help with manual recovery

U

unaguayabita

Member
I followed the steps here
http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Recovering+the+Vista+Bootloader+from+the+DVD

And then got a message saying BCD file was missing.

I completed ALL the steps and now I get a message saying
\Windows\system32\winload.exe is missing or corrupt.

Please help!
Thanks

Before this happened:
I wasn't able to boot up windows vista, came to a blue screen with mouse.
I downloaded recovery disk for Vista, but same thing would happen.
I downloaded recovery disk for Win 7 and the recovery options do show up
I tried system recovery but no luck
Then I tried manual.
I burned bootsect.exe to a cd, and used that when the command needed the bootsect.exe prompt
 
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Try running a chkdsk c: /r and than using startup repair. Get an Ubuntu live disc if that fails and backup your files to a safe location before re-installing.
 
Going to try that.
I´m downloading Ubuntu to recover just a few thing, nothing uber important, I just want the machine to work.

I don´t have the original DVD to reinstall, I´m using the Windows 7 recovery disk, as the Windows Vista CD didn´t work on my pc.

I have a Compaq but I can´t enter the recovery partition, neither pressing F8 or F11, never gives me that option.
I was going to order the Recovery disks from HP but the gal on the line for customer service told me those disks wouldn´t help me if my Vista had a failure that needed reinstall. Is she right?
I chatted with a CS rep from HP website and he said yes, that's what they are for: to get your pc back to factory settings. I don't know who is right? If I order the recovery disks would I be able to get my laptop back to working conditions, even if it means reinstalling?

Thanks!
 
As long as the recovery disks are for the exact model type, then of course they'll do a full factory reset. Why else would anyone buy them ?
Have a look with the booted Ubuntu CD at your HDD, and see what's on the recovery partition. It might be possible to access the recovery program directly if the F11 custom bootmanager has been overwritten.
 
Okay, the Ubuntu is almost done. I´ve never used it before so we'll see how I do.
I ran the chkdsk but no help. I did system recovery again and let it run for hours until it said finish, but the Winload.exe file is still missing/damaged.

Darn, that didn´t happen until after I did all the manual recovery. Any idea why? Or how I could fix that file missing?

Thanks!
 
The "winload.exe" error message is most likely due to a mis-configured BCD (i.e. your Vista entry is pointed at the wrong partition).

Could you post the results of the commands
Code: 
diskpart
select disk 0
list volume
bcdedit.exe
run from Windows 7 recovery disk | Repair Your Computer | Command Prompt.
 
Yes, these are it:
For list volume:
Volume 0 Ltr E Label Repair disc Fs UDF Type DVD-ROM Size 143MB Status Healthy Info (empty)
Volume 1 Ltr D (no label) Fs RAW Type partition 147 GB Healthy
Vol 2 C Presario_RP NTFS partition 9 GB healthy
Vol 3 F removable 0 B no media

Amd for BCDEDIT.EXE I get... a list of a bunch of commands

Haven´t tried Ubuntu Live, will get to it tomorrow, most likely. 8 months pregnant here.... super tired, phew!
Thank for all the help, I really appreciate it.
***Monica
 
Wow...
Hope you have that baby soon without too much difficulty, Monica. :grinning:

Do

the diskpart commands again, then run this:
Code: 
select volume 2
active
That will set that NTFS partition to "active", and you can try running Startup Repair again.
 
Are you kidding me? All this Vista stuff is going to put me into labor! :tongueout:
I did as advised and waiting for Startup Repair to finish, it´s been going on for hours!!!
How long should I let it run?
 
Ok, if its been going for hours, then its definitely not planning to finish...
Terminate it, then try to boot normally, and post back with the results.

If it fails to boot, you should try Safe Mode. BSODs are generally caused by bad automatic updates.

(And if you start having contractions in the middle of it, you might want to take a break, and wait a little while...:tongueout:)
 
Booting normally I still get the error that Winload.exe is missing or corrupt.
I forget what key takes me to the list options to choose Safe Mode. I pressed F3 and it did ask me... but still booted from the CD. Now I can see the black Safe Mode background and in front of it the Startup Repair window. Is this normal? Did the CD start in Safe Mode or was I suppossed to start from the HDD is safe mode?

Again, thanks for all the help.
 
Take the CD out, then press F8 to access advanced options, and select Safe Mode.
If for some reason, that doesn't work, do F3 again.
 
I think it's beyond my knowledge here.
I changed the boot order to HDD first and F3 does nothing, F8 nothing, the only F that works is F10 to take me to BIOS. I get, right away, a black screen that says Windows Boot Manager-- the one that tells me that Winload.exe is missing or corrupt.

No F (I've pressed them all) has taken me to the option to start in Safe Mode.
 
At what point were you pressing the key? You should press it right after it loads past the Compaq page at startup, and keep tapping the key (i.e. don't just press it once) real fast. You probably pressed it too late.
 
I do press it continuosly, I turn it on, start pressing and continue to press until I get the black Windows boot Manager screen. On startup my compaque says that F9 is to select boot options but that doesn't work either.
It says F11 is the recovery console but nothing comes up with F11.

F1, F2, and F10 are the only F keys that work: System info, system check and BIOS set up.

All these... no good, right? :frowning:

Ubuntu finished downloading, and I'm going to try and recover a couple files, should I try Terry60's advice and see what I can have access to in the recovery console?
 
Hmm...probably because you rebuilt the BCD with the boot options in it.

Yeh, try Terry's advice and backup your data with the Ubuntu CD. A reinstall may be needed.
However, we may be able to get the recovery partition to work, depending on what's on it.

EDIT: Though judging from the earlier diskpart output, your recovery partition may not even be there anymore...or may be that RAW one I see there. BTW, you don't have multiple HDDs, do you?
 
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Okay, going to try that. I really don't mind a re-install, there's nothing, you know, inminent that I must retrieve from the hard drive. Just 2 or 3 files, that's it. I just miss my laptop :frowning:
 
Ok, use these instructions to recover your files with Ubuntu CD:

Boot Ubuntu CD (by putting CD drive first in boot sequence of BIOS).
Select your language (e.g. English).
Select "Try Ubuntu with no Change To Your Computer".
Once arriving at the Ubuntu desktop (it might take a minute or two; its pretty slow), go to Places menu, and select Computer.
A window similiar to Windows Explorer will open up, and allow you to browse your existing partitions, and recover any files you may have on there. For Vista, the directory is usually Users/Username/Documents or Users/Username/Pictures or whatever. Note that Linux doesn't use drive letters like Windows, but instead uses only labels and sizes (by GBs) to identify partitions. You should be able to figure out which partition contains your files.
 
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Oh, darn, one more question. On my downloaded files I have 2 Ubuntu:
Ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso Okb
Ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso.part 107,093 kb

Why? can I just rename the .part file, remove that extension?
Or did it not download completely?

Sorry I'm such a dork, again, thanks for being so nice.

ETA: Nevermind, I just saw that it's still downloading, and has like 2 days remaining... ups!
 
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Looks like you didn't complete the download successfully.
You'll need to re-download it unfortunately.

Once you've got it downloaded, burn the resulting .iso file to a CD with ImgBurn in "image" mode.
 
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