Windows 7 is installed but the computer does not start. What to do if Windows won't start
Coming across an error like “Operating system not found” while booting your computer can be nerve wracking. But, if you have 7 installed, then you have nothing special to fear. After all, such loading errors can often be resolved with just a few simple steps.
In many cases, the inability to boot Windows 7 may simply be due to an incorrect boot order in the BIOS. This can happen if you have more than one hard drive installed in your computer. Typically, entering the BIOS occurs a few seconds after turning on the computer by pressing a button Delete or by pressing a special function key. Once you enter the BIOS, make sure your Windows 7 hard drive is in the correct place in the boot queue. If you don't know where to look, read the instructions for your motherboard.
Another possible reason for your computer not detecting Windows during boot is a hardware problem. If the BIOS cannot detect your system drive, then make sure that all cables are connected to it properly. If your hard drive makes strange noises, like clicking and tapping sounds, then it may be broken. Finally, it is possible that your hard drive is experiencing data corruption issues affecting important system data, such as the Master Boot Record (MBR).
If you suspect your drive has failed, it's a good idea to back up important data, scan it for errors from another computer, and even consider purchasing a replacement drive. Trying to fix a boot problem on a damaged drive may result in data loss, so back up your data before you do anything.
The MBR and other important boot data can also be corrupted by attempts to install earlier versions of Windows other than Windows 7 (like Windows XP) or by third-party programs such as viruses. In the case of a virus, even before any “corrective” actions, it is recommended to scan the disk using an antivirus program. Otherwise, attempts to fix a disk with a virus may result in data loss.
Also, the appearance of messages about boot data corruption may be caused by incorrectly setting the active disk partition, which may come from an overly inquisitive Windows user with administrative rights.
Fixing MBR and other Windows 7 boot problems is most quickly accomplished by using a Windows 7 installation DVD. But if you don't have one, then an alternative is to use a Windows 7 system repair disc, which we'll show you how to create below.
If you don't have either an installation DVD or a recovery disc, then do yourself a big favor by creating a recovery disc now to avoid unnecessary headaches in the future.
Fix Master Boot Record (MBR)
Step one: Turn on your computer by booting from either the Windows 7 installation DVD or the Windows 7 system recovery disc. Be aware that you may have to change the boot order in the BIOS to boot from the DVD.
Step two: When booting from your installation disk or recovery disk, you may be asked to select a language. Select it and then continue downloading. If you are using the installation DVD, when prompted below (or similar in another language), select Repair your computer.
Step three: It will take the computer some time to search for installed Windows, after which you will be provided with a list of possible recoverable Windows. Select the appropriate installation and continue. If, by chance, a problem is discovered in one of your Windows installations at this early stage, the system may ask you if you want it to automatically fix it. Here you can decide for yourself - whether to allow the system to correct itself or not? If you do not want automatic correction, then simply select “no” (No).
Step four: Once you reach the System Recovery Options screen shown below, you will be faced with a list of choices that can help you in recovering your damaged Windows 7
If you wish, you can first try the Startup Repair option, which often automatically solves many boot problems. However, in this article, we will use the Command Prompt option to solve our problems manually. Therefore, to continue, click on Command Prompt.
Step five: Once at the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter:
If it is completed successfully, you will see a corresponding welcome message, such as “The operation completed successfully.” This is what you need! Your MBR has been restored!
Even though the above command fixes the MBR (and sometimes that's enough), there may still be an error with the system partition's boot sector and Boot Configuration Data (BCD). This may happen if you tried to install another operating system in addition to Windows 7, such as Windows XP. To write a new boot sector, try the following command:
If your Windows 7 is still not detected when you boot your computer, or you want to include more than one operating system in the system boot list, try the following command to rebuild your BCD:
bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd
The above command will scan all your drives for other Windows 7 compatible operating systems and allow you to add them to the system's boot list. If this doesn't work, then you may need to backup your old BCD folder and create a new one using the commands below:
bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
c:
cd boot
attrib bcd -s -h -r
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
bootrec /RebuildBcd
Some users simply delete the old boot folder and try the above steps to solve their boot problems. But it is not recommended to do this.
How to change active partitions
After deliberately changing the active partition on our system drive during system boot, we encountered a BOOTMGR is missing error, which prevented us from booting Windows. This is a common error that occurs when you start “playing” with partitions on the system disk. And solving it can cause a serious headache if you don’t prepare for it in advance.
To reverse the active partition, use your Windows 7 recovery disc or installation DVD and follow the steps below.
Step one: Follow the above steps (one through four). This should take you to the Windows recovery environment command prompt.
Step two: Type DiskPart and then press Enter.
Step three: Type List Disk and press Enter. This command will list all the drives connected to your computer and assign numbers to them.
Step four: Enter Select Disk x, where x is the number of the disk containing the partition you want to make active. Press Enter.
Step five: Type List Partition and press Enter. This will allow you to see a list of partitions on the selected drive. Determine which section you want to make active.
