Windows 7 Startup Repair Loop (Boot manager failed to find OS Loader)

Ok, I'll update you with the details once I get on to it! I need to sleep now :)

Be sure to download the Bootable Partition Manager| MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable Edition 64 bits.
As you have a UEFI BIOS you don't need to use RUFUS. Just extract the iso to a USB flash drive and boot on UEFI mode.
Take a photo of your disk and attach here.

Hey, I realised I missed out one of your posts, so I'll answer your questions here.

Megahertz07 said:

Did you launch HP update? It could update the BIOS.

I launched HP update quite a while back before I encountered this problem. There was an update for the BIOS, but I remember it was not carried out (the update).

Megahertz07 said:

Did you did any kind of partition change to the disk?

None.

Megahertz07 said:

Your BIOS type is UEFI not Legacy. The commands you gave are for Legacy.
I've looked at he manual http://h20566.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/p...r_na-c04357136

I just checked my Boot Mode in my BIOS options again, and it actually says its Legacy, not UEFI.

Megahertz07 said:

To boot to a divice: (pag86)
To dynamically choose the boot device, by pressing esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and then pressing f9 to enter the Boot Device Options menu.

Yeah, this is how I've been booting from removable media all along :)

Megahertz07 said:

Did you try to boot the Kali Linux on USB on UEFI mode?

Since the BIOS is actually Legacy... what should I do?

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Nevertheless, I set up MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable. Since my BIOS is actually Legacy, I still used Rufus to set up the bootable USB. It booted successfully via USB, and I've attached the image below.

(This might hint that the "Bootmgr is missing" issue only applies to the USB with Kali Linux? This current USB with MiniTool is a different USB as compared to the one with Kali. Maybe I'll reformat that USB again, though it's not very important to get Kali working right. Main issue is still the Startup Repair loop!)

Does the Windows Partition also has a System after Active&Boot (Active&Boot&System)?

Yeah, there is. Just booted from it to check again :)

I have asked for more help. I really don't know what is missing.

Alright.

Just a reminder that the original problem was the Startup Repair loop: "The diagnostic and repair details from Startup Repair showed that the "root cause found" was that the "Boot manager failed to find OS Loader", and the repair action for "File repair" and "Boot configuration data store repair failed"."

followed by the winload.exe error by Windows Boot Manager in which Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file for \Windows\System32\winload.exe, after I attempted some fixes.

and finally back to the Startup Repair Loop after I attempted some more fixes. (all the details are in the original post, except maybe I forgot some stuff that I had tried)

Hope I can get help! This is not an easy issue..

The screenshot in reply #13 looks odd. Assuming the computer originally came with Win7, I think HP systems normally default to the first partition ("SYSTEM") as active, but the screenshot shows partition 2 is active. If the repair attempts were looking for the BCD and boot loader files on the wrong partition, that could explain why they failed.

You have MiniTool Partition Wizard, so if it were me I would use that to set the first partition active (from menu tool bar, "Partition"->"Modify"->"Set Active"). Then reboot from the HDD and see if it boots or if Startup Repair gets any further.

lehnerus2000 said:

Can you get access to (or create) a Live Linux CD/DVD/USB Distro?

You could use it to recover your data to an external storage device.
Remember to copy your drivers, program installers and product keys as well.

Once your data is safe, you could reinstall Windows using the laptop's restore partition/tool.

Yeah, I could create a Live Linux USB. I have actually copied all the files on the hard disk to an external storage device using CMD via the Windows Recovery Disc. I'm not sure how I would go about using that data to restore though, as well as how to copy the drivers, program installers and product keys.

dg1261 said:

The screenshot in reply #13 looks odd. Assuming the computer originally came with Win7, I think HP systems normally default to the first partition ("SYSTEM") as active, but the screenshot shows partition 2 is active. If the repair attempts were looking for the BCD and boot loader files on the wrong partition, that could explain why they failed.

You have MiniTool Partition Wizard, so if it were me I would use that to set the first partition active (from menu tool bar, "Partition"->"Modify"->"Set Active"). Then reboot from the HDD and see if it boots or if Startup Repair gets any further.

If I'm not wrong, the active partition was actually SYSTEM at first. I then tried making Windows C: the active partition instead, in attempt to resolve the error by Windows Boot Manager in which Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file for \Windows\System32\winload.exe. This action seemed to eliminate the error, bringing me back to the Startup Repair Loop.

I'll try making the first partition (SYSTEM) active again. I think I saw the BCD and boot loader files on the C: drive? I could take a screenshot for you, if you want :)