Repairing and reinstalling a broken Windows Vista or Windows 7 Bootloader

Back in the days of Windows XP, it didn't take much effort to fix a broken bootloader. Just stick your Windows XP in the drive, hit 'R' for the recovery console, and fixmbr to your heart's content.

But with Windows Vista and its new bootloader, things have become infinitely more complex. There are a lot of files that need to be restored, tons of data that needs to be recreated, and a lot of configuration that needs to be set up just to get Windows Vista to boot. And if you're aiming to dual-boot, it's that much harder.

There are currently two ways of repairing the Windows Vista bootloader:

1. With EasyBCD via the "Bootloader Setup" Section. (Recommended, easy to use, and guaranteed results)
2. By booting from the Windows Installation DVD and using the recovery console. If you don't have a Windows setup DVD, you can download a recovery CD for your Windows from here. (Use this if you cannot boot into any version of Windows to use EasyBCD)