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BOOTMGR is missing - What to do and how to fix it? Bootmgr Is Missing Error: Causes and Solutions What does bootmgr mean?

An error in loading the Windows 7 operating system is not the best thing you can encounter when working with a Microsoft operating system. But sometimes such things happen (one must admit that in Windows 7 much less often than, for example, in Windows XP). Reinstalling the operating system is often a last resort method to fix the problem. In this article I will describe step by step how to fix the error when Windows boot 7.

So, after turning on the computer/laptop we have the ominous inscription " BOOTMGR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart". Often this error occurs after unsuccessful experiments with partitions hard drive.

To resolve this error, you need to insert the disk with your operating system and boot from it. How to do this is described in the article - how to boot from disk .
After that, select the language and other parameters, click “ Further».

Then click " System Restore».

After this, computer recovery will automatically start using the previously created image. In system recovery options, click " No».

If you do not have a system backup, then in the following windows click “ Cancel».

In the window System Recovery Options launch the command line.

Now you need to use the diskpart utility to change the active partition.

Active section- This is the main partition from which the computer boots. A computer may contain several main partitions with their own operating system. At the same time, loading occurs precisely from the main partition that is currently active.
For example, if you right-click on the Computer shortcut, select " Management – Disk Management» you will see all hard drives and their partitions. For Windows 7, the Active partition must be a partition of 100 MB in size (in Windows 8 - 350 MB). The "Active" attribute is needed by the BIOS to quickly determine which of the main partitions the boot files are on, and the fact that this partition is not visible in Windows Explorer and is marked as "System Reserved" indicates its extreme importance and does not cost anything to deal with it do.
We run the commands sequentially:
1 Diskpart- a utility for working with hard disk partitions for the command line, included in versions of the Windows NT OS lines starting with Windows 2000, which replaced fdisk that was under MS-DOS.
2 List disk- the command will display a list of all disks connected to your computer and assign numbers to them.
3 Select Disk x– where x is the number of the disk containing the partition you want to make active.
4 List partition– a command to view all partitions on the previously selected disk.
5 Select Partition x- where x is the number of the partition that needs to be made active
6 Active- will make the section you selected active.

After this, reboot Windows 7. If everything is done correctly, errors BOOTMGR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart must not be, operating system should boot in normal mode.

There are several options for your computer to display the “Bootmgr is Missing” error, and the most common one is:

BOOTMGR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart

BOOTMGR is missing
Press any key to restart

Couldn't find BOOTMGR

The Bootmgr is Missing error appears immediately after powering on the computer after passing the POST tests.

Possible causes of the Bootmgr is Missing error

There are several possible causes for Bootmgr errors. The most common cause is corrupted files, bad hard drive sectors, or a damaged or loose hard drive interface cable.

Another reason is that you are trying to boot the computer from a non-bootable disk, for example, if you forgot to remove the disk from the DVD drive, floppy disk or flash card, and the computer is trying to boot from them.

What to do if you get a Bootmgr is Missing error on Windows?

Restart your computer. The BOOTMGR error may be a fluke.
Check your optical drives, floppy drive, and remove USB flash drives, disks, and memory cards from your computer. Often, the BOOTMGR is Missing error appears when your computer tries to boot from the wrong drive. Ideally, simply disconnect all external devices from your computer.
Check the boot sequence in the BIOS and make sure the correct one is booted first. HDD and its correct partition if your BIOS has the option to specify the disk partition. If you don't know what to do in the BIOS, then try setting the automatic configuration.
Check all cable connections to the hard drive. The BOOTMGR error may be caused by a faulty or unconnected power cable or controller cable. Try replacing the PATA or SATA cable if you suspect it may be faulty. In the case of a laptop, this step is best done last.
Run Windows recovery(Startup Repair of Windows). This type of installation will replace any missing or corrupt files, including BOOTMGR.
Write a new boot sector to the partition Windows systems to fix any possible file corruption, configuration issues, or other issues.
Recover Boot Configuration Data (BCD).
Clean installation of Windows. If the first seven points did not help you, then reinstall Windows. This should probably help, and if it doesn't, you're left with only a few options.
BIOS update motherboard. If updating the BIOS did not solve the problem, then you clearly have problems with hard drive and you need to take it to a service center to have it checked, since most likely something is broken in it.

