BOOTMGR is corrupt: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

Get the fix for the error Bootmgr is corrupt on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10.

Contents

About “Bootmgr is corrupt”

The following information on this error has been compiled by NeoSmart Technologies, based on the information gathered and reported by our global network of engineers, developers, and technicians or partner organizations.

Description and Symptoms

The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.

Symptom 1: “Bootmgr is corrupt” error screen on startup

When a computer is turned on, the BIOS picks an eligible, bootable hard drive and then calls code stored in the MBR at the start of that hard drive. That MBR code in turn loads the bootsector from the active partition. On newer systems, this bootsector code is tasked with loading the BOOTMGR file, which is used to load the operating system kernel and start up Windows. This file is usually located in the root directory of the active partition on the first boot drive. However, if the bootsector detects that the BOOTMGR file is damaged, then the boot process halts and the “BOOTMGR is corrupt” error screen appears.

BOOTMGR image is corrupt
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

Causes of this Error

This error has been known to occur as a result of one of the following causes:

Cause 1: BOOTMGR is corrupt

The BOOTMGR file is a vital part of booting process on newer Windows systems. It may become corrupt due to power outages, disk write errors, viruses or user errors, and if it does, then the system is unable to boot properly.

Fixing “BOOTMGR is corrupt” on Windows

Windows Setup CD/DVD Required!
Some of the solutions below require the use of the Microsoft Windows setup CD or DVD. If your PC did not come with a Windows installation disc or if you no longer have your Windows setup media, you can use Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows instead. EasyRE will automatically find and fix many problems, and can also be used to solve this problem with the directions below.

Fix #1: Rebuild BOOTMGR via Easy Recovery Essentials

Easy Recovery Essentials’ one-click automated system repair corrects issues caused by corrupt BOOTMGR bootloader files by recreating them from scratch on the active bootable partition. This is done automatically as part of the automated repair process, and requires no manual action or user intervention.

Easy Recovery Essentials is guaranteed to fix the “Bootmgr is corrupt” error automatically using its built-in Automated Repair option. EasyRE is currently available for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11 and can be downloaded and created on any PC.

Download Easy Recovery Essentials. Make sure to note your Windows version (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, or Windows 11) before you download EasyRE. This guide can help you identify what version of Windows you have installed.
Burn the image. Follow these instructions on how to burn the bootable ISO image very carefully, as making a bootable CD can be tricky! Alternatively, these instructions explain how to create a bootable EasyRE recovery USB stick/drive.
Boot up your PC from the Easy Recovery Essentials CD or USB you created.
Once EasyRE is running, choose the “Automated Repair” option and click Continue.

Choose “Automated Repair” in Easy Recovery Essentials
After EasyRE scans your computer’s drives, identify and select the drive letter for your Windows installation from the list, and then click on the Automated Repair button to begin.

Choose the drive associated with the Windows installation you’re trying to repair.
Easy Recovery Essentials will start analyzing the selected drive for problems. EasyRE will test for and attempt to automatically correct errors with the disk, partition, bootsector, filesystem, bootloader, and registry. No intervention is required, as EasyRE’s repair is fully automated:

Easy Recovery Essentials searches for errors and makes corrections to the selected Windows installation.
Once the process is complete, EasyRE will report its findings. Click on the Restart button to reboot your PC and test the changes.
The “Bootmgr is corrupt” error should now be fixed as your PC begins to load:

You can download Easy Recovery Essentials from here.

Fix #2: Use Startup Repair to repair BOOTMGR

On Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, Startup Repair can be used to scan the system for damaged or missing system files to replace the BOOTMGR file if it is corrupt or missing.

Startup Repair is an automated diagnosis and repair tool that is available from the Windows setup disc and can be used to find and repair some common problems. More information about how Startup Repair operates and what it does can be found in our knowledgebase. The following steps will initiate Startup Repair from the Windows setup disc:

Unable to boot into the Windows setup CD?
See our guide on setting up a PC to boot from the CD or DVD for troubleshooting and more detailed instructions.

Insert your Windows installation DVD into your PC’s CD-ROM drive,
Fully power down your PC, and make sure it has fully shut off,
Power up your PC,
Press any key when you see “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD..”
Click the link titled “Repair your computer” in the bottom-lefthand corner, after first selecting your language and keyboard options.
Wait for Startup Repair to scan your PC for Windows installations, then select your install from the list it shows:
Choose “Startup Repair” from the list of available recovery options to begin:
Startup Repair will begin scanning your installation for known issues and will attempt a repair, if possible.

Here is an example of what the PC’s startup repair should look like once the BOOTMGR file is properly restored:

Corrupt bootmgr fixed by Startup Repair

Fix #3: Update BOOTMGR manually

Since the boot error is often caused by a corrupt BOOTMGR, replacing it with the correct version is often a good and effective solution.

Here are the steps to replace the BOOTMGR:

Boot from the Windows install disc
Click on Repair your computer after selecting proper language, time and keyboard input.
Select the Windows installation drive, which is usually C:\, and click Next
Choose “Command Prompt” when the System Recovery Options box appears
Type in the following command and then press Enter:
```
bcdboot C:\Windows /s D:\
```
Where C:\Windows is a Windows installation folder and D:\ is an active boot partition.

Here is an example screenshot of what the PC’s console output should look like after the BOOTMGR is updated correctly:

Windows 7 BcdBoot utility screen

More Information

Linked Entries

Support Links

Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.

It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.

Read more at Windows Recovery Disks.
The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10.

Applicable Systems

This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:

Windows XP (all editions)
Windows Vista (all editions)
Windows 7 (all editions)
Windows 8 (all editions)
Windows 8.1 (all editions)
Windows 10 (all editions)

Propose an edit