Bootmgr is missing, even after rebuilding bcd

[Diogones]

Hey all,

I'm helping a buddy of mine repair his laptop (we've all been there before!) and I'm stumped. He claimed he didn't do anything wrong to it, but apparently, the laptop displays the "BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart". I've tried the following, all to no avail:

Ran Startup Repair 3 separate times - it either found problems it couldn't repair, or repaired the problems, which didn't help.
bootsect /nt60 c:
BootRec /FixMbr -
BootRec /FixBoot
BootRec /ScanOs - I get the message "Total identified Windows installations: 0"
BootRec /RebuildBcd - I get the message "Total identified Windows installations: 0"
sfc /scannow - the scan won't run at all. I get a "Windows Resource Protection can't run now", or something similar

I removed the drive and hooked it up to a couple of different Windows machines using different drive docks just to be sure the drive wasn't bad. It mounted with no issue, and the drive had three partitions: one with the main Windows files on them, one labeled "RECOVERY" which is probably an OEM partition, and another 200MB partition which I assume is the Windows 7 System Protection partition.

I ran chkdsk on the drive, and it ran without issue, however when it reached the end, the scan locked up, and chkdsk wouldn't finish, even after several hours, so I canceled it.

I've also checked the SATA cable in the laptop, and it's fine. I've also checked the drive for viruses with AVG, but it came up clean.

After attempting to manually repair the bootmgr with the commands above, I decided to get a little more in depth. I attempted to copy over the bootmgr file from the Windows 7 isntall DVD that I have, which didn't help.

I also decided to follow the advice from EasyBCD's website on recovering the Windows bootloader from the DVD. Unfortunately, none of that worked either.

I decided to move the active partition from the System Reserved partition to the primary Windows partition, so that it would simply the process of rebuilding the bootloader. I've included a screenshot of the drive from Disk Management for reference. It's attached at the end of the post.

After making that active, I tried running the command prompt repairs again, but no luck. However, after I installed EasyBCD, I decided to try rebuilding the MBR and bootloader files on the Windows partition using that program. I did have some better luck here: after starting Windows Startup Repair, it recognized a Windows partition, however it reported the installation as being 0MB!

When I attempted to reboot the laptop, I got the error:
"Windows failed to start."

File:\Windows\system32\winload.exe

Status: 0xc000000e

Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt.

So it looks like I've traded one problem for another! The good news is that, before I used BCDedit, a partition on the drive was reported as being unallocated, and now it is reported as being a 100MB partition named HP Tools, and it is the active partition, not Windows. This leads me to believe that the partition was deleted, and I have since recovered it by rebuilding the bootloader info somehow. Unfortunately, it hasn't fixed the boot error.

When I run the bcdedit command, this is the output:

Windows Boot Loader
identifier GUID (very long sequence of letters and numbers)
device partition=c:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows
osdevice partition=c:
systemroot \Windows

Windows Boot Loader
identifier GUID
device ramdisk [E:] \Windows Recovery Environment
and more details that just pertain to that entry.

Windows Memory Tester
identifier (memtest)
device partition=c:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic

Now the first entry I know I made myself, the second must have been made by Startup Repair from the Win installer DVD, and the last one was there when I started working on the computer.

I think that just about covers it. A very nasty situation, but I'm afraid a reinstall isn't possible: my friend has a copy of MS Office on there, and he has since lost the product key, so he wouldn't be able to reactivate it if Windows were reinstalled.

I'd love to hear someone offer some advice, as I'm out of luck and ideas! I think the best thing to do would be to simply the whole setup. Deleting the extra partitions would be a good start, as my friend doesn't use the recovery options that are offered by the OEM, and he probably wouldn't use the Windows recovery options either. If he does need them, I'll just burn him a Recovery CD. What I'd like to do is remove the partitions, and try and make the Windows partition the sole logical, active, boot volume. Then the system would boot correctly, and I wouldn't have to fiddle around with four separate partitions, most of which are unnecessary.

 

[gregrocker]

Mark the System Reserved partition Active and then run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times with only the Win7 HD plugged in to it's PC.

Under no circumstances should HP tools be marked Active. And the repairs will not work on the boot files on System Reserved (where they live) if it is not marked Active first so WinRE knows where to repair or rewrite the boot files.

If this fails work through the other steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start
leading up to if necessary rescuiing the files to run a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which is vastly superior to HP preinstalled bloatware.

 

[Diogones]

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply gregrocker!

I marked the System Reserved Partition as active, but when I ran Startup Repair, it simply told me that it couldn't fix the problem. The specific error in the details list was that no OS was found or present.

I'm going to continue to follow the other links that you posted, and keep trying to get the main system booting.

I have made one discovery: if I mark the RECOVERY partition as active, then I can access the HP Recovery options by pressing F11 at boot without issue. Maybe I need to leave that as the active partition, and simply repair the others?

