asked on

Windows fails to boot and Vista DVD does not load

After playing around with partitions and trying to dual boot, with no avail, I decided to put the partition back into 1, like it was before I started (One NTFS with 55GB). I had shrunk the partition when installing Ubuntu, and later, XP. The XP install did not work as when trying to complete installation (after the automatic reboot) the boot failed and I had to use the Vista DVD to automatically repair the boot. This worked fine. After trying and restoring the boot twice, I erased the second partition and merged it with the original. This took about an hour. Now when I try to start, I get the error "BOOTMGR is missing, press any key to restart". This was the message I had gotten previously that I had fixed with the Vista DVD, but now when I try to start the Vista DVD it does not work. The DVD loads files then shows the vista logo like usual, then the screen goes black. After a minute or so, the mouse comes up, but the screen is still black. I have tried restarting many times and the result is always the same. What do I have to do to repair this problem? I was using GParted to edit the partitions. When I flag the partition with "boot" I get a different and more detailed error, but basically means the same thing (That Boot is screwed). Thankyou for any advice you might be able to give.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

alwayssmiling

membership

This solution is only available to members.

To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.

Start Free Trial

kingadam

ASKER

Thankyou Patrick for your assistance. I will try plugging the drive into another computer as slave. Thought it might be helpful to mention that I used Vista Boot Pro to back up the BCD (I think this is what it was called) to my My Documents file just prior to merging the partitions. Could this be retrieved and used to fix the problem in anyway?

Also, if I was to split the partition again, reinstall Ubuntu and therefore GRUB, would that allow the Vista DVD to load and therefore allow the boot repair to function?

Thanks for all your help and patience so far.

kingadam

ASKER

After alot of work, I have fixed it. (I write the details in the case that someone else runs into this problem) I reinstalled ubuntu on a new partition, but I don't think that had anything to do with the error correcting itself. A friend told me to use a windows 98 recovery disc to use the command "fixmbr". I have done this once before and it has worked. I used my Win XP installation disc to enter the recovery console, but I was faced with "Enter Administrator Password" (or something to that effect). No matter what password I typed in, it didn't allow me to enter recovery mode. So I followed Patricks advice and tried putting the HDD in my Dad's computer as a slave. This worked and allowed me to backup any important data before I did a fresh install.

When I started my Dad's computer, boot time CHKDSK started and ran a scan on my HDD. This corrected a few errors. After plugging back into mine, I got the same error, but the Vista DVD would load. I ran the boot recovery twice and VISTA WORKED! I lost no files in the process and Vista runs normally.

I am still going to use DBAN to wipe the HDD, because I have done a lot of partitioning that I would like to remove and it's probably time to do a fresh install anyway. However, if there were any super important files I needed to save, I could have recovered them and it shows that if you get in this position, you can still totally recover Vista. If more explanation is needed please ask me.

Thanks Patrick, I'm giving the points to you as without your advice, I wouldn't have been able to get to the stage I am now.