Step six: Enter Select Partition x, where x is the number of the partition you want to make active. Press Enter.
Step seven: Now just type Active and press Enter. This command will make the section you selected active.
How to create a Windows 7 system repair disc
Windows 7 makes it easy to create your own system recovery disk, if, of course, you already have the operating system installed and running.
Step one: Click on the Start button -> Programs -> Maintenance -> Create a system repair disk.
Step two: Insert a blank CD or DVD into your optical drive.
Step three: Click on the create disk button and let the program do its job.
Just what you need! The program only needs to write 140-160MB of data to disk (depending on the type of operating system), which should only take a few minutes. If you don't have a CD/DVD-R optical drive that you could use to create a recovery disc (and for subsequent use), then you can download an ISO image of a Windows 7 system recovery disc and then use it to create bootable USB flash drive.
How to create a bootable USB flash drive with a Windows 7 system repair disc
Step one: Download the Windows 7 system recovery disk image ().
To download you will need a torrent client, like. Alternatively (if you have a DVD drive), you can use the Windows 7 installation disc or the Windows 7 system recovery disc. In this case, you should skip straight to step seven.
By the way, using the Windows 7 installation disk in the seventh step, you can not only restore the system, but also install Windows 7 from a USB drive, which can be very useful if you are a netbook user.
Step two: Open a command prompt with administrator rights. To do this, click on the Start button -> Programs -> Accessories -> right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
Step three: After confirming all UAC prompts, you should be at the command prompt. Make sure your USB flash drive is connected to your computer, then type DiskPart and press Enter.
Step four: Type List Disk and press Enter. Determine which number corresponds to your USB flash drive. In our case, the USB flash drive corresponds to Disk 1. We determined this by the capacity of the flash drive, which we have is 2GB.
Step five: Enter the following commands in order, changing the disk number to your own. Warning - executing the commands below will erase all data on your USB flash drive or drive of your choice.
Select Disk 1
Clean
Create Partition Primary
Select Partition 1
Active
Format FS=NTFS
Step six: Once DiskPart has successfully formatted your USB flash drive (which may take a few minutes), you need to enter the following commands:
Step seven: Now you need to copy the contents of the ISO image (or DVD) you downloaded to your USB flash drive. It's just a couple of folders and a file. To extract files from an ISO image you will need some kind of program, like.
Step eight: Now that the files have been copied, you need to make your USB flash drive bootable. To do this you need to download a small file. This file can also be found in the boot directory of the Windows 7 installation disk. After downloading, place bootsect.exe in the root folder of your USB flash drive.
Step nine: Back at the command prompt, you need to change the current directory to the root directory of the USB flash drive. In our case, the flash drive corresponds to the letter E, so we will use the following commands:
e:
bootsect /nt60 e:
The bootsect command will add compatible boot code to the specified volume. If everything goes well, you will receive a bootable, recovery USB flash drive. However, when using it, do not forget that it must be indicated in the BIOS boot list.
Many computer and laptop users have probably encountered problems loading Windows 7. The operating system simply refused to boot and gave an error. In such cases it is impossible to even enter Safe mode By F8.
The first thing that comes to mind in such situations is reinstalling Windows itself. The procedure is simple and well described in the manuals: Installing Windows 7 and many others.
Reinstallation will solve the problem with loading the system, but you don’t want to lose documents, programs, you don’t want to set everything up again, installing drivers and applications, as well as configuring them can take a lot of time.
Comment: This guide does not cover hardware problems such as problems turning on the laptop itself, problems with the image, and so on.
Fortunately, there is a simpler solution to the system boot problem. Bootloader corruption is usually the cause of system boot problems. Windows, disruption MBR. To restore the system, you need to restore this same bootloader and MBR. How to do this will be described below.
Restoring Windows to Normal Boot
MBR and bootloader recovery process Windows 7 almost completely identical to that for Windows Vista. This means that the recommendations described below can be safely applied to recovery Windows Vista.
Let's begin. First of all, we need a boot disk or flash drive with the distribution kit Windows 7. How to prepare them is described in detail in the manuals: Installing Windows 7 from a USB flash drive on a laptop, netbook or regular PC
Now you should select the item System Restore at the bottom:
After this, a search will begin for installed copies of Windows on your hard drive:
As a result, the wizard should find the installed Windows 7. Select it and click Further:
The Windows recovery menu should appear:
Let's look at what each point is for:
- Startup recovery- recovery of Windows bootloader and system files
- System Restore- restoring the system from restore points. Restore points are created automatically when important system updates are installed, and can also be created manually by the user
- Restoring a system image- restoring Windows from a disk image
- Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool- checking RAM for errors. Quite a useful thing.
