Setup Installation :: Repair Windows To Get Bootloader?
May 8, 2014
I have removed a Linux Distro from my dual boot, it was running GRUB2 as the bootloader and now I need to repair windows to get the bootloader fixed and overwrite GRUB with the normal loader.
However for whatever reason, it is notoriously difficult to do this without a disc or having made a backup drive within windows before things went tits up.
Is there a simple way to install a recovery disc onto a USB, boot from USB and then repair?
I tried to install ubuntu 13.04 x86 on my 16 GB flash drive using the pendrive program. When i restarted my laptop and selected boot from usb drive i then selected install ubuntu on my dva2 using ext4 and "/" on mount. After finishing the process i restarted my laptop and i was keep booting in ubuntu os without even asking me if i wanted to boot in windows. I then removed usb from laptop and the only os that exists is ubuntu. The only thing i noticed is that in the partitioning menu earlier where i selected the 16 GB flash drive, it also said Windows 8 loader next to it something that was a bit strange since my windows was installed on my 240 Gb ssd. I enter in ubuntu without usb and i can see all my files from windows desktop. Is there any possible way to recover my windows?
I have Windows 8.1 installed and then I installed Windows 7 afterward and now the system is using the Windows 7 bootloader as opposed to the Windows 8.1 bootloader. What I want to do is get set the Windows 8.1 as the default bootloader.
I have (perhaps I should say had) a multi-boot system. Originally I installed my 6 Windows OS's and then installed my two favorite Linux distros. I like the ability to customize the Grub menu which Linux gives me. Unfortunately Grub did not detect all 6 of my Windows installations but one of the boot options it did detect took me back into my original Windows menu which showed all 6 of the Windows systems. So that's the setup which I have been using successfully for the past few months. (One boot menu which boots into another). Today my Windows boot menu has become unusable and probably corrupt.
At first I had the problem that I was only able to boot into Windows 8.1 (no windows menu at all). Then I used EasyBCD which I had inside Windows 8.1 At first EasyBCD indicated an inability to load any boot file at all. Subsequently after rebooting into 8.1 a few times more I tried it again. It then showed a boot menu but with only Windows 8.1 listed. I subsequently was able to use the add operating system function to add all the other Windows systems again. I then clicked save to save the new configuration. Now I do see all six Windows systems at boot but neither of them, even Windows 8.1 will boot. Where I should start to get back into one of these six Windows operating systems so that I can possible use the EasyBCD repair function to access the others. I think I had EasyBCD installed inside each Windows OS At the moment I am dependent on Linux alone for Internet access. I trust this is clear.
As nothing in Linux has changed, I assume I need to fix the problem from the Windows side of things. I do have that one option when I get into that blue Windows 8 style boot menu to "change options" I thought EasyBCD would have restored the Windows 7 style text boot menu but it did not. Other than that I have the various Windows installation disks and a Win7 repair disk as well as various full partition backups on an external hard drive. What do do about a corrupt bcd file without being inside Windows, and I don't know much about EasyBCD. Would a refresh/reset of Win 8.1 from the install disk be a good way to start? I did get the message of "files missing" when I tried to do a system recovery drive while inside Windows 8.1 today, so there are issues with that OS.
I have an old desktop running windows 7 (spec below). I had a 60GB partition and figured I'd install 8.1. I downloaded 8.1, proceeded to the install and everything went fine.
Upon reboot the desktop loaded to the windows 8 icon and immediately rebooted itself, and then launched into windows 8 automatic repair (without showing OS choice beforehand).
The pc has been stuck in this loop and I cant get out of it. I've attempted to reinstall a few times but it's the same story. I ran a disk check but no problems were found.
Windows 7 runs fine and has done for years, just a little sluggish as it needs some cleaning.
I currently have Windows 8.1 (core) on my HP laptop that originally came with Windows 8 (core). Recently I have had issues with Windows update and by searching forums I found the only thing I could do was a repair install. At first I was unable to find my product key from the packaging, but by using Belarc Advisor I was able to locate my product key. I downloaded the Windows 8 and 8.1 installations from the M$ website and when I put in my GENUINE key into windows 8 it says "This product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8".
