Why did removing Linux cause this?

If Linux GRUB was in the EFI partition and you deleted it, the BCD or EFI boot entries may have been damaged in the process.

What is the difference between 0xC0000098 and 0xC0000034?

0xC0000034 means the BCD file is completely missing. 0xC0000098 means the BCD exists but has no valid Windows OS entry in it.

Windows Boot Error 0xC0000098 — BCD Missing OS Entry

Criticalboot

Overview

Windows boot error 0xC0000098 indicates the Boot Configuration Data does not contain a valid OS entry, preventing Windows from identifying which operating system to start.

Key Details

Error 0xC0000098: 'The Windows Boot Configuration Data file does not contain a valid OS entry'
The BCD store exists but has no entry pointing to a Windows installation
Different from 0xC0000034 where the BCD file itself is missing
Can occur after dual-boot removal, partition changes, or failed Windows repair
The Windows installation still exists on disk — only the boot pointer is lost

Common Causes

BCD OS entry deleted during dual-boot removal (e.g., removing Linux GRUB)
Partition letter assignments changed, making BCD entries point to wrong locations
Failed Windows repair or startup fix that removed the OS entry
Disk cloning or partition resizing changing volume offsets
Corruption of the BCD store during power loss

Steps

1Boot from Windows installation USB > Repair your computer > Command Prompt
2Run: bootrec /rebuildbcd — it should find the Windows installation and offer to add it
3If rebuildbcd finds 0 installations: verify with dir C:\Windows to confirm Windows exists
4Manually add entry: bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f ALL (where S: is the system partition)
5If the drive letter is wrong: use diskpart > list volume to find the correct Windows partition