- Command line- command line for manual recovery
The first two points, as well as the last one, are of interest to us. Let's first consider Startup recovery. This is the easiest way to restore normal system booting. Let's launch it. The diagnostics should run:
After some time the problem will (or will not) be fixed:
Let's now look at the second menu item - System Restore. Let's try to restore the system from restore points. To do this we launch System Restore:
Now select the last restore point and click Further:
Click on Ready We agree with the warnings:
Reboot your laptop or computer.
P.S. It is not always possible to solve the problem using the methods described above; therefore, you will have to start analyzing the text of the error message that appears during PC startup and look for alternative options.
Windows 7 won't boot
A message with the text “BOOTMGR is missing” indicates that the Windows 7 operating system boot loader is damaged or missing. To solve this problem, you will need a Windows 7 installation disk or a disk with ERD Commander (32bit or 64bit, corresponding to your OS), which can be found in. In the “Boot device priority” section of the BIOS settings, assign the CD/DVD drive as the first boot device. Then boot from the Windows installation disc and select the "System Restore" menu item. From the list of installed operating systems (if you have several of them), select the one you need and click the “Next” button. In the “System Recovery Options” window that appears, there are two items - “System startup recovery” and “Command line”, you will need them. The first option will automatically fix the problem with starting the operating system, and if it fails, you will have to turn to the second. At the command prompt, type “bootrec /rebuildbcd”, press “Enter” and agree to make changes to the boot configuration data by alternately pressing the “Y” and “Enter” keys. After this, all that remains is to create a new boot sector using the console command “Bootrec / FixBoot” and reboot the computer.
Compressed Partitions
As a result of erroneous compression of the partition with Windows 7 boot files, the message “BOOTMGR is compressed” may appear. The ntfs.sys file system driver, which is responsible for working with compressed disk partitions, begins to operate much later than the Bootmgr.exe loader. In this case, you will again have to turn to the Windows 7 installation disk, on the command line of which you need to sequentially run a number of commands:
- expand bootmgr temp
- attrib bootmgr -s -g -h
- del bootmgr
- ren temp bootmgr
- attrib bootmgr -a +s +r +h
- bootrec/fixboot
Windows XP won't boot
The error “NTLDR is missing” indicates that the NTLDR file, which is the Windows XP loader, is damaged or missing. Unlike BOOTMGR in Windows 7, which is stored in a separate hidden partition, the NTLDR file is located on the same drive as the operating system. It happens that inexperienced users mistake system files with names unknown to them for malicious programs and without a doubt remove them. This fate often befalls the innocent NTLDR, as well as another critical file for successful loading of the OS - ntdetect.com. To solve the problem, you will need a Windows XP installation disk. At the very beginning of the download process, you must press the “F10” key to get into the recovery console. With its help, you need to go to the Windows installation disk using the command “X:”, where X is the letter of the corresponding optical drive. Then all that remains is to copy the two missing files to the hard drive partition with the OS by running the commands:
- litter i386\ntldr C:
- litter i386\ntdetectcom C:
This method is also effective in case of loss of any other system files, copies of which can be found on the Windows 7 and XP installation disks, respectively. The “NTLDR is compressed” error rarely appears because it only affects computers running Windows XP without SP2. It can occur in cases where there are too many files stored in the root of the C: drive. A similar problem with NTLDR boot loader compression is solved in the same way as if it is damaged or deleted - by copying the original file from the Windows XP installation disk.
Boot device not found
Error message appears “No bootable device” and its numerous variations (“Boot device not found”, “Invalid boot device”, “Non system disk or disk egor”, etc.) indicate that the computer has not even started to start the operating system, since does not see the boot sector or even the hard drive. To understand where the problem lies - at the software or hardware level, just go to the already familiar “Boot device priority” section of the BIOS settings. If the hard drive is not among the suggested options, then the problem is related to the hardware. The SATA or IDE cable or hard drive power cable may have come loose, or the HDD may have failed. If the computer normally recognizes the hard drive, the reason is software in nature and lies in the master boot record (MBR) - either damaged or missing. Unlike the fix options discussed above, this situation is relevant for both Windows 7 and XP. After booting from the installation disk, run the command in the recovery console: “bootges /fixmbr” (for Windows 7) or “fixmbr” (for Windows XP).
Driver error
Windows critical error messages, which are called “BLUE Screen of Death” because of the background color, are quite common problems in Windows XP, but in Windows 7 they tried to make the system more reliable in this regard. Reason BSoD There may be malfunctioning hardware, such as RAM. Most often, early boot BSOD messages appear after updating device drivers and contain the text “DRIYER_IRQL_NOT_ LESS_OR_EQUAL” along with a file name with the SYS extension. To remove the problematic driver through Device Manager, you can try starting Windows in safe mode, since it uses a minimal set of drivers. To do this, press the “F8” key while loading the OS and select “Safe Mode”. If the Blue Screen of Death still appears when booting into Safe Mode, you need to revert to a previous version of the driver that did not cause problems. This can be done using a restore point, if one was created previously. In Windows 7, to do this, press the “F8” key while the OS is loading and select “Troubleshoot computer problems” in the menu that appears. After this, you will be taken to the exact same “Recovery Options” menu as when using the Windows installation disk. Next is the “System Restore” item, where you can select one of the available rollback points.
