Rebuild Windows 7 Boot Partition

Rebuild Windows 7 Boot Partition

This option writes a new boot sector to the system partition by using a boot sector that's compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Use this option if one of the following conditions is true: The boot sector was replaced with a nonstandard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector. The boot sector is damaged. I was on dual boot of two windows 7s. Since I want to make the Raid Drives my backup drive now. The trouble is Windows 7 Setup Wizard didn't create the reserved partition (100mb or 200mb) on the SSD when I installed the new windows 7, instead it used the old reserved partition on the raid drives. If you do have the Installation Media: Insert the Media (DVD/USB) in your PC and restart. Boot from the media. Select Repair Your Computer. Select the operating system and click next. Choose Command Prompt from the menu: Type and run the command. I tried this and it worked(to a point). I created a Windows 7 Repair disk I used for this job from the computer that had the corrupted “System Reserved” partition because the Windows operating system of the computer itself was an OEM copy and I didn’t have the original disks. If Windows falls to the internal disk, you’ll need to change boot priority to the installation disc in BIOS. If Shift + F10 combination does not work, try this approach with the installation disc. In Windows 10, Choose an option Troubleshoot Command Prompt; In Windows 7, Next System Recovery Options Command Prompt. A complete tutorial on rebuilding the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store in Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista. The bootrec command is used to rebuild the BCD.

If the Windows boot configuration data (BCD) store is missing, becomes corrupted, or isn't properly configured, Windows won't be able to start, and you'll see BOOTMGR is Missing or a similar error message pretty early on in the boot process.

The easiest solution to a BCD issue is to simply rebuild it, which you can do automatically with the bootreccommand, fully explained below.

If you've already scrolled down through this tutorial and it looks like too much, don't worry. Yes, there are several commands to run and lots of output on the screen, but rebuilding the BCD is a very straightforward process. Just follow the instructions exactly and you'll be fine.

These instructions apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista. Similar problems can exist in Windows XP, but since boot configuration information is stored in the boot.ini file and not the BCD, correcting XP issues with boot data involves a completely different process.

How to Rebuild the BCD in Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista

Rebuilding the BCD in Windows should only take around 15 minutes:

Windows 7 Boot Partition Size

Rebuild Windows 7 Boot Partition
  1. Start Advanced Startup Options if you're using Windows 10 or Windows 8. Start System Recovery Options if you're using Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

  2. In Windows 10/8, select Troubleshoot and then Advanced options.

  3. Command Prompt won't start immediately. Your computer will show a 'Preparing' screen for a short time while it readies the computer.

    You may need to choose your account name and enter your password to get to the Command Prompt.

  4. At the prompt, type the bootrec command as shown below, and then press Enter:

    The bootrec command will search for Windows installations not included in the BCD and then ask you if you'd like to add one or more to it.

  5. You should see one of the following messages at the command line.

    If you see Option 1: Move on to Step 7. This result most likely means that Windows installation data in the BCD store exists but bootrec couldn't find any additional installations of Windows on your computer to add to the BCD. That's fine; you'll just need to take a few extra steps to rebuild the BCD.

    If you see option 2: Enter Y or Yes to the Add installation to boot list? question, after which you should see The operation completed successfully, followed by a blinking cursor at the prompt. Finish up with Step 10 toward the bottom of the page.

  6. Since the BCD store exists and lists a Windows installation, you'll first have to remove it manually and then try to rebuild it again. At the prompt, execute the bcdedit command as shown and then press Enter:

    The bcdedit command is used here to export the BCD store as a file: bcdbackup. There's no need to specify a file extension. The command should return the following on screen, meaning the BCD export worked as expected:

  7. At this point, you need to adjust several file attributes for the BCD store so you can manipulate it. At the prompt, execute the attrib command exactly like this:

    What you just did with the attrib command was remove the hidden, read-only, and system attributes from the file bcd. Those attributes restricted the actions you could take on the file. Now that they're gone, you can manipulate the file more freely (specifically, rename it).

  8. To rename the BCD store, execute the ren command as shown:

    Now that the BCD store is renamed, you should now be able to successfully rebuild it, as you tried to do in Step 6.

    You could delete the BCD file entirely since you're about to create a new one. However, renaming the existing BCD accomplishes the same thing since it's now unavailable to Windows, plus provides you with another layer of backup, in addition to the export you did in Step 5, if you decide to undo your actions.

  9. Try rebuilding the BCD again by executing the following, followed by Enter:

    It should produce this in Command Prompt:

    This means the BCD store rebuild is progressing as expected.

  10. At the Add installation to boot list? question, type Y or Yes, followed by the Enter key.

    You should see this on the screen to show that the BCD rebuild is complete:

  11. Restart your computer. Assuming that an issue with the BCD store was the only problem, Windows should start as expected.

Fix Windows 7 Boot After Moving Partition

Depending on how you started Advanced Startup Options or System Recovery Options, you may need to remove a disc or flash drive before restarting.

If rebuilding the BCD didn't solve the problem you were having, continue to troubleshoot whatever specific issue you're seeing that's preventing Windows from booting normally.