BOOTMGR is missing

[ChiaPet]

I just did a re-installation of Windows 7 x64 on my computer, and I am getting the dreaded "BOOTMGR is missing" error. The previous operating system was also Windows 7 x64. I have 4 internal HDD, but I am reinstalling to the same drive that I originally used. I reformatted the drive when I did the installation.

I have done a lot of searching on this topic to try to find a solution. I'm amazed at how common this error appears to be, and yet there doesn't seem to be a clear and consistent answer for solving it. Why is this so difficult to resolve? Can anyone help me get this fixed?

 

[AK762]

Disconnect every hard drive you have, both power and data cables, except for the installing drive. Then clean install 7 again, reformatting as usual. Connect the hard drives once 7 is installed.

 

[TorrentG]

Hi. Startup repair will help you out. You may need to run it more than once or twice consecutively.

https://www.w7forums.com/startup-repair-t441.html

 

[Nibiru2012]

Windows 7 is finicky if there is more than one hard drive hooked up to the motherboard when doing an install of the OS.

I usually just disconnect the data cable at the motherboard and never had any issues. Never had any problems leaving the power cable attached.

Maybe cause I'm lazy and don't want to take of both side panels of my Lian-Li case.

 

[Mychael]

Windows 7 is finicky if there is more than one hard drive hooked up to the motherboard when doing an install of the OS.

A curious bug to have, question to be asked is why? Something introduced in 7 or did Vista also have this issue? XP never did. Just shows that no matter how much testing is done before retail only real world use will show up the issues.

 

[TorrentG]

Windows 7 is finicky if there is more than one hard drive hooked up to the motherboard when doing an install of the OS.

Not really. His HDD are probably not in the same config as the first install, so the installer chose the first available drive it can find and placed the boot files there. Maybe he has a usb flash drive in now that he never had in the first install. When booting, it looks elsewhere and not the usb stick, as an example.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Windows 7 installer. I beta tested every leaked and official version there was on many machines. In fact, all my machines have multiple drives and must have installed 2-300 times. In fact 2 of my machines are upgraded with every leak/release. That's like 20 or more of them. They run as perfect as I've even seen in my life and never had a single issue yet from upgrades or clean installs. It all in the users' hands.

 

[davehc]

I have had the same experiences as TorrentG. Never a problem under an circumtances. It was a particular pointer from Microsoft, during the Beta testing period (Which was the same for Vista, fwiw).
In partial answer to Mychael. It was innovative, for Windows 7/Vista. L nux have had it for many years, (I am not a lnux user!) The MBR, which Vista Windows 7 rewrites, is, right or wrong, dedicated to Microsoft Windows 7. Personaly, in Linux and Windows 7, I think it is a bad feature and plays havoc with backward compatibility in different Oss
Fwiw. The OP says he is installing, afyter a format, on the same drive, so the reason for his problem is a mystery. Only offer I had is he selected the wrong drive for the installation, and the old OS is still sitting there, with the boot manger overwritten. TorrentG's solution should do the trick (hopefully!), otherwise Easybcd willl sort it out.

 

[Nibiru2012]

Look, I don't why this is, but every time I have tried to install Windows 7 with more that one hard drive connected, it won't install.

I have checked several forums and lots of other users are having the exact same issue. Once the extra drive(s) are disconnected, 7 installs like a breeze.

TorrentG if you know a "workaround' for this, I would like to know, plus many others. I'm not being facetious either, it's a P.I.T.A. whenever I want to reinstall 7 and have to disconnect the extra drives.

 

[davehc]

My post was meant with sincerity, Nibiru. Honestly, I install a few time a week on various diffrent environments. I have not experienced the problem and am sorry that I cannot give a solution.

 

[TorrentG]

Same here, no problems. Worst case scenario, you can throw a few simple bcd commands to move the boot files (System partition) location to help things. Involving bcdedit /export

 

[Nibiru2012]

My post was meant with sincerity, Nibiru. Honestly, I install a few time a week on various diffrent environments. I have not experienced the problem and am sorry that I cannot give a solution.

I know it was Dave, I took no offense whatsoever.

It's just like I said that I have to go through the stuff to install it.

One of these decades I'll get this figured out.

Thanks for your help... it is appreciated.

 

[TorrentG]

I
One of these decades I'll get this figured out.

Nah, you already have. If you do something and it works for you...

well then it works, right?

 

[ChiaPet]

Thank you to everyone for the great info. I unplugged all of the extra drives and did a fresh install. It worked. I then plugged all the other drives back in, and everything is fine. Thank you again for the help.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Nibs, it does look as if you are not alone after all.

 

[Veedaz]

In my workshop we install Windows 7 (all flavours) a few times a week on different types of PCs and any PCs with more then one HDD we disconnect only leaving the boot drive (its become a habit now because for some reason [and not every time] Windows 7 just wont install when there are more then one HDD) I don't know why this occurs but the practise above has become standard here, your defiantly not alone Nibiru.

 

[catilley1092]

For some reason, you have to do the same when you're installing a Linux OS, if you don't, all of Windows OS's are stuck having to use the Linux bootloader (GRUB) upon booting into Windows. In other words, if you remove the drive with Linux on it, you cannot boot into Windows without doing a repair install. Really, I guess it doesn't matter, but for some, they want no part of Linux on the Windows install. I'm one of those, so I remove the main drive first.

But hopefully by years end, I'll be able to take care of that problem. Like Nibiru, I don't like having to go into the box, either. But I have no choice. I have to remove my hard drive to do it. As I was saying, by years end, all of my drives will be in external enclosures, connected by eSATA ports. This will save a lot of time & trouble.

 

[TrainableMan]

In past versions I used to just disable the HDs I didn't want Windows to mess with in my BIOS, so of course I tried that with Win 7 as well, but dang if his greedy little fingers didn't go out and find them all anyway. I went ahead and installed and he didn't mess up my other HDs but I may just have been lucky.

 

[Windows7Guy]

Hello chiapet,

You should be able to copy the boot cmd from the original DVD for Windows. Or try a USB boot re-install?

If you have problems with the DVD install try this:
You can download the USB tool for free and copy your Windows 7 ISO to the USB. Complete instructions can be found here:
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool
I use USB flash drives all the time for OS install it works perfectly - lot faster and no DVDs to get scratched and damaged!
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool
　
Thanks,
John M
Microsoft Windows Client Team