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Windows 11 won't boot on a Lenovo Yoga 7i

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jsaeg12 0 Reputation points
2026-06-05T01:17:23.57+00:00

Hello, I own a Lenovo Yoga 7i 14IML9 that won't boot Windows. I tried to boot the installation media made with the official Media Creation Tool, and that also won't boot. Rufus gives an error (FAIL: Windows bootmgr encountered a security violation or internal error), and Ventoy reboots after saying "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD..." I also tested Linux Mint, and strangely enough, it boots fine. I already disabled Secure Boot, Device Guard, Intel PTT, and Intel VT-d, and it still won't work.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-05T01:17:44.6633333+00:00

    Windows not booting while Linux Mint does, plus the Rufus error about a Secure Boot security violation, strongly suggests a firmware/Secure Boot configuration or corrupted Windows boot files rather than a hardware fault.

    Follow these steps in order:

    1. Re‑enable and correctly configure UEFI + Secure Boot
      1. From Windows (if it ever boots) or from power‑on, enter the UEFI firmware (often F1/F2/F12/Esc on Lenovo; check the splash screen or Lenovo docs).
      2. Ensure the system is set to pure UEFI mode (disable Legacy/CSM if present).
      3. Set the boot mode so that UEFI is the first or only option.
      4. Re‑enable Secure Boot and set it to factory defaults if that option exists.
        • On many devices there is a “Reset to factory keys” or similar option. Use “Reset” (not “Clear”) to restore the default Secure Boot variables.
      5. Save changes and reboot.
      This aligns the firmware with what Windows 11 expects. Windows 11 requires UEFI and is designed to run with Secure Boot enabled.
    2. Try booting the official Windows installation media again
      1. Use the USB created by the official Media Creation Tool.
      2. From a powered‑off state, power on and use the boot menu key (often F12 on Lenovo) to explicitly select the UEFI entry for the USB.
      3. If it still fails with a Secure Boot violation, repeat step 1 and confirm Secure Boot keys were reset to factory defaults.
    3. If the internal Windows installation is corrupted, repair the EFI boot partition If the device previously had Windows 11 and now fails to boot, the EFI system partition may be damaged. The documented recovery procedure is:
      1. Enter UEFI firmware and temporarily turn off Secure Boot.
      2. Reset Secure Boot keys to factory defaults if available.
      3. Boot Windows from the system disk if possible; if it boots:
        • Open an elevated Command Prompt and run: 
                  mountvol S: /s
        del S:\*.* /f /s /q
        bcdboot %systemroot% /s S:
        • After “Boot files successfully created.”, restart.
      4. If Windows still cannot start, plan to reinstall Windows (next step).
      5. After successful boot or reinstall, re‑enable Secure Boot in UEFI.
    4. If neither existing Windows nor the installer will boot, reinstall Windows with installation media
      1. On another working PC, recreate the Windows 11 installation USB using the official Media Creation Tool.
      2. On the Yoga 7i, boot from that USB via the UEFI boot menu.
      3. If all recovery options fail and the installer still will not start, fully reinstall Windows from that media.
    5. If recovery options fail entirely If the PC does not respond to Startup Repair, System Restore, or booting from installation media, the documented path is to reinstall Windows completely using installation media created on another PC.

    If after these steps the Windows installer still cannot boot while Linux continues to work, the next step is to contact Lenovo support, as this would point to a firmware implementation issue specific to that model.

    References:

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