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29 April 2019  John Weaver  Senior Program Developer
 

Summary
Some users reported that they encountered an error code 0xc0000428 upon startup and couldn’t get into the system. Read this article, you will find out the reasons of error code 0xc0000428 and solutions of fixing it.



About Error Code 0xc0000428

When there’s an error code 0xc0000428 on the screen, you could see a message “Windows can’t verify the digital signature for this file: \Windows\System32\winload.exe – Error code: 0xc0000428“

0xc0000428 error on startup usually can be caused by outdated BOOTMGR after system update. Besides, Windows can’t verify the digital signature for the newly installed hardware or software, which will also cause 0xc0000428 error. In this case, the 0xc0000428 error screen usually can be fixed by disabling driver signature enforcement.

Error code 0xc0000428

Reasons of 0xc0000428 Error

Reason 1: BOOTMGR Is Outdated

If BOOTMGR is not updated properly after you update a new version of Windows, the error 0xc0000428 may occur. Besides, some users have installed two operating systems on the PC and they also encounter an error 0xc0000428 on startup. It is because the old version of BOOTMGR is still in use or there’s no boot record for the newly installed operating system. Then the new system can’t boot properly.

Reason 2: Windows Can’t Verify Digital Signature for Recent Hardware or Software

A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that can’t be verified, which also can cause the 0xc0000428 error. All drivers need to be signed correctly or verified by Microsoft before they can be used.
If you are encountering the error 0xc0000428 and wonder how to deal with it, it’s suggested to refer to the following 3 solutions to fix it.

Solutions to Fix Error Code 0xc0000428

Solution 1: Manually Update BOOTMGR

Step 1: Download and install Windows ISO file. And save it to a USB drive without any files and data.
Step 2: Connect the USB drive to the PC. Enter the BIOS utility, change the boot order and boot the PC from the USB drive.
Firstly, please hold a hot key to enter the BIOS menu and put CD-ROM or Removable Devices as the first choice. Please click here to know about how to change the boot order of your computer. After changing it successfully, please remember to save your setting and then restart your PC.
change boot order
Step 3: After the PC starts successfully, click “Repair your computer” in the “Windows Setup” window.
Repair your computer
Step 4: After you go into Windows Recovery Environment, navigate to “Troubleshoot” > “Advanced Options”> “Command Prompt”.
command prompt
Step 5: In the command prompt, type in: bcdboot d:\windows /s c:. Press Enter.
  • d:\Windows refers to the directory of  Windows installation folder. Please type in correct drive letter of the system disk on your PC.
  • c: refers to the boot partition. Please type in correct drive letter of your active boot partition.
create boot files

Solution 2: Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

Step 1: Download and install Windows ISO file. And save it to a USB drive without any files and data
Step 2: Connect the USB drive to the PC. Enter the BIOS utility, change the boot order and boot the PC from the USB drive.
Firstly, please hold a hot key to enter the BIOS menu and put CD-ROM or Removable Devices as the first choice. Please click here to know about how to change the boot order of your computer. After changing it successfully, please remember to save your setting and then restart your PC.
change boot order
Step 3: After the PC starts successfully, click “Repair your computer” in the “Windows Setup” window.
Repair your computer
Step 4: After you go into Windows Recovery Environment, navigate to “Troubleshoot” > “Advanced Options”> “Startup Settings”. And then please click “Restart“.
select startup settings in advanced options
Step 5: After restarting the PC, press 7 or F7 to disable driver signature enforcement.
disable driver signature enforcement

Solution 3: Use Startup Repair in Windows Recovery Environment

Step 1: Download and install Windows ISO file. And save it to a USB drive without any files and data
Step 2: Connect the USB drive to the PC. Enter the BIOS utility, change the boot order and boot the PC from the USB drive.
change boot order
Step 3: After the PC starts successfully, click “Repair your computer” in the “Windows Setup” window.
Repair your computer
Step 4: After you go into Windows Recovery Environment, navigate to “Troubleshoot” > “Advanced Options”> “Startup Repair”.
startup repair in Windows
Step 5: Restart the PC after the repairing process finishes.