Windows 7 BOOTMGR is missing

[franktheman7]

I've been getting the error (BOOTMGR is missing)
I tried everything but nothing works for me.
I'm using a HP desktop PC, I tried to upgrade to a bigger drive
and then I started to get this error, so I put my old drive back in and the same error ((

Please help,

Frank

 

[Saltgrass]

A bootmgr missing message usually means the boot is not being directed to the boot files. If you have a Legacy install, set the hard drive with the install as first priority and boot to that. If your system is UEFI, set the system to boot to the Windows Boot Manager.

If you have multiple drives, there is a chance the boot files are on a drive other than the OS drive and the boot would have to be directed at it.

Something else that might happen is some type of corruption of the actual boot files. Doing a Startup Repair may solve this.

But since you have been moving drives around, it is very likely all you need to do is set the bios to the correct boot device.

 

[franktheman7]

tried to set the hard drive with the install as first priority and tried to boot
but now i'm getting a new error
(reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key)
what should i do now
PS don't know what Legacy or UEFI are

 

[franktheman7]

(If you have multiple drives, there is a chance the boot files are on a drive other than the OS drive and the boot would have to be directed at it.)


Don't know how to do this

 

[franktheman7]

tried to start Startup Repair but it's not highlighted and I can't start it

Please help

 

[Saltgrass]

If I understand correctly, you now only have the original hard drive in the system. Since you are running Windows 7, I will assume you have a Legacy (MBR) install. This would be more likely if the machine was a couple of years old.

I am not sure what might have happened during your trial of using another hard drive. It would be helpful if you could get a picture of your partitions using a third party bootable partition manager like Partition Wizard, or booting into a command prompt and using diskpart to list the partitions on the drive. A picture would give us more info and a camera works well for that and attach using the paperclip on the advanced replies.

Do you have a Windows 7 Install DVD or Flash drive you are booting to? If not, what are you booting to?

Since you seem to be able to get into the Recovery mode, you can get to a command prompt from there. You can then run some commands to help get your system back. If you are running Startup Repair from this option, you should be able to run it 3 times and recover your system. If it is telling you there is no OS installed, try ignoring that message and go the the next step.

If you could explain what, if anything, you did to the original drive, it might also be helpful. Was it plugged in while you were trying to change drives?

Do you have a backup Image of your system?

When you are in your bios, what boot options do you show?

 

[Saltgrass]

There are also some commands you could try if you can get into a Command Prompt Window.

Making sure the other drive is not connected, try these:

Bootrec /fixmbr
Bootrec /fixboot
Bootrec /RebuildBCD

Try these one at a time. I believe the Startup Repair runs these, but since you seem to be unable to get it to start, maybe this will help.

 

[franktheman7]

Wow, this one seemed to work (Bootrec /fixboot)

Thank you so much, you people are the best, help just to help, love you guys.

Frank

 

[silhouttejames]

Restart the PC. The BOOTMGR error could be a fluke.

Check your optical drives, USB ports, and floppy drives for media. Often times, the "BOOTMGR is Missing" error will appear if your PC is trying to boot to a non-bootable disc, external drive, or floppy disk.

Note: If you find that this is the cause of your issue and it's happening regularly, you might want to consider changing the boot order in BIOS so the hard drive is listed as the first boot device.

Check the boot sequence in BIOS and make sure the correct hard drive or other bootable device is listed first, assuming you have more than one drive. If the wrong drive is listed first, you could see BOOTMGR errors.

I know I sort of hit on this in the troubleshooting step above, but I wanted to call out specifically that you might have the wrong hard drive listed, as many BIOS/UEFI systems allow you to specify specific a particular hard drive to be booted from first.

Reseat all internal data and power cables. BOOTMGR error messages could be caused by unplugged, loose, or malfunctioning power or controller cables.
Try replacing the PATA or SATA cable if you suspect it might be faulty.

Perform a Startup Repair of Windows. This type of installation should replace any missing or corrupt files, including BOOTMGR.

Even though a Startup Repair is a common solution for BOOTMGR problems, don't worry if it doesn't fix your problem. Just continue troubleshooting - something will work.

Write a new partition boot sector to the Windows system partition to correct any possible corruption, configuration problem, or other damage.

The partition boot sector is an important piece in the boot process so if there's any issue with it, you'll see problems like "BOOTMGR is Missing" errors.

Rebuild the Boot Configuration Data (BCD). Similar to the partition boot sector, a corrupted or incorrectly configured BCD could cause BOOTMGR error messages.

Important: The following troubleshooting steps are much less likely to help fix your BOOTMGR problem. If you've skipped any of the above ideas then you may have overlooked a very likely solution to this problem!

Check the hard drive and other drive settings in BIOS and ensure they are correct. The BIOS configuration tells the computer how to use a drive so incorrect settings can cause problems, including BOOTMGR errors.

Note: There's usually an Auto setting in BIOS for hard disk and optical drive configurations which is usually a safe bet if you're not sure what to do.

Update your motherboard's BIOS. An outdated BIOS version can sometimes cause the "BOOTMGR is Missing" error.

Perform a clean installation of Windows. This type of installation will completely remove Windows from your PC and install it again from scratch. While this will almost certainly resolve any BOOTMGR errors, it's a time consuming process due to the fact that all of your data must be backed up and then later restored.

If you can't gain access to your files to back them up, please understand that you will lose them all if you continue with a clean installation of Windows!

Replace the hard drive and then install a new copy of Windows. If all else has failed, including the clean installation from the last step, you're most likely facing a hardware issue with your hard drive.

 

[mumtazkhan]

Bootmgr is missing, this error cause problem and your system is unable to boot into its Operating System. Boot Manager is an important part when it comes to opening any version of the Windows Operating System. Windows Vista, 8, 8.1 and 10 are more prone to this problem. Here we have some solutions to fix this error but In case you want to go for detailed description then you can visit this webpage https://appuals.com/steps-to-fix-bootmgr-is-missing/.
Method 1: Rebuild MBR, BootDOTini and Set C as Active Partition)
This issue often occurs when your C drive isn’t active. So by activating the partitions of your hard drive where you installed Windows can solve this issue.
Method 2: Repair your computer using Windows installation or recovery media)
Here you can insert a Windows installation media or Windows recovery, restart your system and boot from the media. Now boot the installation media and choose your and tap on the option of Repair your computer instead of Install now. Choose your Operating System and press on Next. In case no Operating System is listed, press on Next. You will see the System Recovery Options. Press on the Startup Repair option. At the end run the startup repair and it will find and try to resolve this error. The time startup repair utility asks you to reboot your computer do it and hopefully your problem has been solved.