Wiped Primary partition holding XP, now can't boot 7

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  1. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
       #1

    Wiped Primary partition holding XP, now can't boot 7


    From within windows 7 I used CCleaner to wipe my partition containing XP. When I rebooted, the system wouldn't start at all. I had forgotten that XP was setup on the first ~100gb of the drive as a partition (partition 1), and 7 was on the remaining (partition 2). So I'm guessing that I inadvertently wiped the MBR. I've been trying several methods for hours but cannot get windows to boot.

    At this point when I boot the computer, I get the message "BOOTMGR is missing". I have tried running the recovery Startup Repair and have tried using the four main (commands). Since that didn't work, I tried setting the partition former XP partition (partition 1) as active and running them again, then doing the same with the 7 partition (partition 2). With that still not working, I tried following this guide to bootsect, to no avail.

    Ideally I would remerge my two partitions, but I don't know if that is possible without messing anything else up. Otherwise I am fine having the former xp partition (partition 1) just be used for data, and windows 7 to work as-is (partition 2). I have the windows 7 installation disc as well as a gparted disc, along with access to a couple working windows pcs.

    Thank you for any help.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Sardonicus said:
    I previously followed that guide, it did not solve my issue. I ran the Startup Repair several times, before and after each new guide I followed to see if anything had changed. If I click the details after running the repair, it always reads the same, with the final step saying something along the lines of missing partition table but returning no errors. I can post the full output if it would be helpful.

    I should also mention that no matter what partition is set to active, no operating system is listed when I use the recovery mode and to the point where I need to "Use recovery tools". However, ScanOS and RebuildMBR find the 7 partition (partition 2) on drive E:\ - the xp partition (partition 1) is drive C:\.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3,056
    Windows 10
       #3

    Welcome to SF :) .
    In your situation I would use a different PC to make an emergency backup and start with a fresh install.

    1. https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...cy-backup.html
    2. Clean Install Windows 7
    3. Alternatively - Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #4

    YoYo155 said:
    Welcome to SF :) .
    In your situation I would use a different PC to make an emergency backup and start with a fresh install.

    1. https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...cy-backup.html
    2. Clean Install Windows 7
    3. Alternatively - Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
    Thank you. I have been reading the forums all afternoon and trying different guides but nothing seems to help. I think I ran into a similar problem in the past when messing with a couple linux installs and was able to fix it. If I have to do a full reinstall, I will probably just buy a newer computer and use my current drive as an external.

    Is there anyway to rebuild the boot totally? I don't understand why this is so complicated.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #5

    Have you run startup repair at least 3 times ?

    Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times

    Startup Repair
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,996
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
       #6

    zachary80 said:
    YoYo155 said:
    Welcome to SF :) .
    In your situation I would use a different PC to make an emergency backup and start with a fresh install.

    1. https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...cy-backup.html
    2. Clean Install Windows 7
    3. Alternatively - Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
    Thank you. I have been reading the forums all afternoon and trying different guides but nothing seems to help. I think I ran into a similar problem in the past when messing with a couple linux installs and was able to fix it. If I have to do a full reinstall, I will probably just buy a newer computer and use my current drive as an external.

    Is there anyway to rebuild the boot totally? I don't understand why this is so complicated.
    Did you run the Startup Repair at least 3 times?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Yes I have run Startup Repair at least 3 times. Which partition should I have set to active?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #8

    The Windows 7 partition.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Just to make sure I am doing this correctly, here are the steps I followed to set the windows 7 partition (partition 2) as active and then run Startup Repair 3 times ---
    1. Boot to Win7 disc, click Repair your computer.
    2. Select "Use recovery tools...", no operating system listed so click next.
    3. Click command prompt, change active: diskpart, list disk, select disk 0, list partition, select partition 2 (366gb size, 99gb offset), active, exit
    4. Click startup repair, more info: .... Root cause found: partition table does not have a valid System partition, repair action: Partition table repair, result: completed successfully.
    5. Reboot
    6. Repeat steps 1,2,4,5 twice
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Followed my above post, actually running Startup Repair 4 times, no progress yet.
      My Computer


 
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