Windows failed to start - 0xc000000e -AutoRepair doenst help

Hello,

I'm using:
Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
for a while without a problem.
After creating a backup of an external hdd using acronis true image 10 I get the folllowing error when booting from the internal HDD that worked for years:

Windows Boot Manager:
Windows failed to start. A Recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your langugae settings, and then click next
3. Click "repair your computer."

Status: 0xc000000e
Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.


So I tried differnent things people advised here and in other forums.


Booted from Windows7-DVD and proceeded to "Repair My Computer"

The OS found was named as "Windows7 (recovered)"

After doing Auto-Repair (several times) the startup error still persists.


In the Win7 debug shell I tried:
chkdsk /f and got:

"file system is NTFS.
the current drive cannot be locked.
checkdisk cannot be executed on this volume because it is write protected."


After that I also tried:

bootrec.exe /FixMbr
bootrec.exe /FixBoot

Also didnt help.


What to try next?

Work through these steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot - Windows 7 Forums.

I'd check first if Win7 partition or it's 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) is still marked Active as it must be before running Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to repair the boot. Then cover the other steps in tutorial.

gregrocker said:

Work through these steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot - Windows 7 Forums.

I'd check first if Win7 partition or it's 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) is still marked Active as it must be before running Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to repair the boot. Then cover the other steps in tutorial.

I just tried PartitionWizard which prints for the concerned Win7 HDD:

Partition: D:System reserved
capacity: 800 MB
used: 28,44 MB
unused: 771,55 MB
file system: NTFS
type: primary
status: active

Partition: E:
capacity: 1862,23 GB
used: 1862,23 GB //comment: that's definitely not correct
unused: 0 B //comment:also not correct
file system: NTFS
type: primary
status: none

It's strange that the system reserved partition is mounted and mapped to a drive letter. Opening D: shows an empty drive, opening E: shows an error message "Cannot access E:\ - The file or directory is corrupted/damaged or not readable"

So what further steps would you propose?

karlsnooks said:

syr,
You won't like my answer but here is the solution:
Full and complete uninstall of Acronis.
Restore,using a system restore point, to a point before the installation of Acronis.
Do not use Acronis.
Use Windows 7 Backup and Restore to make a full image backup.

There may be an outcry against my recommendations, but I have a trump card: My recommendation works!

Did you take into account that the drive that cannot be booted now wasn't involved in the backup process using acronis?

I just made a backup of an external USB drive to another disk from which I can still boot from.

The restore point would be maybe an option if there was one created automatically.

I thought Win7 could not boot, so if you're booting PW CD then there should be no drive letters. Also any drive letters in WinRe are not necessarily the same as in Windows.

Did you try running Rebuild MBR from PW Disk tab as suggested in Troubleshooting steps? If this fails did you run Startup Repair 3 separate times with reboots?

Was infection found? What is the result of running SFC from Command Line in System Recovery Options? You must work through every step to know that everything has been done.

Do you have your files copied out and are prepared to Clean Reinstall?

oh sorry for confusing..I booted from another HDD where XP is installed

I will work through the troubleshooting page when I got some time.

Thanks for the guidance

EDIT: Just executed PW's check disk that prints "master file table damaged..chkdsk aborted.."
sounds bad

Post back a screenshot of XP Disk management and/or Partition Wizard drive map and listings:
Screenshot with Paint
Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums - Windows 7 Forums

You must run the repairs on Win7 with all other HD's unplugged, until it starts on its own. Then you can plug back in XP and boot it using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key or install EasyBCD to Win7 to add XP on Add OS Entry tab.

The repairs I did with only the win7 HDD plugged in.

screenshots

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34369176/hdd1.PNG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34369176/hdd2.PNG

P.S. note my previous post as we submitted in sync.

Thanks

The System boot files are not on the Win7 100mb System Reserved partition as they should be and would be if it were labeled System as is the XP partition. This may mean that XP partition was booting Win7 in a Dual Boot and has stopped doing so.

But with separate HD's it's better to have each HD self-bootable with the System boot files on the OS partition - or in the case of WIn7 it's 100mb System Reserved partition, providing it hasn't become corrupted itself.

For this reason you should unplug the XP HD which will boot on its own and work through the full set of steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot - Windows 7 Forums since nothing can be ruled out including infection, corruption of System Reserved, et al.