C and D drives reversed - get Bootmgr is Missing error

Need help. Have been having HD problems and was attempting to create a bootable external media option using the EasyBCD tool.
However now whenever I boot system I get the message "bootmgr is missing" - so unable to bring up OS because C: and D: drives are now reversed (C: is now 10G recovery drive instead of OS drive.). Attempted recommended EasyBCD repair and now recognizes 2 drives instead of one:
Now on boot finds:
Microsoft Windows 10239 MB (C: Recovery
Windows Vista Home Primium 228128 MB (D: OS

Do have original system CDs.

Have attempted startup Repair on either drive - repair fails
Repair on D: drive attempts Bfsp(CopyFile) thou fails on up to 60 line attempts
Repair on C: drive (fails)

Found a 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\MountedDevices suggestion on MS site to rename the \DosDevices\C: pointer. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947288

However have not tried this yet. Besides formatting drive and starting over any other suggestions?

 

Hi,

Have you tried booting with no USB devices attached?
How are you getting to Startup Repair--from a disc or from F8?

It is normal for the recovery environment to assign drive letters differently than regular Windows so that is not a problem.

When you just start your computer you are getting a bootmgr is missing message or is that after selecting one of the two choices you listed in green?

 

Believe drive is failing & attempting to get few more items off drive prior to replacing.

Not sure how to try booting w/o USB devices....
First message on screen upon boot:
1) "Bootmgr Missing / Ctrl-Alt-Del to Restart"
2) Press: Ctrl-Alt-Del
3) Select: F12 for Boot Option to CD
4) Select: "Repair your computer" option from Vista Install CD
5) Auto starts: System Recovery Options - Searching for Windows Installations
6) Sytem Recovery Options finds OS to repair drives highlighted in Green above
7) Select: "Startup Repair" from System Recovery Options menu
8) Attempts Repairs: Drive locks-up sometimes (both C&D inaccessible & drive light constantly lit)
Problem Signiture
Event StartupRepairV2
01) External Media
02) 6.0.6000.16386.0.0.0.0 or 6.0.6001.18000
03) 2
04) 65537
05) unknown
06) MissingBootManager
07) 0
08) 2
09) SystemRestore
10) 23 or -112 or 55
OS 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID 1033

 

If you want to just get data off the drive then you might want to create a linux CD and boot from that and then copy from the HD to a USB flash drive. No installation but just run linux off the CD.

Puppy Linux is a small download and if you use imgburn's "Write Image File to Disc" option it will write the puppy ISO to CD so that it is bootable. Once at the puppy desktop your HD and UUB flash will have icons starting with "sd" at the left bottom corner of the desktop. Once you find which one is your Vista files and which is your USB Flash you can drag and drop files between the two folders. You should select Copy rather than Move since you want copies not to delete the Vista files.

Since you have the Vista CD you have some options as to trying to fix Vista. After it gives you the list of two OS it finds then select Next to get to the list of 5 options that begins with Startup Repair and ends with Command Prompt.

Select Command Prompt.
Type the following commands:

diskpart (opens diskpart and changes prompt to diskpart>)
list volume (shows your partitions with drive letters)

Do you have more than just the C: 10gb and the D: 228gb drives listed. If so which other drive letters and how big?

Continue in diskpart...

select disk 0
list partition (how many partitions are shown and what sizes?)
select partition 1
detail partition (look to see if Active status is Yes or No)
select partition 2
detail partition (look to see if Active status is Yes or No)

Post back with the drive letters and sizes of any volumes other than C: and D:. And how many partitions are shown and what sizes? Which partition is set active?

