Can't boot Vista ultimate

Saturday, July 04, 2009 12:58 AMrolyreefer

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I can't get windows to boot at all - I get as far as the black screen asking for startup repair / windows where startup repair goes back to black screen and windows makes computer restart. I have looked on a number of sites and run startup repair three times, chkdsk, bootrec.exe /fixmbr, installed easybcd, but none of these has been able to fix the problem. There are 2 problems that startup repair couldn't fix, as detailed below:

2 Failed:

Boot manager failed to find os loader

repair action: file repair
result: failed error code: 0x3

repair action: boot config data store repair
result: failed error code: 0x490

I have found a dos script, as below, but it can't find the folder, which is actually hidden and read only so it probably won't be able to delete the BCD file either. Is there a way to either fix this problem, or get the script to work (I can't actually change the permissions on the folder, so I can change it to not read only /hidden?

Thanks very much for any help,

Roly
bootrec.exe /fixmbr x:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 all /force
Now we get rid of the old BCD registry, and create a new one instead.
Note: We're assuming that the boot drive is drive C: below. If your computer is configured differently, be sure to use the appropriate drive letter here instead.
del C:\boot\bcd bcdedit /createstore c:\boot\bcd.temp bcdedit.exe /store c:\boot\bcd.temp /create {bootmgr} /d "Windows Boot Manager" bcdedit.exe /import c:\boot\bcd.temp bcdedit.exe /set {bootmgr} device partition=C: bcdedit.exe /timeout 10 del c:\boot\bcd.temp
Now we have a clean, working Vista bootloader. But we need to add a Vista entry to it:
bcdedit.exe /create /d "Windows Vista" /application osloader
bcdedit.exe should return a message with a GUID for the newly-created entry, something like this:
The entry {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} was successfully created.

You'll need to use the value that bcdedit.exe returned for you below, along with the drive letter for the drive that Windows Vista is installed to:
bcdedit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} device partition=C: bcdedit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} osdevice partition=C: bcdedit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} path \Windows\system32\winload.exe bcdedit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} systemroot \Windows
And, last of all, tell the Vista bootloader to boot the new entry by default:
bcdedit.exe /displayorder {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} bcdedit.exe /default {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008}
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Saturday, July 04, 2009 11:41 AMKen - Former Support Engineer

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Hi Roly

Thank you for Posting on Microsoft Answers.

Do you have the Windows Vista CD or just a Recovery CD? If you have the Windows Vista CD, you can do a Inplace Upgrade (Repair) on Vista. This should get you back up and running.

Repair Installation:

You may reinstall your copy of Vista while keeping your files, settings, and programs by performing a repair installation or an in-place upgrade with the following steps: (Note: This does not always resolve all issues, especially if the corruption was caused by a 3rd party program or service, you might need to do a clean installation if this is unsuccessful.)

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Please make sure you Backup any and all important data before proceeding. Please see: Methods for backing up your files.

Always make sure you have the means to reinstall your programs, either through an install disk or having access to the installation files.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

1. Insert the Windows installation disc into your computer's DVD or CD drive. You must start Windows installation while running your existing version of Windows.

2. On the Install Windows page, click Install now.

3. On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation and to help protect your computer against security threats. You will need an Internet connection to get installation updates.

4. On the Type your product key for activation page, we strongly recommend that you type your 25-character product key to help avoid problems during activation.

5. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms.

6. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Upgrade to begin the upgrade. You might see a compatibility report.

7. Follow the instructions.

Note: If your installation disk does not include SP1, and you are updated to it, then you will have to uninstall it before performing an upgrade install. Start -> Control Panel -> Programs -> View installed updates, then select Service Pack for Microsoft Windows and click Uninstall.

Note: The following settings will be reset to default:

Computer Sound Scheme

Device Drivers

Visual Effects

Windows Mail

Windows Services

If you notice files missing after the upgrade look in the following folders:

C:\Windows.old

C:\$INPLACE.~TR

C:\$WINDOWS.~Q

These files can be cleared with disk cleanup as "Files discarded by Windows upgrade".

Delete files using Disk Cleanup

Ken
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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Saturday, July 04, 2009 6:02 PMrolyreefer

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Hi Ken,

I have tried to upgrade windows, but it failed and went back to the old version, although it can't upgrade if you can't boot it up. I can't upgrade it when you boot from the disc, because it is grey out.

I have installed a fresh copy of windows on another partition because I need my computer to work. To be honest I do need to get my old vista installation back because there about 100 customized programs, setting changes, my drivers are all up to date and and software updates - it is a huge mission to reinstall it,which is why I'm trying so hard to resolve this problem.

Any other ideas? Thanks,

Roly
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009 12:54 AMDavid - Support EngineerMSFT, Moderator

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Hello, Roly

What error do you get when you try to run the bootrec / bootsect commands?

When you run the bootsect.exe tool, be sure to change the X in X:\... to your DVD drive letter.

You should be able to rebuild the BCD by running the following command after booting to the repair command prompt from the Vista DVD: bootrec /rebuildbcd

You can also try rebuilding the BCD completely by doing the following commands:

bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
c:
cd boot
attrib bcd -s -h -r
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
bootrec /RebuildBcd

If you are unable to get Windows to load, you may need to put the hard drive in another machine and pull the data off it manually.

We look forward to hearing back from you.
David
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009 5:28 AMrolyreefer

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I have tried to run but when I got to CD boot bit, it said the system cannot find the path specified - the folder is hidden and read only and I can't change this in the properties, security, because access is denied. Is there any way I can change this? The backup is there though.

When I ran the the bootrec command, it said that the operation was completed successfully. The bootsect bit was successful for the hard and cd drives, but could not open the external drives that didn't have anything plugged into, which is normal

Thanks a lot,

Roly
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009 9:15 PMrolyreefer

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I haven't received an answer to my post. Please could you help me sort it out. Thanks very much.
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