If you encounter the “Could not locate efi\boot\bootx64.efi” error while installing Windows 10 or Windows 11, the solutions provided in this article will help you. This error is usually associated with the system architecture. However, the corrupted Windows installation media can also trigger it.
Fix Could not locate efi\boot\bootx64.efi error in Windows 11/10
The error “Could not locate efi\boot\bootx64.efi” usually occurs if you try to install a 32-bit Windows OS on a 64-bit architecture and vice-versa. However, this is not the case with Windows 11, as it is only available in 64-bit. Another cause of this error is the corrupted installation media. If you cannot install Windows 11/10 on your system due to this error, use these fixes:
- Repair Windows with installation media
- Check your processor’s architecture
- Check the boot order
- Reset your BIOS and create the installation media again
- Hardware fault
All these fixes are explained below in detail:
1] Repair Windows with installation media
Some users encountered this error after installing Windows 11 on their system. In such a case, you can repair Windows 11. You cannot boot into your system until you fix this error. Hence, in this case, you can use Windows installation media to repair Windows 11.
Open a working computer and download the Media Creation Tool from the official Microsoft website. Run the Media Creation Tool, insert a USB Flash Drive into the USB port, and create an installation media. Now, use this bootable USB Flash Drive to repair your system.
2] Check your processor’s architecture
Windows 11 is only available in 64-bit architecture. Therefore, you cannot install it on a system with 32-bit architecture. If you are installing Windows 10 or an earlier version of Windows and this error is happening, check your system’s architecture.
To check your system’s architecture, open settings and go to System > About. Expand the Device Specifications tab. You will see your processor’s architecture there. The x64-based processor represents a 64-bit CPU and the x86-based processor represents a 32-bit CPU.
Now, based on your system’s architecture, create an installation media with the correct Windows ISO file. This should fix this error.
3] Check the boot order
The error message indicates that your computer is unable to locate the boot file necessary to boot the Windows. This can happen when the boot order is incorrect. Boot in the BIOS of your system and check the boot order. Computers of different brands have different keys to enter the BIOS. Refer to the user manual of your computer to know the correct BIOS key. The steps to check and change the boot order are also available in the user manual. If the required hard drive or SSD is not selected in the boot order, select it.
4] Reset your BIOS and create the installation media again
if the issue persists, reset your system’s BIOS to the default values. After resetting the BIOS, create the installation media again. You can use a third-party tool, like Rufus to create a bootable USB Flash Drive with Windows installation media.
Correctly select the partition scheme and File System while creating the bootable USB Flash Drive using Rufus. You can check the partition table of your hard disk via the Disk Management app.
5] Hardware fault
If the issue persists despite trying the above fixes, the problem may be associated with your hard drive. Maybe the hard drive is damaged. To check this, you need a hard disk case. The hard disk case connects the internal hard disk to a computer externally.
Turn off your computer, open its case, and dismount the hard disk. Now, connect the hard disk externally to a working computer using the hard disk case. This will tell you whether the hard disk is faulty.
How to fix an EFI problem?
To fix an EFI problem, you can repair the EFI Bootloader by using the rebuildbcd command. Before doing this, run the command ren BCD BCD.bak to back up the old BCD. The bootrec /rebuildbcd command rebuilds the Boot Configuration Data file.
Can I delete boot EFI?
Deleting the boot EFI partition is not recommended. The EFI boot partition contains essential files your system requires to boot into Windows. Deleting the EFI boot partition will make your system unable to boot.
Read next: Boot failure detected in Windows.
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