I have even tried using a GENERIC key in both it keeps giving me "We can't connect right now."
-I my date and time are correct -I can connect to the internet (multiple locations) -antivirus, firewall, etc deactivated -BITS is on and running -cryptographic on and running
I am unable to do the windows 8.1 iso download trick and cannot find any forum that has this resolved.
I had my system set up for Dual boot (on separate hard drives) for both Win 8.1 and Win 7. Win 8.1 developed a problem and unfortunately the only back up I had (my fault) was for Win 8 before I installed Win 7 and the dual boot.
I reinstalled from the backup and then updated Win 8 to 8.1. Both the Win 8.1 64 bit and the Win 7 64 bit work OK but the dual boot is now missing in Win 8.1.
Is there any way of repairing/creating the dual boot, either in Win 7 or Win 8, without using BCD Edit?
when I upgraded to Win 8.1 it was online. I have a win 8 disk but its not recognised. How can I reinstall win 8.1 and not lose anything as it reports missing files.
My daughter plugged in her ipad which normally opened in a setting which no longer works, instead opening in windows which it should not. I opened a file this morning and it opened in the wrong directory??
I just changed the wifi card in my laptop and forgot to back it up first. After changing it it failed to boot because of a recent hardware change. I downloaded a copy of windows 8 pro to attempt to do a repair install, and did the automatic repair option but it failed to do it. Is there a way I can get my system to boot without reinstalling the OS?
Is it possible to repair or reinstall windows 8 pro while keeping the desktop app using the windows 8 installation disk and if so any link to a site that explain how to do it.
For some odd reason my laptop decided to not boot into windows anymore; It would be stuck "boot looping" with my MSI laptop logo and a loading sign (rotating circle). I had Kali Linux and Windows 8 installed on the laptop and neither one would work. So I formatted the entire HDD with all 3 partitions, windows partition, even my storage, and kali's partition because the automatic repair wouldn't work as well; it'll be stuck on Preparing automatic repair and wouldn't get past that screen. I have formatted my HDD with my other windows 7 machine by just right clicking -> format.
I have downloaded a torrented version of Win 8 iso (just for the purposes of installation, my laptop came with a Serial # and I have purchased an product key only version as well). I have burned a DVD of win 8 via winISO and changed my boot options to boot from DVD as well.
Now my problem is, when I am prompted to press any key to boot from CD/DVD and I press a key I am redirected to Preparing Automatic Repair and back to square one of my problems. I believe the recovery/backup partition is still on there.
I have tried being in both LEGACY and UIEF. UIEF sends me to Preparing Repair and LEGACY takes me to the windows 8 logo with the rotating circle underneath with nothing after that (not sure if it takes a VERY long time or not)
When I try to use the tutorial,I get as far as the Product Key entry.
The install was an original 8 I downloaded when it first came out.
I then installed 8.1, probably from the Store.
I recently downloaded and install 8.1 Media Center Pack.
Had a real problem with activation.MS Support finally had me go to where there was a long activation string and then he gave me a new Product Key, which is now on the machine and Activated.
When I get to the "Product Key" page and enter the Media Pack key, "This product key didn't work. ....."
My PC fails to boot into Windows and launches Automatic Repair to attempt to repair Windows. When i try to refresh or reset alway get msg " there is a problem resetting your pc, no changes are made" My PC is preinstalled so no I don't have recovery CD/DVD Here pics
You have Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro installed on your PC. Your PC fails to boot into Windows and launches Automatic Repair to attempt to repair Windows.
Automatic Repair is unable to repair your PC and you select "Advanced options". After selecting "Troubleshoot", you choose to either "Refresh your PC" or "Reset your PC".
In this scenario, recovery may fail and you are returned back to the main WinRE screen. This issue may occur if the System or Software registry hives have become damaged or corrupted.
To attempt to resolve this issue, follow the steps below. Following these steps should only be used if you are attempting to use the "Refresh your PC" or "Reset your PC" options in Windows RE because your system is in a non-bootable state.
