Missing Bcd

Hi All haven't been on this forum for ages ,have had a smooth run with current computer until now, the other day i ran smart defrag and ticked boxes for optimize and delete junk files and then went to work , i got home to screen waiting for password to log on which i did and it took around 30 mins to boot up , it did this everytime i booted , i then ran superantispyware in case of virus and looked in bios as well to see if there was any problems, then it wouldn't boot at all , i am running win7 home ,I have the win7 install disc so i inserted it to try and do a repair but it tells me it can't do automatic repair, i press ok and it goes to another screen " windows failed to start a recent hardware or software change might be the cause, to fix the problem
1 insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer
2 choose your language settins
3click repair your computer
if you do not have this disc contact your computer manufacturer for assistance
file: \boot\bcd
status: 0xc0000098
info: the windows boot configuration data file does not contain a valid os entry
anyway thats about it hope someone can help

 

Here's the correct way to repair Windows 7.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/243190/how_to_repair_a_corrupt_windows_7_installation.html

 

have read the article but it does say that" if you can't boot to the desktop then this repair is not for you", and that is the problem I can't boot to desktop, unfortunately i hadn't got around to making a boot disk or backup, when I googled the problem a program was advertised claiming to fix this problem ,to buy was $36 but not sure how valid their claims were and what other things might come in the installation, can't remember what it was called, hope i can find it again, have found an online troubleshoot by neosmart technologies , may try that if no one else replies here

 

You need to follow the instructions to fix the boot issue here....
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...the-windows-re-to-troubleshoot-startup-issues
You need to get into the command prompt using the dvd -
First try in Command prompt
bootrec /fixmbr (note the space between bootrec and /fixmbr
Press Enter, and then , when it finishes, type Exit,
Restart- if it does not do so automatically
If it still will not boot, try again with the dvd
Again in command prompt from the cd, type in bootrec /fixboot
Press Enter, and then , when it finishes, type Exit,

 

Boot again with the Windows 7 installation disk in the tray to the repair environment. Stop the repair attempt if it will let you do so and look for this:

https://www.digitalcitizen.life/sites/default/files/img/startuprepair/startuprepair3.jpg

Click on "View advanced options for system recovery and support" to get to this:

https://www.digitalcitizen.life/sites/default/files/img/startuprepair/startuprepair1.jpg

Click on command prompt and run the commands BakLogic posted. Hopefully, those will work for you.

Have you tried getting into safe mode? Kind of tricky to get into safe mode on these newer systems these days...tap and keep tapping repeatedly f8 during the initial boot screen to see if that gives you the option to boot there. You can also use safe mode with command line to try BakLogic's fix...

 

ok thanks for the suggestions , I will try baklogics fix first , and as i can get into safemode eldons fix may be an option also , by the way sorry about the delay in my response , I live in australia so i'm in bed when you guys are up, will let you know how i go

 

The only way to run the upgrade repair is to boot in the normal mode (not any of the safe modes) into Windows. Must start at the normal mode desktop. From command prompt you have 1000 ways to get back into normal Windows though. Plenty of other options availalbe

 

Hi atlbo how do I get to normal mode from command prompt? I tried baklogics fix ,typed the exact command and it told me it was successful and I exit and restart but back to same screen but now a different status of 0xc000000f

 

Ok nothing suggested seems to be working, I read on Google something about an iso image so will be trying that and if that doesn't work I will have to reinstall windows if possible, if anyone reads this thread and has any more suggestions please feel free to post them make it easy to understand as I'm not very tech minded

 

In post #5, second image, what happens when you click Startup Repair?

 

Well I think the problem starts before startup repair with system recovery options! Some of the fixes I found on Google depend on the os appearing in the search box but mine is empty so when I click on startup repair it says "startup repair cannot repair this computer automatically " and then gives me the option to send info to ms or not send, either way i end up back st system recovery options, although when it's scanning during startup repair a small box appears in left bottom of screen it says "x:\ windows " don't know if that means anything

 

Startup repair will continue to try to run as if it might find something new wrong. When it realizes it's exactly where it was before, that's when it tells you it can't fix the PC. The x:\ prompt is probably a series of command line checks that startup repair runs.

