hi all Yesterday i installed win 7 home premium on my win xp. Before installing i formatted the HDD with the installation program. After installation i keep getting this message- BOOTMGR is missing press ctrl+alt+del I tried fixing the bootmgr, moving it to the HDD from the installation dvd and then got the bcd error instead. tried fixing that as well. no good. So i installed a different win 7, ultimate this time on a different HDD in the comp. thinking that maybe the HDD has problems or the installation dvd is spoiled. I made sure to format both HDD before installing the win in order to avoid collisions. This didn't work as well! i am still getting this annoying message every time i turn on the comp. However, if the installation dvd is inside, then it loads just fine. Asking me to choose between two windows systems but one does not exist! i formatted its HDD. I also made sure the right HDD is set to be 1st in the bios. I am lost here. Can't fix the bootmgr and bcd and re installing win doesn't help. Please help.
What's the source for the Windows 7 installation media? Since this is a new installation, if you didn't get Windows 7 via a link provided by this forum, I suggest you do so and start over. Additionally, you might try wiping the HDD with a third party partitioner. I like GPartEd but there are others as good or better. There's always the possibility the HDD is at fault; try an HDD you know to be good.
Thank you. I have downloaded both win 7 versions from links here. Today i did a hash check for the ultimate version and ist came out right! from-7126-The-Official-Windows-7-Repository Microsoft Windows 7 64 Bits MD5: F43D22E4FB07BF617D573ACD8785C028 SHA-1: 326327CC2FF9F05379F5058C41BE6BC5E004BAA7 I initially started with the HDD i was sure of. How can i wipe both HDD when the windows is on one of them? I even tried running the WAT fix but it didn't work. I can't understand this issue with the multiple systems on start up. Only one window is on the comp. I checked.
OK. I'll do this now. Do you know if you can format the disk with this GpartEd? Because i didn't see it on their list. Thanks
Thanks. Will do. I will format both HDD again. And then i will re install windows. And hopefully that would be the end of it.
I just finished re installing win 7 after formatting both HDD! (With GpartEd) And i get the annoying BOOTMGR is missing AGAIN!!! I don't know what to do next
It has to be a setting in the bios you messed with.. allow other boot options set correctly to enable?
Now it will not load at all! only get the BootMGR message again! I can't use the MBR application because it is an exe file and not bootable so i disconnected all HDD except for the one i am going to install win on! Cross your fingers it will work.
Leaving just 1 HDD with no partitions worked! I had to install win again though. Will try using the Loader now. Hope it will be fine
Thank you all for helping! I really needed guidance. I still didn't connect the second HDD. Hope i will not have anything to report after doing this...
Just added the second HDD and it recognize it as a drive. Why do i need to format it? I am going to run a disc check for both discs now(bad sectors and all that). Any recommended software for this?
There would be no need to format it, unless you want to. If you never wish to boot from this drive, make sure it has no partitions marked active. Run diskmgmt.msc to check the partitions. chkdsk /f is always what I start with.
The question of need to format or not to format lies on what you're doing/working with! For my own part, I mainly work with a lot of customer data which are, in that regard, always confidential because that's no mine! Also other reasons may get involved?! Therefore, I always do an full and in many cases a low level format after to be sure that none of those 'old' data are needed any more. It's also an set back to virgin state of an HDD while using low level formatting which is for sure never bad! Maybe even Computer Forensic Technicans are not able to get any data back which they still could from normal formatted HDD's! Is that bad? I also test all times brand new HDD's and just in the last week, we got 8 Seagate Server HDD's directly from Seagate Singapore, all from the same production cycle, from which 5 had delete Partitions (83 to 279) on it, just 3 were really virgin! One reason more for us to always format!