Me again!!

just to say i am posting this from my un-broken laptop. I decided to go for it, and it worked :smile:

Thank you for the help and advice earlier in the thread, it really was appreciated.

I dont know how to make this thread solved, but it is.

thanks again

Boooo :flowers:

 

Re: bootmgr is missing - Almost fixed?

sorry sorry

i am not trying to be a pest, please could somebody advise me ..... i think i have got a little further........

ok! so, being too nervous to use the nuke and boot, i have been browsing to see if i can find another way, as i really didn't want to cause irreparable damage......

so somehow I got to being able to Alt+F10 and it brought up a boot edit options screen, but with a "MININT\REDIRECT" message.

having searched a bit more, i found someone with a similar problem who had been advied to change the partition from 1 to 2 and then to 3, to identify whather it was (in the OP's case) a hardware/software failure.

Anyway....... the bottomline is i changed the partition to 2 and VOILA! I have the PB recovery management screen that i first tried to restore to factory settings with.

Now I realise this is a good thing BUT......

when I continue with each 'next', i get a message saying

This will erase all existing data on partition labelackard Bell.
Press OK to continue or press cancel to abort.

I have 2 questions,

1. as i changed the partition of the boot from 1 to 2, will it be erasing the right partition, my theory is, if it had to look at a different partition to boot, then could it be the same for the partition to wipe too? and my worry is that I will be asking it to effectively "wipe" itself of all the recovery data/files/info etc etc

2. I cant remember whether this screen came up before? is this a usual notice? i assume so, but again because of what I have said in question 1, i would just like some re-assurance from someone more informed than me (please)

Please help.I feel I may be almost there, and i don't want to crash and burn at (possibly) the last hurdle.........

Thank you.

 

hi there

sorry again, i really would appreciate any advice on this.

I have loaded the ubcd and got as far as Dariks nuke and boot and got to the wipe method.

The quick erase seems to be my best option, as it says to use this method to blank disks before reinstalling microsoft windows.

but when i choose this, the next screen, a list of disks and partitions only has one single choice

ATA Disk Hitachi HTS5402 PB20 232GB 100922PBN204CSD1SA6T

if i use 'space' to choose this drive, will this then bring up the partitions, I am sorry if i seem to be going over the same ground, i really do appreciate the time you guys have given to answer my questions so far. I am just concerned that I will end up wiping everything, including the partition with the factory defaults on :sad:

 

hi again....

ok.... managed to get the ISO disc sorted. I used HashCalc as advised on the UBCD site, (on a forum thread i think) and there were differences in comparing what the checksums should have been, so I downloaded the file again from a different mirror site and I have got the correct menu coming up now.

I am a bit nervous though if i am honest.....

I have chosen

HDD>Disk Wiping

I then scrolled through the options and found MAXLLF V1.1 (Maxtor) which describes as

"Low level format utility designed to return the surface of the media to manufacturing specifications and format the hard drive as it was shipped from the factory"

but I clicked on this and didnt know at what point the choice of partition to wipe should happen, as it didn't pop up with an obvious sub-menu or anything like that, and I got a bit nervous ........

I am sorry, I really do appreciate all of the help i have been given so far.....

......can you just re-assure me that i am still heading in the right direction, as i dont want to create further problems by being gung-ho..... (having learned my lesson from what got me here to start with! :uhoh

 

In theory that's the way it should work. If the Recovery Partition is still in tact and working correctly.

 

thanks for taking so much time to help me.

so basically, if I follow your instructions in #16 and wipe partitions 2 & 3, I should then be able to then use F11 and this will allow me restore the laptop to factory settings?

Am i right in saying then, that Volume 3 is actually partition 1, which is the recovery partition and holds all of the factory settings, including windows 7 (and any other software that was pre-installed i guess)

wiping partitions 2 & 3 will allow partition 1 to 'do its job' and basically reset everything back to how it was when i booted up for the first time?

 

Wipe Partition 3 220GB

partition 1 Recovery is your Recovery partititon that will be used to reinstall Windows to factory defaults. DO NOT WIPE PARTITION 1.

Wipe and delete # 2 and 3 partitions.

 

when i select volume 2 and list partition i get the following

Partition 1 Recovery 12GB 1024KB offset
Partition 2 Primary 100MB 12GB offset
*Partition 3 Primary 220GB 12GB offset

when I select Volume 3 and list partition i get the following

*Partition 1 Recovery 12GB 1024KB offset
Partition 2 Primary 100MB 12GB offset
Partition 3 Primary 220GB 12GB offset

am i helping, or confusing even more??

 

I'm a little confused too. Volume 3 the Primary Partition that is 220 GB should be your Windows OS.

 

in my cmd prompt i have the following info

Volume 0 F: GSP1RMCHPXF -UDF DVD-ROM 3167MB
(the above is the ISO file disc i created earlier before posting here)
Volume 1 C: SYSTEM RESE -NTFS Partition 100MB
Volume 2 D: Packard Bel -NTFS Partition 220GB
Volume 3 E: PQSERVICE -NTFS Partition 12GB (Hidden)

I selected volume 1 and listed partition, with the following result

Partition 1 Recovery 12GB
* Partition 2 Primary 100MB
Partition 3 Primary 220GB

does this info help at all?