-After Automatic Repair fails to repair your PC, select "Advanced options" and then "Troubleshoot". -Select "Advanced options" and then select "Command Prompt". -If prompted, enter in the password for the user name. -At the Command Prompt, go to the windowssystem32config folder by typing the following command: cd %windir%system32config. -Rename the System and Software registry hives to System.001 and Software.001 by using the following commands: ren system system.001 ren software software.001
I did all that but when I tried to rename the Software.001 file the system responds: "The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process" ...
I tried to create a Ubuntu start up usb key so that i could maybe get in and rename the file but that presented more problems.
While I was messing around with my laptop, I decided to add on a fourth operating system, Arch Linux. I suppose I was pushing my luck a bit . Anyways, during the installation, I accidentally deleted the EFI system partition from my laptop, which contained the Windows Boot Manager and necessary files to boot. Great. I only made things worse by trying to troubleshoot, and broke grub as well.
I have a Windows 8 repair disk I made using the Windows 8 built in utility, but it does not boot: the computer turns on, and just hangs at the Toshiba splash screen.
I also can obviously not access the Toshiba recovery partitions, as they are booted into just like Windows itself.
I found a bootx64.efi file on one of my system's recovery partitions (Toshiba seems to have some really complex system going on) and placed it in EFIootootx64.efi. According to this site, FGA: The EFI boot process., I need to place the bkpbootmgfw.efi (on my system, that was what it was called, but I suspect boot-repair (ubuntu tool) messed something up when I was first setting up grub and the ESP and the bkp stands for backup) back onto the EFI System Partition.
Where to look for in the various Windows Imaging Format .wim and .swm files I have laying around my recovery partition(s) in order to extract the necessary EFI files. Any Windows Repair iso that works.
I have a Dell XPS 8500 win 8.1. I recently installed Linux Mint 17 on an external HD which booted from GRUB. I now removed Mint 17 ok but I'm left with a reference to 'UBUNTU' in my bootloader. I'm unable to remove this reference. this reference to UBUNTU prevents me from booting from a LINUX USB. I think I need to repair the bootloader but can't and I have tried all sorts of.....FIXBOOT, FIXMBR. etc.
I was installing Windows 8 at my desktop pc.Suddenly power cut occured and it caused the compute to shut down.Then when I restarted my pc again a messege appeared saying that the installation has been corrupted and it can't be continued and it doesn't log on.After that when I tried to re-install Windows 8 the setup got stuck at the "setup is starting" window.I waited overnight for it to go and the installation to start.But it doesn't happen.I have tried to re-install several times but the same problen happens again and again.So neither I can log into my computer now nor I can re-install windows.I don't know what to do.
Ok, So, I started up my laptop this morning and the screen was all wonky, It was light blue and there were swiggly white bits, I waited a bit and then restarted it.
The Auto Repair started up when the computer started back up so I left it alone for a bit
"Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC"
I was like Ok, I checked the logfiles "Boot critical file c:/ci.dll is corrupt"
It won't let me refresh or restore my computer.
Forgot to say, If I restart it just loops back to the auto repair.
I have a Lenovo S10-3t convertible touch tablet/netbook that I am creating a multiboot scenario for.
To cover all the details, here are my disks and my partition setup. 640GB HDD as the primary drive 32GB SDCard as the secondary drive.
Primary HDD has these partitions: MBR PARTITION SCHEME Partition 1: Windows 8 Pro 64-bit (492.33GB) NTFS, with Win 8 bootloader Partition 2: Mac OS X Snow Leopard (79.28GB) HFS+ Journaled, with standalone mini-chameleon bootloader Partition 3: Linux Mint 15 64-bit (23.28GB) EXT4 Journaled, with GRUB2 on this same partition Partition 4 (in extended partition): Linux Swap (1.27GB) ...swap space
The SDCard has these partitions: MBR PARTITION SCHEME Partition 1: Dedicated to ReadyBoost (5GB) FAT32 Partition 2: Android x86 4.2.2 (24.84GB) EXT3, legacy GRUB SHOULD be in the MBR of this disk
I am using the Windows 8 graphical bootloader to manage everything, as it is a touch-screen tablet, and I like having the touch support for the bootloader. So I would PREFER to use it if possible.
I have currently added entries for OSX Snow Leopard and Linux Mint Olivia to the Windows 8 boot manager, and all three OSes chainload properly to their respective bootloaders and are happy with each other.
Is it possible to chainload the Legacy GRUB bootloader in the EXT3 partition on the SD Card that has Android on it with the Windows 8 Bootloader? And, if so, will you walk me through this process?
There's a couple of reasons...as this is a touch screen tablet I would prefer the convenience of having an option to boot Android from the touch-enabled Windows 8 Boot Manager instead of having to fold the screen away from the keyboard, press FN+F11 and selecting the SD Card as the primary boot device every time I want to go into Android. I could have android on a fifth partition on my HDD, but one of the reasons for having Android on flash memory is BECAUSE I have a mechanical HDD, and I use Android if I'm actively moving the laptop around in a rough environment (say, walking or in a moving vehicle for example, and the HDD would be off since it isn't needed). I know I could use an SSD, but I prefer having a mechanical HDD in my laptop for my own reasons.
I am using a combination of VisualBCDEditor and EasyBCD, and I cannot get either to see or acknowledge the existence of the EXT3 partition on the SDCard (though they all see the EXT4 and HFS+ volumes on the primary HDD, and the FAT32 partition on the SDCard...)
I had a version of Windows 8 installed on a secondary hard drive for testing purposes. When I no longer needed it, I uninstalled it and formatted the hard drive. What's odd is that the Bootloader for Windows 8 is still there, and throws up an error screen saying it can't find critical system files.
Ive tried restoring the MBR using my Win7 disc, but to no avail.
I have a new XPS L521X that came with Windows 8. I hate Windows 8 so I decided to install a generic copy of Windows 7 the other day. I'm now having issues with Windows 7 and would like to factory restore the system, but since windows 7 overwrote the MBR, I am not able to access the Dell recovery. The hard drive still has the PBR Image partition, I just don't know how to boot from it. How I can boot into the Dell recovery and restore back to Windows 8? Is there some sort of UEFI boot option I can just add in the BIOS?
I have a HP Envy 4 Ultrabook and I want to install Windows 8 from scratch, I put the installation files on a flash drive from a DVD of Win 8 I had, but when I go to install it, it says the "We couldn't find any drives". I have tried using DiskPart within the CMD as well, but it only finds my flash drive when I run list disk. Also, my drives are completely formatted, and I accidentally wiped the recovery partition. I tried with a USB of Win 8 Pro, and it was fine, showing all of my drives correctly, but that version is linked to another PC, so I can't install it. Also, I booted into a Linux Mint live CD and tried to install it, it sees my hard drive correctly, but the Windows install does not, I can't figure this out, never encountered it before. Is Linux my only option at this point?
I am trying to upgrade from windows 8 pro to windows 8.1 on a samsung laptop. The download completes and installation starts.
After a while the following message appears "you cant install windows on a usb flash drive with setup"
I am not actually trying to install to a flash drive. I contacted Microsoft and after 5 hours they said that I should connect to the internet with a cable and not by wireless in order to solve the problem (this didn't work of course and I had told them that it was an install problem and not a download problem).
Until very recently i was running Windows 8 with a 240 GB Sandisk SSD as a primary and a 2 TB Western Digital Green HDD as a storage. I decided to set up a RAID 1 setup so i purchased a second 2 TB HDD and installed it.
My intent was to run windows 8 off the 240 SSD as a primary and have a RAID 1 setup for my 2TB HDDs.
I learnt that my data configuration was set to AHCI. I decided to do a complete clean install and change the sata configuration in BIOS to RAID.
After successfully creating a RAID volume using my 2TB HDDs i proceeded to install Windows off my primary. I am however having difficulties in that it will not allow me to install windows on either drive.
