A+: Common Error Messages and Codes, Windows Vista Boot Errors

Windows Vista uses the bootmgr and BCD files during the startup process. If these files are corrupted or missing, you will see corresponding error messages.

• BOOTMGR is missing— This message is displayed if the bootmgr file is missing or corrupt. This black screen will probably also say “Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart,” however doing so will probably have the same results. Since a hard drive’s lifespan is not infinite, it may not be possible to repair this file, so the hard drive will need to be replaced.

There are two ways to repair this error.

1. Boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Startup Repair option. This should automatically repair the system and require you to reboot.

2. Boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Command Prompt option, then type the command bootrec /fixboot

• The Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information— This message means that either the Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr) entry is not present in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store or that the Boot\BCD file on the active partition is damaged or missing. Additional information you might see on the screen includes: File: \Boot\BCD, and Status: 0xc0000034

The BCD store needs to be repaired or rebuilt. Hold on to your hats, there are three methods for repairing this error:

1. Boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Startup Repair option. This should automatically repair the system and require you to reboot. If not, move on to the second method.

2. Boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Command Prompt option. Type bootrec /rebuildbcd. At this point the bootrec.exe tool will either succeed or fail.

• If the Bootrec.exe tool runs successfully, it presents you with an installation path of a Windows directory. To add the entry to the BCD store, type Yes. A confirmation message appears that indicates the entry was added successfully.

• If the Bootrec.exe tool can’t locate any missing Windows installations, you’ll have to remove the BCD store, and then re-create it. To do this, type the following commands in the order in which they are presented. Press Enter after each command.

Bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
Bootrec /rebuildbcd

Methods one and two will usually work, but if they don’t there is a third method that is more in depth and requires rebuilding the BCD store manually. More information on this step by step process can be found at the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927391.

Various issues can happen if you attempt to dual boot an older operating system with an existing Windows Vista OS. For example, Vista may cease to boot after the second operating system is installed. This could mean that the master boot record was overwritten, along with other issues. Several steps are involved to repair this problem. The initial command in this process, which will restore the MBR and the boot code that transfers control to the Windows Boot Manager program, is X:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All. X is the drive where the installation media exists. See the following MSKB link for more information on how to manually create an entry into the BCD store for the new operating system and how to troubleshoot this further: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529.