Bootmgr is missing
August 1st, 2016
I got this problem in my old HP Laptop which has Vista. My younger brother was using last night and today when I switched it on, it says BOOTMGR IS MISSING, PRESS CTRL+ALT+DEL TO RESTART. My brother promises he did nothing to screw up.
I have tried to use system recovery but it says the same error again. I tried doing a fresh install of Windows 7 using a bootable CD but after I boot the disc, I just get a blank screen although I can hear the CD ROM working. I waited for half an hour at the same screen.
Please help me out. I dont mind if I lose the files and data in the laptop. I just want it to work again.
PS: It is an HP Pavilion laptop.
Edit: After like 45 minutes of waiting, the bootable disc finally booted. I went for Windows Installation but every step is taking nearly 10-15 minutes to progress. And finally when I selected Language and Keyboard layout etc., it says now that the drivers cant be found or something like that and browse the folder where the drivers are located. I selected the Windows CD and now it is stuck again. My Windows Disc is downloaded from .org itself and is scratch-free. I dont know what to do now. Please help people!!!
could be a faulty hard drive or loose connection of cable or something??
you could try reseating your hard drive or sata cables to see if it fixes it. if not i reckon the hard drive could be faulty
I dont know what sata cables are but I will try to open the laptop and remove all connections and plug them back in again. I also thought it might be due to the Dard Drive being faulty but I went to the BIOS settings and did the Hard Drive Self Test to check the Hard Drive. Result was that the Hard Drive is ok and not faulty. Any other suggestions?
Edit: I made another windows disc from the ISO image just to be sure. And now the windows installation screen was faster and I reached upto the Installing Windows screen. (Meaning the earlier disc was damaged somehow). And then while installing I get this error “Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart in the installation”
So I googled and fouund others have this error but they also get an error code, whilst I didnt. I just got the above sentence and nothing else. Im in such a fix man. Any suggestions guys?
Get an untouched image and retry. Also your HDD may be faulty, regardless of what the bios says. See this thread (read Gonzoi’s answer
http://www.google.com?t=18644640
if u google the error message u will get some page with possible reason.
here’s one> http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/bootmgr-is-missing.htm
maybe ur laptop’s dvd drive has gone berserk. u could try the “usb boot/install operating system by pendrive” thing.
but I will try to open the laptop and remove all connections and plug them back in again
I’d advise against it!
I see no reason to attempt it, And quite frankly, If you don’t know what you’re doing, You could easily make the situation a lot worse!
but I went to the BIOS settings and did the Hard Drive Self Test to check the Hard Drive. Result was that the Hard Drive is ok and not faulty. Any other suggestions?
You’re gonna have to be more specific, There are generally two kinds of HDD tests, Quick and Full (Or extended), Which one of em did you do? There’s still a chance there’s something wrong with it (If you haven’t fully tested it^) Generally speaking, You’d be best using the brand’s diagnostic tool for this purpose (And I’m referring to the HDD brand, Just to be clear) an OS isn’t needed (It’s bootable!)
Any suggestions guys?
First properly check your HDD, Then if it passes the test, Try installing from a flash drive, Use this tool:
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
Just pick Windows 7 from the list, Point it to the ISO & Choose the correct drive letter (Of your flash drive)
and the rest is simple enough. Do note however that your FD has to be of at least 4GB, And also, There is no boot prompt with this method (It automatically boots into windows setup) so after the first part of it finishes (When it restarts) make sure you change the boot order again (Make the HDD the first device) so it wouldn’t loop into setup. Oh, And as Jack_Torrance has already pointed out, It’s important you use an untouched ISO, Links:
Windows 7 Ultimate x86 (32bit) SP1
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59463.iso
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (64bit) SP1
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59465.iso
If you have 4GB of RAM or more, You should go with the 64bit version.
Install without a serial (Just skip it) and after it’s fully installed, Use this activator:
http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/24901-Windows-Loader-Current-release-information
Extract all files to the same folder & Run WL as admin (Right click it>Run as administrator) Better download all the drivers in advance from HPs website, You’re gonna need em later!
Good luck.
you could try reseating your hard drive or sata cables
FYI, SATA cables are not used on laptops (They’re for desktops only!)
Laptops use a direct connection for HDDs/ODDs, Like in these pics:
http://www.datarecoverytutorial.com/wp-images/recover-data-from-laptop/remove-laptop-hard-drive.jpg
http://kingwest.technologysolved.ca/files/2012/04/how-to-upgrade-laptop-hdd.gif
They’re just pushed against the connector and that’s that. And they’re secured with screws so they can’t budge.
and roberto you have corrected me sir on the laptop/pc connectors, and yes i should have fully read the thread before answering .
as roberto has stated the connectors are secured more on a laptop.
but i still say that you have probably got a dodgy hard drive, but as stated by roberto and others, try the tests out and see what happens first
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/error-bootmgr-is-missing-press-ctrlaltdel-to/5bd24087-f492-4c2c-8d3b-a00069112b4a or can try what it says at the very bottom