Corrupt bootloader file
An error like “Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: Windows\System32\filename.dll” is specific only to the Windows XP operating system. It may be caused by a damaged or missing Boot.ini boot configuration file, which is not used in the new OS version. You can solve the problem using the “bootcfg /rebuild” command in the Windows XP recovery console, which will correct the existing or create a new Boot.ini file. The absence of other files in the system, primarily drivers with the SYS extension, occurs in both Windows 7 and XP. The most effective way to solve the problem is to return the file to its place by looking for a copy of it on the Windows installation disk, borrowing it from another computer with the same OS version, or looking for the file by typing its name in any Internet search engine. If you don’t have a second PC at hand, then to search, download and copy files you will need a LiveCD with an OS that does not require installation. One of the most convenient options is. The exception is the system registry files System, Software, SAM, Security and Default, which are stored in the C:\windows\system32\config folder. It will not be possible to replace them with copies from another computer, so the only option is to roll back to a restore point. In Windows XP, to do this, you first need to load the operating system with at least standard registry branches, and only after that start the OS regeneration process. To do this, go to the Windows XP recovery console, as described above, and run a number of commands (take the System registry file as an example):
- md tmp
- litter c:\windows\system32\config\system with:\
- windows\tmp\system.bak
- delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
- litter c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\
- system32\config\system
Diagnostic and repair utilities
Many Windows boot problems can be caused by bad hard drive sectors (badblocks). The MHDD program, which runs from the disk, will help you check your hard drive (the image can be downloaded from the link). In the program menu, you need to select the hard drive number from the list and start scanning sectors for errors and correcting them - “Remap | ON". Bad blocks (broken blocks), as a rule, are concentrated at the beginning of the hard drive, so it is worth moving the OS partition away from the problem area. A boot disk with the MiniTool Partition WIZard NOT partition editor is suitable for this. (in the program menu, select “Partition 1 Move/ Resize”). BSOD can also be related to RAM. A free application allows you to test RAM modules
There are at least three common errors that lead to problems loading Windows 7. When errors occur, the system displays a short message on the monitor screen indicating the problem. It is these small guidelines that we will be guided by when solving problems that arise.
Perhaps the most popular error is Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press Enter
It is characterized by the following situation: you turn on the computer, but instead of the usual loading of the Windows 7 operating system, this message is displayed to you. It means that the system has recognized the drive from which it starts as a non-system drive, that is, according to Windows 7, there are no system files necessary to run it on this drive. This can be caused by various reasons. Let's look at the most common ones.
Possible variant. A disc was inserted into the DVD-ROM or a flash drive was connected and your BIOS is configured so that by default it launches one of these media. As a result, the system cannot find the files it needs to run on a flash drive or DVD and reports an error.
Elimination. You should try disconnecting absolutely all external storage devices: phones, memory cards, flash drives and external drives. After this, you should turn on the computer again. Most likely, the system will start correctly this time.
It may be that the recommendations provided above will not help. In this case, you need, firstly, in the BIOS settings to set your system drive as the default startup device. And secondly, you should make sure whether the BIOS detects your system disk at all. It may be that it is out of order.
If the system correctly displays the system disk, it is within your power to take advantage. We will touch on this a little later, at the end of the article.
If the system does not display your main hard drive, you can try disconnecting it and connecting it back, or into the slot next door, if present.
Other problems can also lead to this error, for example, viruses, etc. In any case, it is best to first check the methods that we have mentioned. Most likely they will work. If not, then feel free to go to the end of the article, in which we indicated a step-by-step solution to Windows 7 problems using the utility.
Error BOOTMGR is missing
Due to this error, you will also not be able to start Windows 7 correctly - a message on a black screen - BOOTMGR is missing. This problem can also be caused by various reasons, including all kinds of viruses. It can be caused by erroneous actions of an inexperienced user who accidentally changed the boot record of the hard drive. Also, physical problems of the HDD are often the cause of this error.
Elimination. Check whether the hard drive on which the system is installed is working properly. Seek help from the Windows 7 recovery environment, which is discussed below.
Error NTLDR is missing. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart
This problem manifests itself in almost the same way as the previous one. You should also use the Troubleshooting Environment to resolve this issue.
When starting Windows 7, the user sees only a black screen and a mouse pointer
If, when the system starts, the usual desktop with the start menu does not load, and all we can see is the mouse pointer, then everything is not so difficult and in the vast majority of cases it is easy to fix. Very often this error occurs if you, using an antivirus program, got rid of some serious virus that had already caused trouble and these same troubles were not fully corrected by the antivirus program.
Elimination. Restart your computer and as soon as the mouse pointer appears, press Ctrl + Alt + Del. The Task Manager will immediately appear.
