How to resolve the ‘Failure when trying to copy startup files’ error

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Are you getting the error message “Failure when trying to copy startup files” on a Windows 7/8.1/10 PC? In this case, you won’t be able to copy or configure the boot files on your computer. But don’t worry! We can help you fix the “Failure when trying to copy startup files” error.

If you get the error message “Failure when trying to copy startup files”, this message will help you solve the problem. BCDBoot is a command-line utility that is used to configure boot files so that when you turn on your computer it knows where to start or where Windows is.

The utility is also used to restore the system partition or boot menu, and to configure your computer to boot from a virtual hard disk.

BCDBoot is nothing more than a Windows command-line utility. It allows the user to add boot files to the PC or laptop. Thus, if you encounter an error when using BCDBoot for a new image or a new Windows PC. You encounter this error when trying to copy the boot files.

At the same time, the desktop computer cannot boot from the hard drive because of this error. The BCDBoot tool has many other advantages. Problems with the system partition or boot menu can be fixed. It also allows you to boot your PC from a virtual hard drive.

In this article, we will fix the error “Failure when trying to copy startup files”. To fix the error, follow the following basic and advanced troubleshooting steps.

What is the cause of the “Failure when trying to copy startup files” error message?

The error message seems to be caused by one main reason, i.e. the system partition is set to inactive mode.

If you are using the image on several computers at the same time, you should make sure that the system partition is active, otherwise, the bcdboot command will give you an error message.

It is also possible that the error message is related to corrupted boot files, but the probability is very low. Nevertheless, we will show you how to solve this problem.

Why does this error occur?

BCDBOOT is an integrated Windows utility that allows you to configure the operating system’s boot files and even restore the boot file in case of accidental damage.

However, there are many situations where users try to apply bcdboot to a new image and instead receive an error message, such as “Error when copying boot files”.

Usually, the error occurs when the system partition becomes inactive. The general rule is that the system partition must always be set to “active” when you try to create a new image with bcdboot, otherwise bcdboot will generate an error message.

In addition to the state of the system partition, corrupted boot files may also cause bcdboot to return an error. But in any case, the following methods will help you solve the problem immediately and restore your system.

So, without further ado, let’s start with methods to fix the “Error trying to copy boot files” error.

How to fix the “Failure when trying to copy startup files” error?



Copy the UEFI and BIOS files to your hard drive

Some users have confirmed that they have fixed the “Failure when attempting to copy the boot files” error by copying both UEFI and BIOS files to the hard drive. To do this, enter the command `bcdboot c:\windows /s s: /f ALL`.
The ALL at the end of this command ensures that the UEFI and BIOS files are copied.

Set the system partition as active

1.) The “Failure when trying to copy startup files” error can also be caused by an inactive system partition. To fix this, users should insert a bootable USB drive into their laptop or desktop computer.
2.) Turn on the laptop or desktop computer.
3.) In the Windows Setup window, click Restore Computer.
4.) Then select Troubleshooting and Advanced Options to open more options.
5.) Select Command Prompt to open a command prompt.
6.) At the prompt, type “Partition” and press Enter.
7.) Type “list disk” and press Return to display the list of disks, which probably contains only one disk.
8.) Then type “select disk 0” and press Return if it is the only disk in the list. Users with multiple disks choose the one that contains the Windows installation.
9.) Then type “list partition” and press Enter to display the list of partitions on the drive.
10.) Next, select the partition that contains your Windows installation. For example, type “select partition 2” if partition 2 contains Windows.
11.) Type “active” and press Enter to set the selected partition as active.
12/) Then type “exit” and press Enter to close the DiskPart utility.

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