And finally, you need to know that BOOTMGR errors apply to the operating systems Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista and later versions. But Windows XP does not use BOOTMGR, but uses NTLDR.

When loading the Windows system, you may encounter a "" error that will prevent you from booting to the desktop. This error is due to a corrupted bootloader and more precisely a file bootmgr which cannot boot. BOOTMGR - abbreviation for Windows Boot Manager, refers to a small fragment software, loaded from the volume boot code. Typically the BOOTMGR file is read-only and is located in the boot directory of the partition that is set to "active". The error can occur in any version of the Windows operating system, starting with Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and the solutions will be almost the same.

BOOTMGR is missing - Fix error in Windows 10/8.1/7

The first thing you should do is pull everything out of the system USB devices, including the keyboard and mouse, restart the PC and check for the BOOTMGR is missing error. If this does not help, then below we will look at ways to resolve the error.

Additional tip

1 . In some cases, the problem may be with the hard drive itself. He may have already done his job, or he has bad sectors. In the first case, you will have to replace the disk. In the second case, you can check and correct these sectors. You need to launch the command line through the WinRE environment and enter the command chkdsk /f /r.

2 . If you can't get into Advanced Boot Options or another WinRE to launch Command Prompt, Startup/System Repair, then you need to create a bootable Windows USB flash drive and boot from it. As soon as you reach the installation point, click on " System Restore". You will then be taken to the WinRE or "Advanced Boot Options" environment.

1. Download priority

You need to go into the BIOS/UEFI and check that the first boot space is the disk on which the Windows system is installed. Restart your PC or laptop and immediately press the button DEL or F2 to get into the BIOS settings. Next you must count Boot and select there in the first place your hard drive on which Windows is located. Since there are many BIOS versions, the name of the parameter differs, but usually it is " Boot option" or " 1st Boot Device". Below links will help you:

. (only you need your own disk)

2. Startup recovery

You need to go to additional boot options. To do this, press the power button on your PC and hold it down for 10 seconds to turn off your PC or laptop. When WinRE mode appears, go to " Troubleshooting" > "Extra options" > "". This will perform a startup repair and will also resolve the BOOTMGR is missing error. If the error still persists, you can move on to the next step.

Note: If you cannot get into the additional parameters, then see the “additional tips 2” method above

3. Restore BCD or fixboot

Let's try to restore using bootrec using cmd. Log back into the WinRE environment as described above and go to " Troubleshooting" > "Extra options" > "Command line".

IN command line enter the commands one by one, restarting the PC:

bootrec /rebuildbcd- This will restore the BCD functions, reboot your PC and check if the error is resolved. If not, then enter the command below.
bootrec/fixboot- This will fix all booting problems on your system.

It may be that your Windows system itself is located not on the C: drive, but on another one, but it will be shown that it is on the C: drive, and when you enter the above commands, you will receive errors. In this case, refer to this guide on Windows.<--Там есть ниже видео инструкция.

4. Perform a system restore

There is also a System Restore feature in WinRE that will help you fix the BOOTMGR is missing error. Boot into advanced options as described in method 1 and go to " Troubleshooting" > "Extra options" > "System Restore".

Most inexperienced users who first encountered the message “bootmgr is missing press ctrl+alt+del to restart” when turning on the computer think that this is “the end.”

Which is understandable: an incomprehensible inscription on a black background for novice users seems almost like a harbinger of the apocalypse, and when, after a dozen useless attempts to reboot the system, the message does not disappear, it seems that it’s time to call the omniscient computer experts.

However, in most cases of this error, the user himself is to blame, and he is able to fix the problem on his own.

What does the “bootmgr is missing” error mean and how can I fix it?

So, from the text of the message it follows that the system simply cannot detect the boot sector to launch the OS correctly.

There are many possible reasons for its damage - from incorrect operation of hard drive partitions and incorrect shutdown of the computer, to the result of damage to the system by various viruses.

Fortunately, Microsoft developers did not stay away from this problem and offered several options for troubleshooting.

