Bootmgr missing, 0 OS, no Rebuildbcd

Ace2213 · 12 Feb 2013

(first post so please pardon any violations)
(if you feel this should be moved to the Win8 section feel free to move it, I just don't believe it to be relevant)
(Please don't tell me to Google stuff as I've already done my research and exhausted Google)
(I'm currently using my iPhone as I do not have a secondary computer ATM. As such, I can't use SysInfo, but feel free to ask as I know my laptop pretty damn well)

ADDITIONAL INFO THAT MAY BE RELEVANT, NOT THE ISSUE ITSELF

I have a dual boot set up of Win7 Ultimate x64 and Win8 Pro. My main OS is 7 though as it resides on my C drive. D is for all my data, including special folders (Desktop, Libraries, Downloads, etc). C is compressed, and everything is <u>FINE</u>. A few weeks ago, I shrunk D by 20 Gigs hoping to expand C, but C wouldn't expand, so I set the destination of the new partition under C, but that obviously didn't work so I just left it. Last week, to install 8, I shrunk D by another 30, deleted the new (20 gig) partition, joined both and named them Win8.

PROBLEM ITSELF

The other day, I ran into a tool that allows you to change your OEM logo (pretty harmless, right ?) so I started playing around with it, and settled on the Core 2 Quad logo, to feel like a badass. Then, I saw a button (on the same window, right under all the logos you can select from) that said "install/uninstall loader" by curiousity made me press it, with faith in the programmer that it will provide me with a list of choices (that will help me figure out what it is) or at the very least a conformation prompt. Neither. "Installing loader" Cancel, close to no avail. "Your Windows will now restart". When it did, "bootmgr is compressed". Looked around online and thought easy peasy. DLed the Win7 recovery disk iso, put it on my flash drive, booted full of hope, then they all crashed after nothing worked. Fixmbr and the second comand return a highly optimistic "Operation successful!" message, but the problem isn't solved. Tried Rebuildbcd, 0 OS found. ScanOs, 0 OS found. Someone online had a similar problem and was told to select the Win partition as active using DISK. Didnt work for me. No disk found. No partition found. Now before you gonand tell me to go buy a new HDD, I'll have you know that mine is new, less than 6 months with it. Besides, I ran the self-assessments from the HP BIOS, which include startup test, HDD test, memory test (I'm assuming the third is the same one offered by the WinRE disk) and it finished all the tests completely and said passed. On my original HDD, it never made it past 10% through the HDD test, and it turned out to be corrupt.

MY THOUGHTS ON POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Here's what I think. Either I've installed some messed up boot loader, in which case I need the original, stock Windows boot loader (idk jack shit about custom boot loaders), along with instructions on how to install it. Or, a way to uncompress/reinstall (WinRE startup assessment said it's missing, not compressed) bootmgr, also along with instructions on how to do so, which will probably include instructions on how to make my HDD discoverable again. Or, if all else absolutely fails, I'll be forced to format my C partition and reinstall Windows, without having to do anything to D and E (data and Win8, respectively).

Thank you in advance for your help and I really hope to hear from you soon, as my laptop is currently no more than a charger for my iPhone

gregrocker · 12 Feb 2013

Have you run BootMGR Compressed Message at Boot Fix fix?

If not try that first.

Then boot into Win7 DVD or System Repair Disk to confirm Win7 or it's 100mb SysReserved partition is marked Active, then run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times with reboots no matter what it reports. Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)

If this fail boot into Win8 DVD or Repair CD to run Windows 8 Automatic Repair.

There are other steps here including to rescue your files and if necessary reinstall: Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start

Bumpkin · 12 Feb 2013

If the instructions given by Greg don't fix the problem, try this.

Boot with your Install or Repair disc.
1. go to go to CMD and enter your OS drive (usualy C:\)
2. enter bootrec /FixMbr
3. enter bootrec /fixboot
4. enter bootrec /rebuildbcd
5. enter exit
6. remove the boot disc and restart your computer

The drive will still be compressed except for the MBR.

Ace2213 · 13 Feb 2013

Bumbkin, I've already tried that, as stated in the post.

Greg, I feel extremely silly right now, as I've tried many of the methods you listed with no success, but the simplest solution never occured to me- uncompressing C via Load Drivers. I probably didn't want to consider it as I know have under 4 gigs free on C, after moving several folders to give space for the decompression. Would it be safe for me to recompress C while manually excluding anything boot related ? And like I said in the OP, C has been depressed for several weeks without any issues. Why now ? And why did uncompressing C fix it ? All these unanswered questions lead me to believe that the underlying issue still exists, with obvious interest in wanting to solve it before anything goes haywire again.

Thank you very much for fixing my laptop, you're truly a lifesaver. Now, I'll mark the thread as solved, but I'm still interested in understanding what exactly happened, as it doesn't make much sense. Happy pre-Valentine Wednesday everyone!

gregrocker · 13 Feb 2013

Never compress an OS drive or you risk OS failure when the boot files compress.

You can separate your data to another storage drive to compress it. Link User folders copied there to the related Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums or User Folders - Change Default Location