 

I should have roughly 96% of what I need off the drive, though not sure I have all the app CDs. Really want to get to my multiple Outlook archive files where view is already established; to search through mail. I believe below is what you asked for Thank You:

## Ltr Label --------- Fs --- Type ----- Size ----- Status Info
0 Q VISTA_32_PR CDFS - DVD-ROM 2906 MB Healthy
1 R -------------- ------ Removable 0 B --- No Media
2 H -------------- ------ Removable 0 B --- No Media
3 C RECOVERY -- NTFS -- Partition -- 10 GB - Healthy
4 D OS ----------- NTFS -- Partition -- 223 GB Healthy
5 G -------------- ------ Removable 0 B --- No Media
6 I -------------- ------ Removable 0 B --- No Media
7 ---- -------------- FAT --- Partition -- 47 MB Healthy Hidden

 

Thanks for that. I need you to do the second part, so back at command prompt type diskpart to start diskpart and type the following.

select disk 0
list partition (Get the number of the 228gb partition)
select partition 1
detail partition (look to see if Active status is Yes or No)
select partition 2
detail partition (look to see if Active status is Yes or No)
select partition 3
detail partition (look to see if Active status is Yes or No)

You should get a list of three partitions from the list partition command. I need to know which number the 228gb partition is. Then I need to know which partition is active (you can see it will be listed in the detail partition command as shown below). You don't have to check the active status of all three partitions. Only one can be active so when you get to the one with Active: Yes you can just type exit to quit diskpart. You'll be back at the command prompt.

http://www.mcbsys.com/techblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/DellUtilityPartition4.png

 

Sorry, obviously I did not follow your instructions completely. Attached I think you will find the missing info. In comparing the list volume vs. detail partition - the partition # and sizes match though with the exception of (partition 1 - vol 7) looks like the volume #s differ.
Am I reading too much into it or is this what you were after? Also regarding the drive intermittant lockups with the exception of chkdsk /R or /F, are there any tools out there that might help.
Thank You So Much For Your Assistance. Even if you didn't solve my problem you have been much more responsive than those participating at other forums!!! Regards

 

You are doing a lot of work with spreadsheets that isn't really necessary. Though I like the detailed information.

It looks like your recovery partition is set as Active rather than your Vista partition. Let's set the Vista partition active and see if that gets you past the bootmgr error. It may not boot back into Vista but it should change the message.

From command prompt start diskpart by typing diskpart.

Then type in the following commands.

select disk 0
select partition 3
active
exit

Then reboot without the CD and see what message you get or if Vista starts.

If it doesn't start then go ahead and boot from the CD again and let it try the automatic startup repair again. When it completes try to boot without the CD again.

Post back with the error message you see when trying to boot without the CD if Vista doesn't start.

 

Sorry my internet just had a dropout and I missed my 10 minute edit window.

Edit this line

to read:

If Vista doesn't start after booting without the CD, boot from the CD again then after it searches for installations, select the 228gb D: installation and let it try to automatically fix the errors. Don't run the automatic fix on the (recovery) C: partition. When it completes try to boot without the CD again.

 

Thank You Sach2! Problem solved, original issue considered closed!

Any suggestions on issue with drive itself. Drive seizes up randomly and drive light glows continuously - with hard reboot required. I realize it would just be a band-aid and that pushing up daisies is the inevitable, just trying to buy some more time.

Anyway back to original problem - Made partition 3 active and rebooted. C: drive recognized & system first asked to pull a previous restore point, though HD hung during retrieval. On reboot system repaired itself, including the running of chkdsk. Next went on to my login screen, that I had not seem in quite some time (even forgot my password).

Thank You so much. You are The Man!!!

As I mentioned previously, plenty of views at other forums - though no one willing to touch it..... Don't tell me - You wear a cape right?

 

Good! I'm glad you got it working.

I can't really say on the freezing. It sounds like you already have run chkdsk but it might be worth a shot doing the full chkdsk /r one more time. You can just right-click the C: drive in My Computer and select Properties>Tools>Error Checking>Tick both boxes and then the Check Now button. It will schedule the chkdsk for next boot.

 

Oh, if you think the HD is going you could run the manufacturer's diagnostic program. I don't know that it will fix anything but it should tell you if the SMART (early warning system for HD failure) status is good or bad.

You can usually find your hard drive brand by going to My Computer and right-clicking the C: drive and selecting Properties. Under the Hardware tab it will tell you the model number. Western Digital(WD) and Seagate (ST) are the main desktop brands. Laptops have a larger variety of brands but few have decent utilities. A link to the main diagnostic utilities: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287