Did you try system restore? That might work. Even though the error says you have an mbr issue, you never know. Trying system restore isn't very costly in terms of time, so that's good.

BTW, do you have an image backup currently of the system?

 

When I click system restore it says " to use system restore you must specify which windows installation to restore, restart this computer select an operating system and then select system restore " of course I do that and end up at recovery options without an os being found

 

How about command prompt Type diskpart <enter>? Type "list disk" at the Diskpart prompt to see what diskpart is seeing about the physical disk. If you can grab a picture with a phone etc. that would help...

 

Oh yeah, also run list volume at the diskpart prompt and get a pic of that too if possible. You can probably get both in a single pic in a single command line...

 

Don't know why it posted twice

 

OK, if you are still at the diskpart command prompt, type Exit and hit enter to get back to the repair environment command line. Try this at that prompt if you haven't already:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

 

You can also run sfc /scannow at the prompt:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows\

see if it reports finding in unrepairable errors.

BTW, for BakLogic's commands, there is a sequence for running the commands presented here:

https://social.technet.microsoft.co...evice-needs-to-repaired?forum=win10itprosetup

CMD> bootrec /scanos

CMD> bootrec /rebuildbcd

CMD> bootrec /fixmbr

CMD> bootrec /fixboot

No idea if the order of the commands is significant (don't think so) or whether the /scanos command is important. However, you might just try to run them in the above sequence with no reboots to see if you can successfully boot...

 

My head hurts and I have to get up early so will try your latest suggestions tomorrow

 

Sorry couldn't get the dos window to open any wider , anyway this pic is after scannow operation, I did the other 4 and after recboot scanos it said " successfully scanned, windows installation 1 , d:\ windows.old\windows"
After rebuildbcd it said " successfully scanned add installation to boot list y or n" I pressed y and it said "the requested system device cannot be found "
After fixmbr it just said " operation completed successfully "
And fixboot said the exact same, I exit and reboot machine and still ends up at same screen.

 

Well people I think I'm f--ked, I got sick of trying to fix boot so I thought stuff it I'll reinstall windows and this is as far as it goes, it' been sitting like this for about 40ins ?what do you think it is? Hard drive,mother board although before I have tried plugging hd into another sata port, didn't help, where do I go from here?

 

EDIT: Missed your post. Reinstall is probably the best way to go without a backup. Installation can take a while in some cases, but I haven't seen it stall for more than about I guess 15 minutes. Don't think it's really stalled though, at least not usually. Maybe it's running into bad sectors on your disk.

Did you format the drive btw? Doesn't have anything to do with where you are now, but that might save your files (if you didn't). They'll be in a Windows.old folder if you didn't reformat the drive.

Well, you can still do some diagnostics on the drive if you want to abandon the installation at some point. From the command prompt:

chkdsk /f /r

That would check the sector health and double check to see if the problem is actually the disk. Probably not the best disk checker application for that single purpose, but it can turn up unexpected errors and fix them. Might save you some money on a drive to run it or you might find out for sure you need one.

 

Install jas stopped at this point and i will do a disk check

 

did the chkdsk and this is what I get ,just the last few lines, the stuff above is just me stuffing around, no haven't done a format so hopefully my files are in old windows, so if I do a format the install will be a new one so that might work so how do I do a format from this point, through dos I suppose, so what's the command? I have to go out of town for a few hours but will have my mobile phone on me to keep track of the thread so if you could leave instructions how to format that would be appreciated

 

Sorry , I never got an reminder on this one- It seems that it stops seeing the dvd rom, or, finds a bad spot on the hard drive-, but I think it is worth checking the dvd, and see if a cable is loose.....If any usb devices, other than mouse and keyboard are connected- disconnect them
I have the wrong hard drive in my laptop, at the moment, or, I wold have gone through it in my own Windows 7 partition, (and my VMachines, are on that, too) So, I fished around to check, and just want to check you are using the correct commands with the correct cursor flashing at C:windows\system32>
SFC /SCANNOW----FROM 7 FORUMS https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.htmlhttps://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/tutorials/2327d1231529432-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker-command-1.jpg
The same with the other commands - CHKDSK /R, AND BOOTREC.EXE

Eldon's post No 2- BUT PAGE 2---
https://www.pcworld.com/article/243190/how_to_repair_a_corrupt_windows_7_installation.html?page=2
Try the upgrade method shewn there, as this will keep your files, as formatting could make your files inaccessible.