In it you need to select the “File” menu in which to create a new task (execute). A dialog box will appear, in which you should enter the regedit command and press Enter. This will launch the Windows 7 system registry editor.
We will need to look through the sections in the editor:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/Current Version/Winlogon/
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/Current Version/Winlogon/
Now you need to edit the value Shell.
With the first section, make sure that the Shell parameter is set to Explorer.exe, if this is not the case, then install it yourself. In the second case, you need to go to the section and look: if there is a Shell entry in it, then it needs to be removed from there. Now all that remains is to close the registry window and simply restart the computer. Everything should fall into place.
And so, everything that we could not eliminate on our own, we eliminate using standard system utilities
In most cases, if problems arise when starting the operating system, we can see the Windows 7 recovery screen. It is this screen that will help us in restoring the system startup. If the recovery screen does not appear on its own, then the next time the system reboots we can call it up by pressing a key F8. Select "Troubleshoot your computer" from the menu
You will see a message that will contain information that system files are being loaded, you will also be asked to select a language.
Need good advice on how to produce Windows 7 Boot Loader Recovery, if restoring the startup using the 7 installation disk did not help. I’ll briefly explain what’s going on: Windows 7 was first installed on the computer, then the second system needed Windows XP, after installation it naturally started alone, to boot two operating systems I used the EasyBCD program. Later, XP was no longer needed and I formatted the partition on which it was located from Windows 7. Now, when loading, there is nothing except a black screen. What can be done in this case? More details if possible. Sergey.
Restoring the Windows 7 bootloader
Hello friends! The most important thing is not to worry, your problem is not complicated and, in principle, the simple “Windows 7 Startup Recovery” tool described in our article should help, but! If this article does not help you, then two others should help:
These articles describe several more good ways to restore the boot of your operating system, besides them there is one more, so try it and don’t just give up.
Let me remind you that you cannot install an older operating system after a younger one; Windows 7 will under no circumstances boot after installing Windows XP on a computer, since the latter overwrites the master boot record (MBR) during installation. Therefore, you installed an additional boot manager, which is used to configure the boot of several operating systems and, in turn, has its own bootloader.
- I also want to say that file system errors are often to blame for unsuccessful loading of Windows 7; they can be corrected even if the operating system does not boot; all the details are in our other article." "
- Friends, in this article we will work with the Windows 7 recovery environment, or more precisely with the recovery environment command line. I will give you the necessary commands, but if it is difficult for you to remember them, you can. This will make your work much easier.
- The master boot record (MBR) is the first sector on the hard drive, which contains a partition table and a small bootloader program that reads from this table the data from which partition of the hard drive to boot the OS, and then the information is transferred to the partition with the installed operating system, to download it. If the master boot record contains incorrect information about the location of the system, then we will receive various errors during boot, here is one of them “BOOTMGR is missing press CTR-Alt-Del for restart” or we will see a black screen. The problem is being fixed restoring the Windows 7 bootloader.
When you uninstalled old XP along with EasyBCD, you left your computer to the mercy of fate with an incomprehensible boot record, and as a token of gratitude it gives you a black screen. To correct the situation, we will conduct boot recovery Windows 7, namely, we will overwrite the master boot record using the Bootrec.exe utility located on the recovery disk or on the Windows 7 installation disk (friends, if you have a netbook and you want to use the recovery environment located on a flash drive, then read the comments first). We will also use this utility to record a new boot sector, understandable to Windows 7.
Recovering Windows 7 bootloader automatically
We boot from a recovery disk or installation disk with Windows 7, in the initial phase of booting the computer, when prompted to boot from the disk “Press any key to boot from CD...”, press any key on the keyboard for 5 seconds, otherwise you will not boot from the disk
There is a short search for installed Windows systems and analysis of problems that prevent them from loading
Usually problems are quickly found and the recovery environment offers to fix them automatically. Click on the "Fix and restart" button, after which the computer will restart and boot Windows 7 will be restored.
If problems with loading the system continue or you are not prompted to fix the problems automatically, then in this window you need to select the operating system that you need to restore, you most likely have one and Next.
First of all, choose a productStartup recovery, it can also solve Windows 7 boot problems
Restoring the Windows 7 bootloader manually
If this remedy does not help, choose a remedy Command line
Enter the commands:
diskpart
lis vol (we display a list of hard drive partitions and see that “Volume 1” is a hidden System Reserved partition, volume 100 MB, it should contain Windows 7 boot files and it is this that needs to be made active). We also see a partition with Windows 7 installed, it has the letter D:, the volume is 60 GB.
sel vol 1 (select Volume 1)
activ (make it active)
exit (exit diskpart)
bcdboot D:\Windows (where D: the partition with Windows 7 installed), this command restores the Windows 7 boot files (bootmgr file and boot storage configuration files (BCD))!
"Download files created successfully"
Restoring the Windows 7 bootloader manually (method No. 2)
In the command line window, enter the command Bootrec and Enter
full information about the capabilities of the utility is displayed. Select the master boot record entry Bootrec.exe /FixMbr.
The operation was completed successfully. A new boot record is written to the first sector of the boot partition.
The second command, Bootrec.exe /FixBoot, writes a new boot sector.
The operation was completed successfully. Exit. Next, we try to load our Windows 7.
Friends, if the Bootrec.exe /FixMbr and Bootrec.exe /Fixboot commands do not help you, do not despair, there is another remedy.
Method No. 3
Enter the command Bootrec/ScanOs, it will scan all your hard drives and partitions for the presence of operating systems and if any are found, an appropriate warning will be issued. Then you need to enter the command Bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd, this utility will offer to add the found Windows to the boot menu, we agree and enter Y and press Enter, all the found Windows are added to the boot menu.
In my case, two operating systems were found. Everything can be seen on the screenshot.
In addition to the above method, there is another one, enter bootsect /NT60 SYS on the command line, the main boot code, it will also be updated.
Exit
So, the error is that on both hard drives the first hidden System Reserved partitions should be marked with a red flag. On Windows 7, the volume of such a partition is 100 MB, and on Windows 8, 350 MB, these sections have the attributes: System. Active and it is on these partitions that the boot store configuration files (BCD) and the system boot manager file (bootmgr file) are located. And it turns out that these attributes are carried by other sections. Because of this, Windows 7 and Windows 8 will not boot.
Select the first hard drive 1, right-click on the first System Reserved partition and select “Mark as active”
The System Reserved volume will be marked as active. Click OK.
We do the same with Disk 2. Acronis Disk Director works in pending operation mode; for the changes to take effect, click the “Apply pending operations” button
Continue.
As you can see, after our changes, those sections that were needed became active.
We exit the program and reboot. The result of the work is positive - both operating systems are loaded one by one.
If a user has a problem when Windows 7 does not start on a computer or laptop, then this article will help solve this difficult problem. Starting Windows 7 is sometimes impossible due to errors occurring in the system after hardware problems, incorrectly installed software, malicious utilities, etc.
But the most common reason why Windows 7 sometimes won’t load lies in the operating system itself.
Solution
In the case when all the initial stages of launching Windows 7 on a PC or laptop are performed normally, but Windows 7 still does not start completely, this usually confuses novice users. Although, given detailed instructions, the question: “What to do?” will not appear even for beginners. If the cause of the problem is a hardware failure, then this will be indicated by the signal from the speaker of the laptop or desktop computer during the POST test. If this is the case, then the OS will not start.
But if the problem is of a software nature and the process stops at the stage of loading Windows 7, then it means that the user has encountered the most common problem, which can be solved using the algorithm of typical actions.
Instructions for action
You must use an OS recovery tool. During the PC startup process, if Windows 7 does not start, the system often recommends that the owner of the computer or laptop select boot options. If for some reason such an offer has not been received, then the user can independently open this menu by clicking on the “F8” button. Then proceed to "Sevens".
What to do if the above instructions did not solve the problem?
To fix the problem when Windows 7 does not start, you need to use a CD with the OS:
- Insert the installation disk into the PC drive;
- Start the system from the disk (in the BIOS the appropriate order for booting the system from media must be set);
- In the window that appears, click on “Apply recovery functions that resolve OS boot problems” and click on “Next”;
- Then in the “OS Recovery Options” menu, click on “Startup Repair”;
- Wait until the system analysis is completed and the causes of failures are eliminated;
- Reboot the PC;
- In the BIOS, set the system to start from the hard drive ( When exiting the BIOS, be sure to save the adjustments made);
- Restart the computer again;
- Ready! Windows 7 will now boot normally.
Using the command line
If for some reason it was not possible to restore Windows using the installation disk, then there is another way to do this through the command line.
First, you need to take the steps indicated in the paragraph about restoring normal loading of the “Seven”. The only changes are that you just need to specify the section “Command Line” in the menu.
What to do when you fail to achieve a positive result by following the above instructions?
If success was not achieved and the user has already reached this part of the article, then the problem cannot be classified as a typical failure of the OS boot distribution. You will need to do all further actions in Windows safe mode. It is recommended to analyze drive “C” for the appearance of broken clusters.
To enter “safe mode” you must do the following:
Why are preventive measures important?
Windows 7 has a special system that can make special reference points, with the help of which, if necessary, it is restored. By using this protection function, even a novice user can always easily return the OS to a working state.
For example, in case of failures due to incorrect installation of applications, drivers and other utilities such as codecs, or when errors occur due to adjustments being made to the registry.
It should be noted that in “Seven” it is possible to allocate a fixed amount of memory on the hard drive specifically for such protection of the operating system. In Windows 7, it is possible to independently configure protection for files along with system data, or you can do this separately.
In this article we will look at all the popular reasons why Windows 7 or xp does not load on a laptop or computer and a black screen with inscriptions appears. Those. Possible software problems and ways to resolve them will be discussed. This will be a continuation of the first part of our review, in which we looked at possible options for why the computer does not boot, and hardware problems (with hardware). So, if you haven’t found the answer to your question here, be sure to read the first part - maybe it’s there.
If your PC shows absolutely no signs of life and does not react in any way to pressing the power button, then we recommend that you read the article why your computer won’t start. It discusses the main causes and ways to eliminate this breakdown. But don’t forget that if you don’t want to deal with the problem yourself, you can always contact our service and order computer repair at home.
We tried to make this review as complete as possible and collected all the most popular reasons why Windows 7 or xp does not start on a computer or laptop. Each case has been encountered many times in our practice. But it is also possible that you will not find a solution to your problem. In this case, write in the comments and we will try to help you.
On a black screen there is an inscription: NTLDR is missing and Windows does not boot
This is one of the most common reasons why Windows xp or 7 does not start. The message "NTLDR is missing" is translated as "NTLDR is missing." NTLDR is a boot file for the operating system, which requires three files (NTLDR, boot.ini and ntdetect.com) to be present on the active partition of the hard drive from which it is configured to boot. If at least one of the files is missing or there is no access to it, then Windows 7 or xp will not boot and will give an error.
Possible reasons and what to do:
- The NTLDR, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini files have been moved or completely removed from the disk containing the operating system. In this case, you need to copy the missing computer files from the working OS.
- Severe virus infection - a deep scan of your PC for viruses is necessary. You may also need to restore damaged system files.
- Too many files have accumulated in the root directory of the system disk.
Unfortunately, due to the peculiarities of the NTFS file system, which is used on most modern computers, simply deleting unnecessary files from the root directory of the system partition is unlikely to help eliminate the problem - Windows will not start anyway. Additionally, you may need to copy boot files from your work PC.
- If several operating systems are installed on the hard drive at once, then a conflict may have occurred between them.
You can fix this problem by booting the computer using the operating system recovery disk and manually editing the boot.ini file, which is responsible for the OS boot order.
Windows XP won't boot due to registry problems
As a rule, this problem is specific to this version of the operating system. In the newer ones (seven, eight, ten) we did not encounter such a problem.
Before loading begins, one of the following messages appears on a black screen:
- Windows cannot start because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM file is corrupted or missing;
- Windows cannot start because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE file is corrupted or missing.
These messages mean that your operating system registry is faulty. There may be several reasons why this could happen and now Windows XP does not start:
- Your PC has become infected with a virus.
- You incorrectly shut down your computer by forcibly turning it off using a button or unplugging the cord from the outlet.
- Your hard drive is failing (or has already failed).
There are several ways in which you can restore functionality to your operating system. If everything goes well, this can be done even without reinstalling the entire system. But all these methods require deep knowledge of PC software.
A beginner, having made even a small mistake or inaccuracy, risks losing the opportunity for subsequent successful recovery. In addition, you may need to restore personal information located on your hard drive. Therefore, we recommend contacting specialists for this problem.
The following message appears on the black screen: BOOTMGR is missing
"BOOTMGR is missing" is translated as "BOOTMGR is missing." If Windows 7 or XP does not boot and this message appears, it means that the boot sector is missing or damaged.
This could happen due to incorrect installation of programs, a failure in the operating system, careless user actions, or problems with the hard drive. Before trying to resolve the error, you need to diagnose the hard drive for bad sectors.
In order to fix this problem, you will need the boot disk from which you installed Windows. You need to boot your computer from the disk and select “Startup Repair” in “System Recovery Options.”
In this case, the boot sector will be restored automatically. If after this Windows 7 still won’t start, and you don’t know what to do, then it’s better to contact the service. Because restoring the boot sector manually is a very difficult operation. Careless actions can lead to the loss of all information stored on the computer.
Why Windows won't boot and freezes during boot
Many have encountered a problem when, when starting the operating system, a logo with a creeping line appears and the computer freezes. There is no point in waiting an hour, two or a day - Windows will not start.
Here are the main reasons why this can happen:
- The operating system has been heavily infected with viruses - in this case, a full scan of the system disk for viruses can help. You can do this by booting your computer from a rescue disk or by connecting the hard drive to another computer.
- The operating system has crashed
You can try booting into safe mode and performing a system restore, or try performing a “Last Known Known Configuration” boot. Very often this helps solve the problem. To do this, immediately after turning on the PC, start pressing the “F8” key. A menu should appear where you can select this download option.
- Computer hard drive failure.
Due to improper use or simply over time, bad sectors may appear on the hard drive. The information that was written to them becomes inaccessible and, as a result, Windows 7 or XP may stop loading and freeze during the boot process. You can restore and replace bad sectors, but it would be best to replace the hard drive itself. You can read it.
Also, if such a malfunction occurs, you can try “Load last known known configuration”. If this still does not bring results, then in the same menu try the “Safe Mode” item (in English this may be “Safe mode”). When it turns on, try to rollback to the previous state. To do this, in “Start”, find and run “System Restore”.
Blue screen of death appears
Another popular problem is when Windows 7 does not load beyond the logo, but a “blue screen of death” appears. In this case, you will also need to bring up the boot menu using the "F8" key.
There should be an item in the menu called “Troubleshoot your computer.” Click it and the “Recovery Options” window should appear on your screen.
Let us briefly examine the points that are contained in it.
- Startup Repair - automatically analyzes problems that prevent Windows 7 from starting and attempts to fix them. It doesn't always help, but it's definitely worth a try.
- System Restore - from here you can also “roll back” the system, just like from safe mode.
- Restoring a system image - if you have a saved system image on your hard drive, you can restore using it.
- Windows memory diagnostics - check system memory for errors.
- The command line is for “advanced users”. Using it you can delete, copy or move files manually.
So, first of all, try using the “Startup Repair” item, if that doesn’t help, then “System Restore”.
In this article, we looked at the main reasons caused by a software malfunction of the computer, due to which Windows very often does not boot. We hope that we were able to answer all the questions and clearly explain what to do in this case.
If you have not been able to figure out on your own the reason why Windows 7 or XP does not start on your computer or laptop, and you do not know what to do next, then you can always turn to us for help - the computer help center website. Our service technicians will quickly and accurately determine the cause of the breakdown and eliminate all faults. In addition, they will give valuable advice on how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Also write your questions in the comments. And you will definitely get an answer to them.
We will fix errors in Windows 10. But approximately the same will need to be done in Windows XP, 7 and 8. In Windows 7 and later releases, the developers have improved the recovery system for startup problems. In older versions of the system, serious errors often have to be resolved by reinstallation.
Disable peripherals
Try to remember what changes you recently made to the system: did you install new devices or switch something. There may be a problem with one of the hardware components. Try disabling:
- USB drives.
- Card readers.
- Printers.
- Scanners.
- Cameras.
- All other external devices.
If this does not help, disconnect the keyboard and mouse: you need to exclude all possible sources of malfunction.
It can also be caused by internal components, such as RAM. On a desktop PC, you can check the performance of the RAM by connecting the strips one by one.
Check power
If the computer does not turn on at all, pay attention to the power cable and sockets. Don't forget the power switch on the back of your desktop computer.
If everything works at this level, but the computer still does not turn on, then most likely the problem is in the power supply, which you are unlikely to be able to fix yourself: you will have to replace it or have it repaired by a specialist.
It is possible that the computer turns on, but only for a short time. This is the same problem with the power supply.
Configure the disk to boot the system
Errors may appear during startup: An operating system wasn’t found. Try disconnecting any drives that don’t contain an operating system. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart or Boot failure. Reboot and Select Proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device.
The BIOS or UEFI settings may be set to boot from an external device or other logical partition rather than from the system drive. You can restore default settings like this:
- To restart a computer.
- Immediately after restarting, press the system key, for example F2. This may be another key: usually during system boot it can be found at the bottom of the screen with the logo of the laptop or motherboard manufacturer.
- In the settings, set the desired disk to the first place in the boot.
- Select the Save and Exit option to save your changes.
If the above does not help, you will have to restore the system bootloader. To do this, you will need a bootable USB flash drive or recovery disk with a system of suitable capacity. How to make a bootable USB flash drive or disk, read Lifehacker about installing Windows.
Start the system from a flash drive or disk by selecting the desired option in the boot menu. In the Windows installation menu that opens, select “System Restore.”
From the recovery menu, select Troubleshooting → Advanced options → Startup Repair. After this, the system will try to automatically fix the bootloader. In most cases, it solves the problem.
The same can be done manually via the command line, but it is better to select the automatic option so as not to aggravate the situation.
If this method does not help, the problem probably lies in the hardware: the hard drive is damaged.
From the recovery menu, select Troubleshooting → Advanced Options → Command Prompt.
At the command line, you need to enter the following commands one by one: diskpart → list volume (be sure to remember the name of the Windows disk) → exit.
To check the disk for errors and damage, enter the command chkdsk X: /r (where X is the name of the Windows disk). The check usually takes quite a long time, you will have to wait.
Start Windows in Safe Mode
Due to a sudden shutdown of the computer during the installation of operating system updates, cleaning of viruses and unnecessary entries in the registry, or due to the fault of utilities to speed up Windows, system files may be damaged. In this case, a “blue screen of death” will appear when the system boots.
Try starting Windows in safe mode without loading drivers and programs in startup. If your computer is running in this mode, you will have to remove the drivers, perform a system rollback, and scan for viruses.
If you have restore points, this problem is quite easy to solve. You just need to roll back to the previous stable configuration.
Reinstall system files
The steps above may not help. Then you will have to reset Windows settings and reinstall the system while saving the files. Unfortunately, all programs will need to be reinstalled.
In the recovery environment, select Troubleshoot → Reset this PC → Keep my files → Reset.
The system will roll back to the original settings.
