Solved Laptop SSD partition led to Windows not booting - Win Boot Mgr error

[highstream]

On a new Asus Win 7x64 laptop (Zenbook Prime UX21A), I was repartitioning the SSD with EaseUs and it seemed to be going well until restart. At that point, EaseUs gave a failure message and then Windows gave a failed to start/Windows Boot Manager mesage, with the error code 0xc00025. The Info is the boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible, presumably the SSD's main partition.

Since there is no CD drive, I've been trying to prepare a USB system repair (on my desktop Win 7x64). I followed the directions of two YouTube videos, including one suggested on these forums - Windows 7 - Create a System Repair Disc on a Bootable USB Flash Drive without Burning a CD - YouTube. However, at some point each procedure varied significantly from what my computer showed and so the USB stick didn't boot. I also tried the CD creation tutorial at http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html, and followed up with the Win 7 USB-DVD tool, but the CD created is UDF format, not ISO, which is what the tool is looking for. The boot and source folders are in ISO, but I'm guessing a full bootable ISO disk (or stick), rather than separate ISO files, is what's needed. I've been working on the assumption that a system repair disk or stick made from a retail version of Win 7 will work on an OEM installation, but really don't know. I also tried running a repair from my desktop's full Win 7 installation disk (converted to ISO), but the laptop said the repair versions are different.

So I'm stuck, short of calling Asus, which I'm trying to hold as a last resort. Am I there, or are there any suggestions for how to handle this? Thanks.

 

[TVeblen]

I suggest creating a USB installation stick using this tutorial here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html
All repair disk options can be accessed through the installation "disk".

When you say "I was repartitioning the SSD", what did you do exactly?

Are you aware that your "disk" is (most likely with an Ivy Bridge) formatted GPT?

 

[highstream]

Thanks. Those instructions are much better than the others I tried. Hopefully they work.

In EaseUs, I took the ~100gb partition (C) and reduced it to 55 or 60gb, pressed Apply, it did it's thing and then needed to reboot. And no, I didn't realize that it's formatted GPT if it is, not NFTS (the cpu is an i5-3317).

I discovered after posting that someone here else ran into the same exact problem and had the same difficulty getting a properly loaded USB stick to use. He ended up using instructions from Lenovo. See post 12 at http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...-repair-windows-7-x64-error-0xc0000225-2.html. The instructions he used also linked to an SP1 version of Win 7. Maybe I'll get some sleep first.

Update: Actually, looking at the instructions you linked, he used a Win 7 CD that copied over riles rather than an .ISO. The problem is that the repair module on my Win 7 CD is not compatible with the laptop's. That's where, I hope, the other thread's experience with this will pay off.

 

[TVeblen]

Mmmm. There shouldn't be a problem reducing the C: partition.

I originally thought that you may have deleted or changed one of the 2 system partitions on the disk required for UEFI systems on a GPT disk. (The partitions are still formatted NTFS. GPT refers to the file system, vs the legacy MBR system).

There is always a danger that an OS partition shrink can go wrong, so I think you are on the right track. You just need to get into repair.

And sleep is always a good idea. I have made some epic blunders due to pressing on instead of resting my head.

 

[highstream]

I went through steps 1 to 6 at Prepare an usb thumb drive, to boot windows 7 in U... - Lenovo Community from the other thread. Then I tried the USB stick, got the error message, then used F9 to get to another screen showing the main drive and, finally, clicked Exit and it booted into Windows install. "Repair you computer," however still returns the incompatible versions error. It's there that the other fellow succeeded. Not sure what to do next.

 

[TVeblen]

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to do.

An ISO file is just an image. You just burn the image to a disk. You don't need to change it or configure it or anything.

Your W7 installation disk should run "Repair you Computer" without any manipulation either. Just get into the menu and choose Startup Repair. You may need to run it 3 times.

Or, are you trying to run the Recovery Partition from the manufacturer?

 

[highstream]

Ok, on laptop startup, I get the error message. Then I press exit and Windows boots from the USB stick. First screen is the intro, second is "Install now," with "Repair your computer link" lower left. I run that and get the message, "System Recovery Options is not compatible with the version you are trying to repair." That happened with my own Win 7 CD and then again with the one I downloaded, which supposed has SP1.

So is there another way to repair? I can't get to the recovery partition (or anything else).

 

[TVeblen]

That error will come up because the version of Windows on the PC (32 bit or 64 bit) is not the same as the version on the installation disk.

It will also occur if the version on the PC is SP! and the version on the disk is pre SP1.

The two versions must match exactly.

 

[highstream]

Well, my CD is pre-SP1. The version I'm currently using on the USB stick came from a site that said it's SP1: Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life. I chose the Home Premium English at the bottom, X17-58997.iso. And the laptop is SP1. Not sure what to do beyond that.

 

[TVeblen]

Are you running Home Premium on the laptop?

 

[highstream]

yes

 

[TVeblen]

Mmmm. I'm stumped then. It should work (you know that).

 

[highstream]

I've been on the phone with MS for the past two hours, getting shuttled around and dead lines. No one would tell me that Signature Support didn't open until 11am CT. I'm finally with one of their techs and we're worked our way past the repair link* into the custom install, where the four partitions show (and the new unallocated partition is there, but larger than I made it). The problem is none of them are recognized as Windows drives, tho one of them says Windows.

* I found a higher numbered version of SP1, but since I'm on the phone with MS I can't check it.

 

[highstream]

Ah, the solution: they're sending me another one overnight, and I'll call back when it's set up to have them walk me through the partition (not that I did anything wrong, but they have their own ways of doing it). The notion behind partitioning was to set up a dual boot with Win 8 for the time being, with the idea of learning it without having to dive all in. I'm marking this as solved, although from a technical standpoint it remains a puzzle.

Btw, the error message for why the Windows drive wasn't being seen as Windows eligible was that it was a GPT partition and Windows isn't.