Otherwise the link I gave might be worth another read.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...the-windows-re-to-troubleshoot-startup-issues
When in the command prompt, the cursor will be flashing C:windows\system32>
At this prompt, type in the commands, as it needs to correct there.
Your pictures show you looking at 'x'- that is probably why it cannot find it. To use the commands for boot problems, type the commands at the C:windows\system32> PROMPT, and press enter, then type the commands- one at a time and press enter.

From Microsofts link-scroll down, and, if the boot is still corrupt, this should help
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...the-windows-re-to-troubleshoot-startup-issues
Note Use the Bootrec.exe tool to troubleshoot a "Bootmgr Is Missing" error. If rebuilding the BCD store doesn't resolve the startup issue, you can export and delete the BCD store and then run this option again. By doing this, you make sure that the BCD store is completely rebuilt.

To do this, type the following commands at the Windows RE command prompt:C:windows\system32>

• bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup -press ENTER
• c: press ENTER
• cd boot press ENTER
• attrib bcd -s -h -r press ENTER
• ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old press ENTER
• bootrec /RebuildBcd press ENTER

 

This is what i get using the bootrec.exe tool ,also tried the 2 Microsoft support suggestions but they both rely on the os appearing in the box after the startup repair search and the scannow operation gave the same results when using the x prompt as shown in another post and the pc world fix by using setup and selecting upgrade method I don't get option to download upgrades just tick the box for the agreement and then press upgrade and I get this error message which I will put pic in next post

 

This might seem like a dumb question but I was looking through the bios and noticed the sata ports are saying empty even though the hdd is plugged into sata 5 and the dvd is plugged into sata 1 , is this normal?

 

With the PC turned off, unplug the drives and plug them back in.

 

As well as Eldon's suggestion , if you have spare cables, try replacing them to hard drive, and dvd .
Usually, both will show, in the bios- otherwise, the hard drive, and dvd could both be faulty- and that could be the reason you are unable to repair.
Having used the cleanup tools that you did, would appear to have been the boot problem,but- the hard drive could also have been getting faulty.
My suggestion, if the previous methods have not worked, is to substitute both the hard drive, and the dvd, and try a new install, on the new(replacement hard drive), and then connect the original hard drive in either an external enclosure, and copy your files to the replacement hard drive, before the hard drive becomes totally inaccessible- sometimes a hard drive will work in spits and spats, and last long enough to copy stuff off of it, if it is failing.

 

Ok will try replacement cables even though computer is only 2 years old, I built it myself so I know everything was new, thing is bios recognizes the hard drive and the dvd drive, and the setup disk boots up , but when the system recovery does it's scan it doesn't find the os, which is why all the dos operations were negative, so the question is, why is the os not being found? ?

 

Ok it's not the cables, will have to source another hard drive with win7 , boot up with that and move files to new drive, hmm where can I get another drive in short space of time

 

As you are in Australia, I am sorry, I have no information of pc stores there. (I am in UK)-
Did you test your ram at any time- or,try removing ,and using one at a time ? (Can sometimes cause errors)- clean contacts and slots ..
I suppose you have not got a spare DVD Rom?

 

I am going to try to copy win7 onto an external drive using another computer and then try to boot using the external drive, if it works I hope to then copy my files to the external drive, then I can format the hard drive and reinstall win7 if the drive is not faulty or install a new hard drive and transfer my files, would this work?

 

With W7 you will need to use the key to install, and then -do not update.
Before putting the hard drive in the problem computer, it might be worth uninstalling the chipset in device manager,before shutting down, and installing in your problem computer- Might work without doing that, but worth thinking about.

