Dual boot Windows 7 pro and Windows Server 2008 - boot loader

[cctvrosetta]

Hey guys i installed windows 7 and windows server 2008 in different partition. I first installed windows 7 and then installed windows server 2008.(I dont know if that makes much of a difference). However ,
-----after installing the server i could not see the windows 7 in my boot loader so i had to turn the windows 7 partition to active- to boot from windows seven.
-----It turned my server 2008 partition to logical and could not see the server os in boot loader.

So, how would i add both of them in the boot loader so that i can select one of the two after i boot.

I had to download acronis disk director to turn the logical drive to primary again.

So the question is how is it possible to , get both the boot OS in the boot loadter.

I don't want to do a dual boot through vhd , just in case someone suggests me that.


screen shot of my disk

Update: i changed the windows server partion back to active and tried to boot now it says bootmgr is missing .....

 

[gregrocker]

I don't know how marking Win7 Active to repair it so it would start would convert the Server partition to Logical. I've never heard of such a thing.

To add the missing OS, install EasyBCD to add it on the Add New Entry tab.

EasyBCD (free Download at bottom of page - no name or email required)

 

[cctvrosetta]

well i think i escalated the problem , now im stuck with bootmgr missing screen

 

[gregrocker]

Is this the result of attempting to add server using EasyBCD?

The System drive which apparently was created when installing Server first is not at all typical for Win7 installs, so Win7 may be having problems booting while using it.

You can reinstall, this time installing Win7 first to see how it configures the Dual boot when you install Server last.

Or you can try running Win7 Startup Repair a few times with the System partition marked Active to see if it will start Win7, or using the Server installer to see if it will start Server.

The only way I know it will start Win7 for sure is to move the Active flag to the Win7 partition itself to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to write the System boot files to Win7 partition.

I am not sure how that strange System partition works with WIn7. Are you sure it was installed with Server, or was it possible there before? If so start over with Win7 first and delete all partitions.

 

[cctvrosetta]

I installed windows 7 first , then i created a partition and installed server on it .

At this point I'm installing the server again and see if i can mark my win 7 partition back to active and may be able to to boot it.
In any case if i install these two os in different partition will i have to edit the bootmanager ? or is there a better way to dual boot these two OS

By the way i did not install use easyBCD , i downloaded it but i was not able to add a new entry because it was not showing anything ...

 

[gregrocker]

If you installed Win7 first, then the System partition which contains the System Boot files is not the one which is issued by the installer. Did you have a previous install which had a System partition marked Active that caused Win7 to place there its boot files? This is not a good idea.

I'm assuming this is what happened because the WIn7 partition is not even adjacent to the System partition but is in the third partition. Why?

Are you aware that when you install/reinstall you should boot the installer and use Custom install>Drive Options to delete all partitions, especially in such a highly technical operation like dual booting with a server? Clean Install Windows 7

 

[cctvrosetta]

if you see my screen shot , there is a 2 gig partion name system_drv , is that what you are talking about .
That partition was there before i did the re install , i dint know what it was for so i let it be like that.

should i delete that partition

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, when you install or reinstall Win7 you should boot the installer, use Custom install>Drive options to delete all partitions, create new as you wish. In your case you should create the Win7 partition which will automatically give you it's 100mb System Reserved boot partition, then either create the Server partition next or wait until you install Server.

The problem is likely that both OS's wrote their System boot files into an old factory System Active Boot + Recovery partition which was not formatted beforehand (or it wouldn't be marked Active) preventing the creation of the Dual Boot and now causing boot problems.

I would start over and do it correctly. Clean Install Windows 7

 

[boyans]

No need to reinstall any of the systems.
-------------------------------------------
A) If you can boot any OS from HDD just install Visual BCD Editor - Windows 7|Vista.
Run Visual BCD Editor. Right-click in treeView and select "Create missing Windows loaders" - this will create a dual-boot menu.

B) If you cannot boot from HDD.
1. Boot Server 2008 installation media.
2. Mark Server 2008 partition as active (use diskpart.exe).
3. Reboot Server 2008 installation media.
4. StartUp Repair up to 3 times with rebooting after each run until no errors reported.
Now you should be able to reboot from HDD to Server 2008.
5. Install Visual BCD and do A)
Rebooting should show dual-boot menu.

To rename a loader(text in boot-menu) - click on loader, type F2 and change text.

 

[cctvrosetta]

windows update gets me bootmgr missing

So ,I deleted all the partition installed clean windows 7 pro , But as soon as i updated my windows 7 i get bootmgr missing.

I tried to do a recovery by booting the computer from the cd again and clicking the repair m computer.
for some reason on the page that says System Recovery Options i cannot see my os , it is blank.

I'm doing a start up repair right now to see if it works , but what the **** is going on btw , it happened to me 3 times today .

Update: Startup repair dint work

 

[gregrocker]

In that case you should clean the boot sector by wiping the HD before reinstall with Diskpart Clean Command. Access the command line at the first screen after booting installer by pressing the Shift + F10 keys.

This solves many installation problems which result from boot code interfering unless it is overwritten with zeros. You had a lot going on with your boot sector before so hopefully it will solve the problem.

If not test your HD as given in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot.