Question

Winload.exe is missing or corrupt

Asked by: netbones

Out of the blue my Vista system stops with the notorious winload.exe is missing or corrupt error.

I've tried repairing it with the install disk, it shows the volume as corrupt.  It also does not detect the local installation.

I've tried running bcdedit /CREATESTORE C:\BCD but it comes back with:
The boot configuration data store could not be opened. The system cannot find the file specified.

I've booted to Trinity Rescue and scanned the file system w/o a problem, no viruses. I can access the data from Trinity, so I know the fs is clean.  

From the Vista Repair screen, going to a command prompt and then trying to access the C: drive comes back with "the device is not ready".

Motherboard is a GIgabyte X38T-DQ6, Quad Core Intel Q6600 processor, 4Gb memory.

Any help is appreciated.

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Asked On
2009-06-02 at 22:56:07ID24458973
Tags

Windows

,

Vista

,

Operating Systems

Topics

Operating Systems Miscellaneous

,

Windows Vista

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
2

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Answers

 

by: rindiPosted on 2009-06-02 at 23:35:49ID: 24533770

For the repair installation to work you probably need to supply the Disk Controller Driver for the motherboard. Download the newest such drivers and put them on a USB stick, then load them when the Vista DVD tries to find the partitions on your HD.

If that doesn't help, test your HD using the disk manufacturer's diagnostic utility. It may be able to recover simple errors if they exist, and if not it'll tell you the state of the HD and whether it requires replacement. You'll find all there tools on the UBCD.

http://ultimatebootcd.com

 

by: netbonesPosted on 2009-06-16 at 18:14:29ID: 31588152

I never was able to get the corrupted windows installation to show up when running Vista Repair. The drivers load, but it never sees the install. I tried recreating the boot store with BCDEdit, no good. I finally just added another drive, and reinstalled windows to it and I'm migrating data. Oh Well! I need a system clean up anyway, just damn bad timing as always. Thanks.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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