 

[Diogones]

Interesting. When I run sfc /scannow from the computer using the F11 recovery environment, I get the message

There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete. Restart Windows and run sfc again.

Yet if I give the command sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows (where c: is the main Windows installation partition), I get the error:

Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service.

 

[gregrocker]

As stated you need to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times with reboots, no matter what it reports. Make sure only Win7 HD is plugged in in its own PC.

In the rare case that this doesn't work then it explains in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start how to mark C Active to try to write the System boot files to it by running three successive Repairs with reboots.

If Recovery was meant to be System Active there would be no System Reserved partition. But if you decide to rescue your files and run Recovery you can mark it Active to do so.

 

[Diogones]

OK, thanks again for the suggestions greg. Sadly, I ran Startup Repair three separate times - with reboots in between each run - with both the System Reserved partition and the Windows partition marked active, using Diskpart in the command line to change the active partitions, but no luck.

Startup Repair still finds no bootable installation of Windows, but I know it's there! Maybe I need to post some screenshots of each partition's contents from the root directory, just so you have an idea of one each one is about.

I'm not sure if the System Reserved partition is really that. It was actually unlabeled, along with the Windows partition. I simply labeled them System Reserved and Windows because I assumed that is what each one is for. I have no idea if the 200MB is something that was created by my friend, or if it really is it, because it wasn't labeled when I got the laptop to work on it.

You are correct about the RECOVERY partition; I can always label that active to get into it, and the good news is that it has the lean OS reinstall option - without all the crapware - as mentioned in the Windows 7 - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot guide (emphasis added):

Special notes to HP owners:
Information

On newer models HP Recovery may offer a Minimized OS Recovery option when booting from F11, which retains only the OS, Recovery Manager, HP Support Asst, and HP Wireless LAN. This is as close to a clean reinstall as you can get without doing one yourself.

● If you clean reinstall only to C and leave all other partitions intact, F11 Recovery key should still work later if you need it.

● You can also Extract HP 3rd Party Software from RecovCD.

● Problems with volume control lighting and HP Quick Launch buttons have been dealt with here and here.

 

[gregrocker]

There are still other steps there to last resort attempt to start Win7, including running the Bootrec tool using the sequencing shown in the link in step 6.

Then I would rescue your files from Step 9 of Troubleshooting Failure to Boot and run the HP Minimal install which is as close to a Clean Reinstall as you can get without doing one.

 

[Diogones]

Right you are gregrocker: there are other steps still available, and after trying some of them, I think I must be getting close to fixing the issue!

OK, so I followed the link in step 6: Use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment and I found that none of those options helped me, as I had already tried them (as mentioned in my first post). However, in the article, there was a link to another Windows KB article: Error message when you start Windows Vista, "The BCD file is missing required information."

Now although I haven't mentioned it yet, when I boot up the laptop, I get that error, rather than "Bootmgr is missing" error.

Following the steps in that KB article, specifically, Method 3: "Rebuild the BCD store manually using the bcdedit tool" I was able to get Startup Repair to recognize the Windows partition!

However, even after running startup repair three times again, still no luck. This time, Startup Repair gives me a "OS mixmatch" error, which is absolutely ridiculous, as it has never given me that before in the entire time I've spent working on this machine! I do know why it does that though: the CD is for Pro, and the installation on the laptop is Home Premium, so Startup Repair sees the discrepancy, and won't proceed. Unfortunately, my buddy doesn't have the OEM discs that came with the computer - if they came with any at all - so I'm not sure if I should try to download the Home Premium ISO from the Seven Forums link, and burn that to a disc and try that.

Additionally, I've noticed a couple of other things of note. First, after running the repair from the KB article, the computer now boots up to the error:

" file: \windows\system32\winload.exe

status: 0xc000000f

info: the selected entry could not be loaded because the application is
missing or corrupt.

I went back and checked the steps to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong. I found a very interesting situation in step eight:

Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
bcdedit /enum all
In the Windows Boot Loader section of the output from this command, note the GUID that is listed for resumeobject. You will use this GUID later.

I ran the enum command, and that's just the thing: there is no resumeobject value, or entry at all! I'm not sure if that's relevant or not, but I used the GUID from the drive itself, instead of the resumeboject value, which doesn't exist here.

Another thing I tried was the helpful Seven Forums thread, "Recovering from endless Windows Repair reboot." After I followed those steps, I made yet another discovery: the Windows drive has no Registry Hives files (SECURITY, BCD_Template, etc.,) in either the \windows\system32\config directory, or in the regback folder!

Should I try to recover the hives from my Windows retail disc? Or am I out of luck at this point?

 

[gregrocker]

Someone may know how to do that, but I'm not sure why you would want to go to all of that trouble when doing the vastly superior Clean Reinstall will likely take less time, and you end up with a Win7 better than on a new PC - given the amount of crapware larded on which throttles the OS.

