repair command as an administrator.
🔮 Lost or corrupted Boot Configuration Data file: This is the boot cause of the boot configuration data store could not be opened error. You can try to rebuild the BCD to solve this problem.
🔮 The boot mode is not the same as the partition table of your disk. If the boot partition type is set to a different boot mode than the current one, the BCDEdit repair tool does not work properly and elicits the error that the boot configuration datastore could not be opened in Windows 11/10.

3 Ways to Fix the Boot Configuration Data Store Could Not Be Opened Error

If you are currently struggling to find a solution to the "Boot configuration data store could not be opened" error, you can refer to the several troubleshooting guides provided for you in this article. You can try these methods in turn until the error is resolved.

• Solution 1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator
• Solution 2. Change the Boot Mode
• Solution 3. Rebuild BCD
• Best Choice for Cloning Hard Drives Without Reinstalling the OS – No System Problems

Solution 1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator

In most cases, this particular problem occurs due to a permissions issue. This is more likely if the sub-message associated with the "Boot configuration data store could not be opened" error is "Access is denied". You need to access Command Prompt as administrator.

✨ Note: If your computer is not booting properly due to an error, you can first go to Advanced Boot Options (WinRE) and then run a Command Prompt from WinRE.

1. Type cmd in the Windows search box, then right-click on the Command Prompt application from the top results and select Run as Administrator.

2. When you’re prompted by the UAC (User Account Control), click Yes to grant administrative privileges.
3. Once you’re inside the elevated Command Prompt, perform the same operation that was previously triggering the ‘Boot configuration data store could not be opened’ error and see it has been resolved.

Solution 2. Change the Boot Mode

As mentioned above, you need to make sure that the partition you are booting from is the same type of boot mode (BIOS or UEFI). If it is not, the error "The boot configuration data store could not be opened, the requested system device cannot be found" will appear. In this case, you can try to change the boot mode to suit your partition type.

1. Start your computer and then hold down the F2 and Delete buttons before your computer boots. You will then enter the BIOS.

✨ Note: BIOS hotkeys may vary from PC manufacturer to PC manufacturer. Most modern motherboards use the Delete or F2 key. Usually, you can see a message on the Windows boot screen telling you which key to press to enter the BIOS.

2. Use the left or right click to navigate to the Boot tab and change the Boot Mode to the type set for your boot partition. If the partition table is set to MBR, you should select Legacy BIOS. If the partition is set to GPT, then select UEFI boot mode.

3. Once the boot mode has been changed, save the current configuration and restart the computer.

Solution 3. Rebuild BCD

If none of the above methods can fix the "The boot configuration data store could not be opened" error, you can consider rebuilding the BCD manually in WinRE. To do so, you need to use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

1. Insert the installation media into your computer and boot from the media.
2. After booting, click Next -> Repair Your Computer -> Troubleshoot -> Command Prompt in order.

3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands in order and click Enter after each command.

• bootrec /fixmbr
• bootrec /fixboot
• bootrec /scanos
• bootrec /rebuildbcd

Best Choice for Cloning Hard Drives Without Reinstalling the OS – No System Problems

As mentioned before, the "The boot configuration data store could not be opened" error occurs mainly after cloning one disk to another using some cloning software. The user in the previous case was using Macrium Reflect. And besides this tool, there are many other trusted disk cloning tools, such as AOMEI Backupper, which will ensure that you can successfully boot your computer after cloning without encountering any system problems.

🎠 3 types of cloning. Disk Clone (copies the entire disk), System Clone (copies only the system partition and system related partitions), and Partition Clone (clones partitions or volumes on the disk).
🎄 Support cloning various types and brands of disks. Such as HDD, SATA SSD, NVMe SSD, M.2 SSD, USB drive, SD card, etc. Various brands including Intel, Inland, Kingston, WD Blue, Samsung, etc.
🎭 2 cloning methods. Intelligent Clone (default) and Sector-by-Sector Clone. By default, this disk cloning software will only clone the existing data on the disk (the used sectors). If you want to clone all sectors on the source disk, whether it is used or not, try the latter one.
🎃 Disk Erase is supported. You can use it to erase old hard disks for reuse or to protect your private data before discarding the old one.

This software is not just a clone, it also provides you with backup, synchronization, recovery and other functions. Click the download button below to try it out.

1. Start AOMEI Backupper, you will see a dark blue interface. Click Clone ->Disk Clone.

2. Select the original hard drive as the source disk that you want to replace, and then click on Next.

3. Select another hard drive as the destination path.

4. Then confirm the Operation Summary and click Start Clone. If your target disk is an SSD, remember to check the SSD Alignment option, which can improve the write and read speed of SSD disks.

Tips✍: Edit partitions: This feature is very useful if you clone disk to larger disk. It can help you adjust the partition size of destination disk and avoid unallocated space after cloning.

5. Click Finish when all the disk cloning operations have been done.

Summary

If you are troubled by the problem that "The boot configuration data store could not be opened" after cloning your disk, you can find the appropriate solution after reading this article. After solving the problem, you can also clone the disk with the help of another reliable cloning software (AOMEI Backupper) introduced for you in the article. It is trusted by many users and they have not encountered any problems after cloning.