Hacking W7 OS to tweak F11 behavior

[iBenny]

Zzzzzz

 

[iBenny]

BTW :

Merry Christmas !!!
iBenny

 

[samuria]

You wanted to recreate F11 which is in the MBR not in windows bcd tools to edit mbrhttps://www.raymond.cc/blog/5-free-tools-to-backup-and-restore-master-boot-record-mbr/

 

[iBenny]

Many thanks Samuria !

By going to your link I saw the BootICE image and saw the PBR button on the bottom. I will explore the functions of this BootICE button as requested by SIW2, then explore your link Samuria if I can find something to use.

But don't forget Samuria that in order to make the F11 key to work, the RECOVERY partition has to be bootable and functional in the first place when we make it 'active'...

Merry Christmas !!!
iBenny

 

[iBenny]

Ok... I renamed (make a backup) bootmgr. When renamed (only bootmgr, not ntldr), the PBR change was performed and on reboot, now I have an error window stating that :

An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system.

Implying that the RECOVERY partition don't have an operating system...

It was the PBR (bootmgr) of the RECOVERY partition you wanted me to refresh isn't it ? or the one of the SYSTEM or Windows partition ?

Merry Christmas !!!
iBenny

 

[SIW2]

Implying that the RECOVERY partition don't have an operating system...

That message usually indicates that the mbr executable executable code can't find an active marker in the partition table.

Try using bootice to

1. install mbr NT6 code,

2. double check you have a partition marked active (click "parts manage" and make sure there is an A in the column headed Act. )

It was the PBR (bootmgr) of the RECOVERY partition you wanted me to refresh isn't it ? or the one of the SYSTEM or Windows partition ?

The Active partition - I don't know which you have marked active at this point.

If you have marked the correct partition active , and you have installed the correct PBR and bootmgr, then the other possibility is the BCD entry.

 

[iBenny]

That message usually indicates that the mbr executable executable code can't find an active marker in the partition table.
Try using bootice to
1. install mbr NT6 code,
2. double check you have a partition marked active

"1. install mbr NT6 code..."; How ? which tab/button in BootICE ? 'Physical disk | Process MBR' ?

I found interesting readings today :

BIOS/MBR boot process from hard disk goes like this:

1. BIOS firmware initialization and self test (Power On Self Test - POST)
2. load and execution of MBR (Master Boot Record) on first disk
3. load and execution of partition boot record (PBR) on active partition
4. load and execution of boot manager ("\bootmgr") from active partition and then display of boot menu (skipped if only one boot entry)
5. load and execution of Windows NT6 loader - file "winload.exe" from \Windows\System32 folder
6. load and execution of kernel and drivers

For a successful boot, at least to boot menu, following items are needed;

1. Microsoft MBR (use bootsect.exe to fix Master Boot Record)
2. Microsoft NT6 PBR on active partition (use bootsect.exe to fix Partition Boot Record called also VBR - Volume Boot Record)
3. \bootmgr on active partition (or \EFI\Micosoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi on ESP)
4. \Boot\BCD on active partition (or \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD on ESP)

In the above sequence, all boot Fx keys (F2, F3, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, ESC, DEL) are managed by who ? They usually are pressed before POST but it does not mean that it is the POST that treat them. The second in line is the MBR so, as hinted by Samuria, could it be that the MBR is the one that treats all Fx booting key calls ?

The reading sources :
Repair Windows BCD - Windows 10/8.1/7/Vista
How to rebuild the Master Boot Record (MBR) and Boot Configuration Data (BCD)...
Réparer le secteur d'ammorçage avec BootRec
Bootsect Command-Line

If not in BootICE, how about a bootsect /nt60 [target drive] /force command ?

While into the main Windows OS cmd (administrator) prompt :
bootsect /nt60 H: /force

While in the SIW2 Recovery boot CD cmd prompt :
bootsect /nt60 C: /force


Merry Christmas !!!
iBenny

 

[SIW2]

'Physical disk | Process MBR' ?

Yes, of course.

 

[iBenny]

No improvement... :

An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system.

Best regards
iBenny

 

[iBenny]

Is the RECOVERY partition PBR flawer in some way ?

Is the MBR well constituted ?

In the MBR Partition table, the RECOVERY partition is listed as #4 and starts at
off 502 + 941,657,404
while that partition Boot sector starts at
482,128,590,848 !
Is there an inconsistency here ?

Best regards
iBenny