 

[Diogones]

Yeah, you are probably right greg; the problem is, my friend has a copy of MS Office on there, and he doesn't have the disc or key for it - he lost it awhile ago. If I did a clean install, he'd lose it for sure.

I have a couple of other ideas that I'd like to run past you:

What about doing an in-place repair install with my retail disc, or a copy of the OEM discs for his laptop? Wouldn't that fix the boot files and registry, without destroying the Office installation?

The winload.exe file is corrupted, supposedly. Well, what if I could copy that off of my computer, which has a good working version of Windows 7? Would it make the difference, or would it screw up activation because the machine has a different version of Windows than mine?

 

[gregrocker]

The Office Product Key as well as all other software keys are readable by Belarc Advisor - CNET Download.com to reinstall with the installer disk which is otherwise available. However you must be able to boot Win7 to run Belarc.

The install must also be able to boot to run a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R with the latest official retail installer which is provided in the tutorial.

The latest installer and everything needed to get a perfect reinstall is in the Clean Reinstall tutorial.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Mark "system reserved" active.
delete \bootmgr from that partition (if impossible, rename it)
delete \boot\bcd (if impossible, rename it)

Now startup repair 3 times, with reboots in between. What happens exactly if boot normally afterwards?

 

[Diogones]

Thanks for the help guys; let me ask some questions and answer some.

I appreciate the advice gregrocker about using Belarc Adviser to detect the Office key, but I'm somewhat confused. If I use the clean install from my HP Recovery partition, won't that wipe out the Windows partition with Office on it before I can run Belarc to get the key from it? Maybe I missed something there.

To answer your questions Kaktussoft: I did mark the System Res partition active, and deleted the \bootmgr and \boot\bcd from that drive, and ran Startup Repair three times, but Windows still didn't boot.

Now you might ask, why is this? Following those steps will almost always fix a bad case of Windows not booting right?

Except it isn't that simple. I have recently found out that the trouble with this Windows installation goes much deeper. How so? Well, when I was exploring the drive contents earlier, as I mentioned in a post or two before this, I noticed that the RegBack folder and other registry hives were missing! On top of that, a huge chunk of the \Windows\system32 directory was flat-out gone!

I think that my friend might have accidentally deleted the directory, possibly in an attempt to delete a nasty piece of malware, because he didn't know what he was doing, or the malware itself deleted the registry and system32 folders. I did check the drive twice for infections using two different AV scanners, but nothing came up.

However, I did find a hidden directory at the root of the primary Windows partition, which used a series of brackets and parenthesis to create an emoticon that looked like a face smiling. My friend swears he didn't create it. Either someone else did as a practical joke, a program did it, or - as I suspect - it is the calling card of some virus or malware infection. Oftentimes malware will leave behind a calling card, and this could have been it. It definitely wasn't a normal part of the root directory of a Windows installation, even an OEM one.

Inside the directory were two log files, which I opened, but I couldn't make head or tails out of them. I should have saved them so I could upload them here, but it probably wouldn't have helped. I might try to recover them, but I don't think it is worth the effort, and I don't even know if it is possible now.

In any case, I feel that I must follow gregrocker's advice, and do a complete reinstall of Windows on the troubled drive. There simply isn't any other solution. I've followed an exhaustive list of suggestions both from this thread and website, and from the Internet in general. As I said, if this were a simple startup problem, I almost certainly would have got Windows booting by now. Instead, it appears to be some sort of other issue, especially with relevant files missing.

I even hooked up the drive to a working Windows computer, and started copying over the winboot.exe file (which was missing from the problem drive) and other system32 files. All well and good, but every time I copied something over, and tried to boot up Windows, I got yet another black-screen error message telling me something else was missing or corrupted. Last I checked, the International Language Files were gone.

Even if I did manage to get everything copied over and moved into its proper place on the drive, there still wouldn't be a guarantee that Windows would boot - or that it would even work properly if it did. As a result, a clean reinstall from the OEM recovery drive using the minimal install option would probably work best.

I've already pulled off most of the important files, so once I get MS Office reinstalled by retrieving the key somehow, then I will be ready to perform the reinstall.

 

[gregrocker]

You are correct that you must be able to boot Win7 to audit the Product Keys with Belarc. It would seem that one would save Product Keys worth hundreds of dollars, so perhaps you have them somewhere. It would take deep research to find how to copy out an Office key, however I've seen it done with Win7 key which is supposedly also encrypted. Consider saving a Win7 backup image which can be mounted in Disk mgmt to later retrieve any missing files, keys, etc.

If you've tried everything in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start then you may want to move on to rescue your files and Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which steps are the same for retail and will assure a perfect install.
to no avail then you've really done everything you can.