Method 1

To implement this method, you must have bootable media with an operating system, since the first method involves using the capabilities of recovery tools.

In fact, any Windows 7 or 8 OS image will do, even if it has nothing to do with the existing installed version operating system.

Using the operating system startup options (or setting the appropriate priority in the BIOS), boot Windows from the media you are using and go to the section with the “Install” button.
Go to the “System Restore” subsection.

In the next window you will be asked to select an operating system - select the one you need and click the “Next” button.

Next, the “System Recovery Options” window will open, in which select the first line “Startup Repair”.

In the window that opens, you can see the process of identifying existing problems and automatically correcting them.
Once the scan is complete, you should reboot and start the system in normal mode.

If this option does not help, you can try alternative way- use of the “Computer troubleshooting” option, which can be activated through the “Advanced boot options” section, which opens using the “F8” button when the system starts.

Method 2

The first few steps are performed similarly to the method described above with the text “bootmgr is missing...” only in the “System Recovery Options” window you must select the last item called “Command Prompt”.

So, this method uses a more flexible system recovery tool - “Bootrec.exe.”

Depending on the specific problem at hand, you should add “Bootrec.exe.” to the tool. two more parameters:

“/FixMbr” - intended for adding a boot record to the system partition;

“/FixBoot” - adds a new boot sector to the system partition.

If you discard the “Fix” prefix in these parameters, you will get the name “BOOTMBR”, the absence or damage of which is notified by the operating system when a malfunction occurs.

The parameters “/FixMbr” and “FixBoot” are entered and executed one by one (the Enter button).

After executing the commands, you should also check the functionality of the operating system.

As an alternative, based on Microsoft's recommendation, you can use the /RebuildBcd option to rebuild the boot configuration data store.

Method 3

Like method No. 2, it is implemented using the command line.

To fix the error, you will need to run the command “bcdboot c:\windows" - to create a new boot configuration.

After executing the command, the current configuration will be saved in the “Boot” directory in the root of the system disk.

Method 4

And finally, an option that is suitable for more confident users who know how to work with the command line, since you will need to take the following sequential steps:

Also, using bootable media, go to the “Command Prompt” section;
After starting the console, enter and execute the commands “diskpart” (step 1) and “list volume” (step 2);
You will see a table with the available disk partitions, which will also show hidden subpartitions where the boot sector is stored. Look for the disk marked “Reserved” and the boot/installation media itself - it may be displayed as “CD-ROM”; also look for the displayed disk capacity in the “Size” column. After completing the search, remember the names assigned to the partitions (volume and letter) and close the “diskpart” program with the “exit” command (step 3).
Using the resulting bootable media letter with the OS image, enter it into the console to open and further work with it. For example, if the drive letter is “F”, enter “F:” to open it (step 4).
Next, enter and execute the command “copy bootmgr C:\” to copy the bootloader file (step 5);
After notification of successful copying, close the disk with the “exit” command (step 6);

After performing these manipulations, the system should boot without errors. But, if the same situation arises again, then you should open the command line again and run the command “bootsect /nt60 All/”.

If this does not help, then you should be patient and open the command line again: because. from the repetition of the error it follows that the disk to which the boot file was copied is not active, which, accordingly, needs to be corrected:

Execute the commands “diskpart” (step 1) and “list disk” (step 2) one by one;
By analogy, identify the physical disk on which the operating system is installed and run the command “select disk 0”, where instead of “0” is the number of the identified disk; (step 3)
Next, you need to view the partitions (partitions) available on the disk using the “list partition” command; (step 4)
A table will open in front of you, where all partitions of the selected disk will be displayed, in which you need to pay attention to the 100 MB partition and open it with the command “Select Partition 1” (instead of “1” is the assigned partition number); (step 5)
Finally, make the selected partition active with the “Active” command, and after notifying that “Partition is marked as active” (step 6), close it with the “Exit” command.

Conclusion

So, the five options described above for solving problems with the boot file solve the problem in 90% of cases, the remaining 10% are due to incorrect implementation of recommendations and situations where nothing other than reinstalling the operating system helps.

As an alternative, in situations where you do not have an operating system image at hand, you can use any convenient LiveCD that has similar recovery functionality, essentially using the same tools as .

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