Boot related image restore error?

[Algie]

There are two drives on this system. Drive 1 - Windows 8.1 - and drive 0 - Windows 7. There is a DOS-screen legacy dual boot.
When running one drive's O/S the other drive's O/S becomes J:. This has worked smoothly for many years.

Recently drive 1 was replaced by a larger drive. This caused boot problems that appear to be resolved. The "unallocated space" issue described here recently also occurred during the swap but that too is fixed - two nearly equal partitions filling drive 1.
Drive 0 has a SYSTEM partition, with no drive letter; the rest of its 120G contains everything else.

One oddity remains, related to an imaging program. Historically, W8.1's partition is restored while working from within the Windows 7 drive.
Since the new drive 1 install, when this restore is attempted the imaging program warns that it cannot lock the drive. Unmounting Win 7's BCD00000000 hive in the registry avoids the error, but it's remounted each time to O/S system boots.

The "lock" warning can be easily "ignored" but it's annoying. The imaging company suggests the plausible explanation that Win 7 may now be booting off the W8.1 drive - inadvertently changed when the MBR was reconstructed.

The attached image was made while in W7 on drive 0. The "J:" shown is Windows 8.1 on drive 1.
What further diagnostic or EasyBCD screen would be useful to sleuth this out? And if the suggested explanation is the case, how can it be easily and safely remedied? It's not worth risking another descent into MBR purgatory. ^_^

Thanks for the read.

 

[Terry60]

EasyBCD shows that C (8.1) is the boot drive, which is why you can't lock it. (The BCD is an always-open file)

You can boot from W7 by just switching the BIOS priority if it contains W8 bootmgr. Otherwise
Changing the Boot Partition

 

[Algie]

EasyBCD shows that C (8.1) is the boot drive, which is why you can't lock it. (The BCD is an always-open file)

You can boot from W7 by just switching the BIOS priority if it contains W8 bootmgr.

Done. Boot order had been changed when the new drive was installed. Fixed, with my thanks for your prompt response!

 

[Algie]

UPDATED - one drive won't boot

OOOPS, my glee broke out a bit too soon.

Indeed, the restore worked fine. But when dual booting, drive 1 with W8.1 wasn't seen. I brought it up directly with F8, confirming that 8.1 was intact.

Then, while in W7, I used BCD to "change drive" to C: - per your link. Unfortunately, that resulted in the inability to boot 8.1 totally - even from F8. The device is "unknown."
See attachment for the view from W7. I tried the W8 DVD repair routine, but it reported that it could not make the fix.

What needs to be done to get 8.1's drive recognized once again, please. Thanks.

 

[Algie]

8.1 not recognized/bootable

This relates to my earlier "boot related image restore error?" message. Please forgive the duplication, but I feared that my addendum would be buried at the end of an apparently resolved thread.

My glee at eliminating the restore warning broke out a bit too soon.
Indeed, the restore worked fine. But when dual booting, drive 1 with W8.1 wasn't seen. (I brought it up directly with F8, confirming that 8.1 was intact. When in Win 7, I can see that drive.)

So, while in W7, I used BCD to "change drive" to C: - per your link. Unfortunately, that resulted in the inability to boot 8.1 totally - even from F8. The device is "unknown."
I tried the W8 DVD repair routine, but it reported that it could not make the fix. Please see attachment for the current view from W7. "Device unknown."

What needs to be done to get 8.1's drive recognized once again, please. Thanks.

 

[Terry60]

Change boot drive is non-destructive, i.e. it copies boot files to the target location, leaving the originals intact and unchanged.
It's designed to copy boot files to a location which has none.
You used it in W7. How had you booted W7 ?
If W7 had been booted using its own (i.e. 375k ) bootmgr, then copying the boot files to W8 (which already had a newer bigger set) will have back leveled them.
Boot your 8.1 DVD and use "startup repair" to fix the W8 boot (3 times) if you find a 375k version of bootmgr on it.

Note the "...if it contains..." sentence in my original reply.
W7 cannot be used to boot W8, only the reverse.
If you want to boot from the W7 drive leaving W8 unlocked, then W8's boot files must be on W7's drive, not the other way round.

 

[Algie]

Change boot drive is non-destructive, i.e. it copies boot files to the target location, leaving the originals intact and unchanged.
It's designed to copy boot files to a location which has none.
You used it in W7. How had you booted W7 ?

Actually, I believe that I used "change boot" from 8.1. I recall instructing it to copy to c: When that didn't work, and I could no longer boot 8.1, I booted into Win 7
using F8 and asked "change boot" to copy to J:, which would be the 8.1 disk. May have screwed up, but I did my best.

If W7 had been booted using its own (i.e. 375k ) bootmgr, then copying the boot files to W8 (which already had a newer bigger set) will have back leveled them.
Boot your 8.1 DVD and use "startup repair" to fix the W8 boot (3 times) if you find a 375k version of bootmgr on it.

There is a 390k bootmgr file in the 8.1 files on the disk that won't boot. Did try "startup repair" - using the 8.0 disk - more than three times. Always the same "cannot fix" result.
Tried the Win 7 disk as well...

It searched for Windows installations and found both 7 and 8.1 PRO. I selected 8.1 PRO and clicked "start-up repair." (I did not click "load drivers.") It went through the motions, but ended with "cannot repair."

Here's the message when an 8.1 boot is attempted...

File Windows\system32\winload.exe
Status Oxc00000428
Info Windows cannot verify digital signature for this file

Note the "...if it contains..." sentence in my original reply.
W7 cannot be used to boot W8, only the reverse.
If you want to boot from the W7 drive leaving W8 unlocked, then W8's boot files must be on W7's drive, not the other way round.

I guess my understanding of this was limited, Terry. I swapped the drives in the BIOS, and though this solved the "lock" problem I found that
Win 8.1 wouldn't boot. So I tried the second suggestion.

I have also inserted the Windows 8 DVD (don't have one for 8.1) in the drive and brought up the command prompt. Using DISKPART I looked at
the drive sizes. The one that corresponded to the Windows 8 partition was C:.

At the <x: sources> prompt I then typed the following commands, and the system responded that they had been executed. But the result was the same.
bootsect /nt60 c: /force /mbr
bcdboot c: \windows /s c:


---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

It was becoming obvious that the loader was deeply hosed, so I bit the bullet and reinstalled 8. - then restored the image of 8.1. All is well.
The intent in using "change boot" was to copy 8.1's boot files to 7. But something slipped through my narrow mind.

Really appreciate your time. A donation has been sent.