 

Look for something that states Partition 0, bootable, active, drive C:, NTFS File System, and one with at least 40,000,000 Bytes, 40,000 Megabytes, 40GB or higher that will be the Windows Partition.

The other the one you do not want to wipe might be 4,000,000 Bytes, 4,000 Megabytes, 4GB or smaller. No more than 10GB. Also say FAT File System,
D:, Recovery PC or any label which says Recovery do not wipe this one.

Ignore the big numbers here they might confuse you they are just other ways to saying the size of a partition in bytes, megabytes and GB.

 

hi again, thank you for the above, which i will go away and do, but before i do, can i ask how do i know which partition i should be choosing, it was all being done automatically before, i didnt have to know or identify which partition it was myself

 

Go to UBCD (Scroll down at the website to the mirrors list select a mirror by click on the hard drive icon this will download the iso) in my signature download the ISO to a blank CD using ImgBurn (how to burn an ISO to cd using Imgburn) Burn at the lowest speed possible. With the newly burned cd boot with it in the other computer. Select HDD>Wiping> select a wiping tool that does not automatically wipe a drive but lets you select a partition (any but Active@Kill)

Select the partition that you tried to install Windows on might be partition 0. Wipe that partition it might take hours.

When done reboot Press F11 when you see the Packard Bell logo splash Screen highlight Recover PC select Y.

 

Go to UBCD (Scroll down at the website to the mirrors list select a mirror by click on the hard drive icon this will download the iso) in my signature download the ISO to a blank CD using ImgBurn (how to burn an ISO to cd using Imgburn) Burn at the lowest speed possible. With the newly burned cd boot with it in the other computer. Select HDD>Wiping> select a wiping tool that does not automatically wipe a drive but lets you select a partition (any but Active@Kill)

Select the partition that you tried to install Windows on might be partition 0. Wipe that partition it might take hours.

When done reboot Press F11 when you see the Packard Bell logo splash Screen highlight Recover PC select Y.

Hi again, I am sorry i have not been able to look at this since i last posted, but i have been back to this today and must be doing something wrong (for a change :banghead

I have burned the disc using ImgBurn setting 2.4x and then taken the disc to my other laptop and booted up, only to get the message

Initial menu has no label entries!
boot:

please help, what have i done wrong? I assume i have mucked up burning the ISO, but i dont know how!!? :hide:

 

i just tried, it came straight back to "bootmgr is missing, press ctrl+alt+del to restart"

 

Reboot the computer when you see the Packard Bell logo splash screen press F11 Highlight "Recover PC" Hit enter then type in "Y" to confirm the restoration.

 

Hi.

its a Packard Bell EasyNote NM85.

It came pre-installed with all of the software and no recovery discs.

I tried to recover back to factory settings using the inbuilt recovery without recovery discs, but as i stupedly halted the process half way through, it now just loops with bootmgr is missing.

there are still loads of files and folders on my system, but whether they are in the right place, or corrupt i have no idea.....

 

What is the make and model of the machine?

If you have a Windows 7 install disk you can not install it on another machine if it already installed on another machine. Microsoft's Windows EULA States one installation of Windows on only one machine.

How did you try reinstalling Windows before?

 

so i use my Win7 Home premium disc that is for my sons computer and completely re-install windows 7 on my laptop (which came pre-installed, but with no disc, only a product key)

is this not going to completely wipe everything that was pre-installed, therefore not back to factory settings but a competely wiped laptop with only windows 7 installed?

sorry, i realise i am probably asking some very dumb questions here, so please bear with me.....

thank you

 

Clean install which is referred to when you have an OEM computer Acer, Dell, Fuji, HP etc... setting back to factory defaults reinstalling Windows.

 

hi there again, i am really sorry to be a pain, but when you say i should proceed to factory defaults the way i did before, i am not sure what you mean? i can't get back to where i was before as i keep getting the bootmgr is missing ctrl+alt+dlt message.

can I use the win7 disc i have to repair? or will i only be able to do the clean install, and if thats the case, will it wipe everything? (files i needed i have saved, but i am referring to any other pre-installed software that came with the laptop)

 

You can not install Windows using the disk you have created. It is used to install SP1 for Windows 7 which is an update not a full installation.

Proceed reinstalling Windows to Factory defaults the way you did before you will not need a product key.

 

and another quick response, you guys are brilliant

I will have a look at the link you have given me thanks, and at least i know i should be able to re-install with the disc i have for my lads PC.

(and I most definitely will never ever turn off half way through again!!!!!!)

 

wow, what a quick reply! thanks.

Can I re-install using the Home Premium disc I have for my sons computer and my own laptop Win7 product key?

 

If your files are backed up you could try another factory recovery if you have the discs or if you can boot the system to the recovery application.

You may also want to see if any of these fixes work for you:
windows 7 bootmgr is missing-- resolved using WinRE - Microsoft Answers

If you wanted to do the clean install the license that came with your system should work fine with the disc you have.

 

You can not shutdown the PC while Windows is being installed. This will cause corrupted system files at this point can not be fixed plus you do not have a complete OS on the HDD.

Reinstall Windows again back to factory defaults. Do not stop the process it may take up to 1-2 hours.