 

Not all computers will boot from an external drive- best to change the hard drives over,and start the computer with an interna hard drive, attach the other external when Windows is up and running- although you could use the other computer , with the hard drive from this one in an external enclosure to copy your files- ....
I have thought about this, although , at first I decided not to complicate it for you- another way you can install W7 without a key, and don't update, shut down and insert disk into problem computer is to modify your installation and making it an all in one-We all do , as far as I know , in a our geeking mode.
Make your own is best- you never know what you get if you download a crack from a site.
On the other computer, before installing the new hard drive......
Download a W7 iso- best to download the same as you have got on disk
( http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_iso_download_tool.html )
This link explains it - try it on the iso (stage 1 on that link below) with the eicfg_removal_utility.zip
Then burn the adjusted iso to disk on the other computer, and use it on the new hard drive to install in this other computer)
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/85813-windows-7-universal-installation-disc-create.html
You will be able to choose to insert your key later, and install without it, then remove hard drive and put it in the problem computer. (Then put key in when needed , before going on-line)

 

Ok have tried the iso fix but without luck, I think it was a bit complicated for me but I had a try, I copied iso onto an external drive and onto a dvd disk but I couldn't get the eicfg utility to work so the iso fix failed so I have ordered a new hard drive and will wait for it to arrive in the post, I live in a town with no computer shops, when it arrives I was thinking about installing win7, boot up my computer and copy my files over from the old hard drive, is this possible?

 

Yes.
Connect the old drive via USB.

 

I had another look at this.
The BIOS shows the SATA ports to be empty yet the drives were accessible to a certain extent.
Have you tried resetting the BIOS and/or replacing the CMOS battery?

 

The bios is now showing the drives connected to the sata ports, don't know why they didn't that time, but will install new hard drive into problem computer, install win7 and try to copy files from old hard drive, hopefully that will work ☺

 

If you can get it installed, now- that would be perfect- but something there is obviously playing up on your computer.
As Eldon says, if all goes well,and it installs- then keep us posted, so that we know what the cause was,and may be able to help, if needed.

I did feel it might be little complicated for you, but worth the try- If you want to try it again......
Step 1
Download iso to the other computer
Step 2
Run the eifg removal tool, and point it to the iso you downloaded- all on the host computer
Simply selecting the target Windows 7 ISO will automatically patch the iso file
Then DO NOT COPY, YOU NEED TO BURN THE ISO TO DVD, and make it bootable.
To get Microsofts media creation tool you need to input the key for Windows- But The copy of the ISO file that the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool creates is bootable.....
I tend to use iso2usb , myself (don't need the key....--- using iso to usb, you just tick the little box to create a bootable usb, or, dvd.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_7_usbdvd_download_tool.html

 

Do I have to make any changes in bios to boot from usb

 

If your computer has a boot menu, you can select a boot device without changing the boot order in the BIOS.
Scroll down to How to Access Your Computer’s Boot Menu (If It Has One)
https://www.howtogeek.com/129815/beginner-geek-how-to-change-the-boot-order-in-your-computers-bios/

 

Seem to be having trouble getting iso image to work as a boot up option, I'll describe what I'm doing, I'm using my copy of win7 in spare computer to make an iso image and it appears in my file as a zip file, which is ok as I can inpack it, but the eicfg remover only seems to work with the unpacked file, so I extract it to a disk, put it in my problem computer and try to boot but doesn't work, by the way os on spare computer is xp

 

If it appears as a zip file you haven't created an iso, you have just created a compressed version of the DVD. What software are you using to create an iso?

 

I am not sure how you mean "copying"- and as Earthling said

7zip will open iso files -and it may well have allowed you to use the eicfg tool to remove the file, but will leave the iso file as a zip file
You most likely need to convert back using something like cdburnerxp http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/cdburnerxp.html
See the video
I believe it needed a virtual dvd/cd drive in Xp- I will look it up and come back on this,unless anyone else on majorgeeks remembers
XP is not good with iso files.......otherwise..You can try using microsoft's tool as described here, in XP-
Read all the page -Tool links below to enable it to work - I have updated 2nd one for you
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool

Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed. It can be downloaded here
Microsoft Image Mastering API v2 must be installed. That old link no longer works
It can be downloaded now from here-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24258