XPS One 2710 Error Code: 0xc000000f

Question

'Old faithful' has let me down! Bought in 2013 as a Win7 device, upgraded to Win10 in 2015 and it has never missed a beat ... until now. Recent power failure while running resulted in endless repair loop on bootup. Ran diagnostics from BIOS, no faults detected. Successfully booted from USB and brought back to life from a restore point. Then an abnormal shutdown during the latest Win10 update. Endless repair loop on bootup again. Restored again using USB boot but this time had to go back to an older restore point to bring back to life. Ok, this is getting scary. Turned off Windows Update. Ordered a new Inspiron 27 7700. Accidentally interrupted power while moving Old Faithful to set up the new PC. Another abnormal shutdown ... you get the picture. This time it won't restore from Backups or System Image (I keep them all on an external backup drive), but it does give me the opportunity to reinstall Windows from the cloud so I do that. Success!!! Get bold and run all updates. Success!!!!   Young family don't have a PC so I figure on setting this up for them. Update BIOS to A14. Sweet. Run Dell Diagnostics and PC freezes, won't respond to CTRL ALT DEL. Use power button to turn off PC, now get Error Code: 0xc000000f 'your device needs to be repaired'. Over and over the same. Rats! chkdsk says no errors found but cannot run /f or /r switches because volume cannot be (locked/unlocked .. can't remember which now). I'm figure the problems are in the boot sector, would appreciate thoughts on whether I should just flick an new HDD into it. Thanks in advance.

speedstep · Accepted Answer

Your HDD is physically bad.

Auto Repair NEVER WORKS

RECOVERY

Your PC/Device needs to be repaired

The application or operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors.

File: \Windows\system32\winload.exe

Error code: 0xc000000f

You'll need to use recovery tools. If you don't have any installation media {like a disc or USB device), contact your PC administrator or PC\Device Manufacturer.

An OEM win10 DVD and new hard drive will get you to a point.

https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_xps_desktop/xps-one-27-2710-aio_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf

2710 HDD.png

https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home-64-bit-installation-recovery-disc-only-no-license-key-included/p/N82E16832350237

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-Drive-3-5-Inch/dp/B07H2RR55Q/

Recover your data files if any are still there via a dock

https://www.amazon.com/FIDECO-Dual-Bay-External-Duplicator-Function/dp/B07D6L5CJF

speedstep · Accepted Answer

'0xc000000f' is VERY specific. There are ZERO soft fixes for physically bad drives.  Given the age of the system this is not surprising or unexpected. Drives DIE. Its not a matter of IF they die its a matter of when. This is also why drives have 30 day to 3 year max warranty. Boot Manager cannot locate the BCD or Winboot.exe(Boot Configuration Database) file in the system32 for the following reasons: Corrupted file due to physical drive damage (Non ECC correctable)File missing from the system due to malware, and virus attacksDisk read errors due to physically bad sectors. It means well before the OS Loads Non optional files cannot be read from the drive. Recovery is not possible without getting a new drive and reinstalling then recovering data files if possible from the physically bad corrupted drive. Reinstall on a new known working drive is not optional.

notmanyifany1 · Accepted Answer

Installed the new HDD, and a fresh new scratch install of Win 10 Home instead of Win 10 upgraded from Win7. WOW! It is like new! So good in fact that I've now dropped an Intel AX200 wireless card in it to replace the original Dell 1703 802.11b/g/n card which did not seem to like operating in Win 10. Looks like there might be another 8 years left in Old Faithfull now!!!

notmanyifany1 · Answer

Hi Speedstep, thanks for your comments. The additional text in my error message is 'An unexpected error has occurred'. Given that your screenshots specifically report boot error maybe my HDD is okay and something else has tripped it up. Cheers.

notmanyifany1 · Answer

Thanks speedstep. I'll throw a new drive in. As mentioned before I already had everything backed up externally so no data is lost. And thanks for the links too! Saves me searching.

RoHe · Answer

Reboot and immediately start tapping F12. Look for Diagnostics option on that menu and run all of them, including the extended HDD tests. Copy error message, if any.

If no diagnostics error message, power the PC on and then off again when you see the Dell splash screen. Do it 3 time in a row.

After 3rd on/off cycle, PC should boot to Windows Recovery Environment. Follow the prompts for Troubleshooting and look for the Startup Repair option that may be able to fix boot problems.

Read this for details about using the RE, including using the Command Prompt if the automated Startup Repair option doesn't solve the problem.

notmanyifany1 · Answer

Thanks Ron, been down that rabbit hole many times in the last few days and there is no route out. Cheers

jharris91 · Answer

Have the same prob on a Vustro 3970 It's funny that, using tools, CHKDSK C: works fine.  Guess it does not check this boot area.  Worried it could be the ROM.

XPS Desktops

Was this post helpful?