bench3: Boot Screen

Showing posts with label Boot Screen. Show all posts

Monday, March 28, 2011

Master Boot Record Not Found On Windows 7 | Error

I installed windows 7 PRO from windows XP three weeks ago on a P4 system with 4 GB of ram. My problem is every 3-4 days (I mean every), I boot up windows 7 and it says Master Boot Record not found, press CTRL-ALT-DELTE to restart. I fix it with Bootrec command in the recovery console. Windows 7 boot again.

Why does Windows 7 keeps on losing the MBR every 3-4 days? I ran windows XP for over 6 years and lost the MBR once or twice. I install Windows 7 Professional and the MBR lost/corrupt every week. Is this a bug with Windows 7?

Solution:

The problems seems to happen when you lose power or the system does not properly shut down. It happens other times too. If you do not restart when Windows 7 Professional ask you to, the problem has a 80% chance of happening.

After performing a further research, I found that this issue can occur because some system booting files are corrupted after the sudden power lose or improper computer shutting down happened.

First, you can try the suggestions provided on the following website to repair MBR on Windows 7.

How to repair MBR on Windows 7

After that, if the issue persists, I strongly suggest performing a Startup repair to check the issue since the Startup Repair Tool can automatically repair the following problems:

Missing/corrupt/incompatible drivers

Missing/corrupt system files

Missing/corrupt boot configuration settings

Corrupt registry settings

Corrupt disk metadata (master boot record, partition table, or boot sector)

Problem update installation

Startup repair in Windows Recovery Environment

1. Please insert the Windows 7 DVD and reboot the computer.

Please ensure that the DVD-ROM is the first booting device. If you are unsure how to change this BIOS setting, please contact the computer manufacturer for more information.

2. When we are prompted to press a key to boot from the DVD, please press Enter or the space bar to launch Windows Recovery Environment.

3. Click "Next" and click "Repair your computer".

4. Click “Startup Repair” to perform Windows Startup Repair.

Please check if the issue persists.

In addition, since your BIOS is old, it is also recommended updating your motherboard to check the issue.

Installing A Previous Version Of Windows On Windows 7 PC

By 14:58 2 comments:

One scenario where Bootsect is particularly handy is when you are installing a previous version of Windows on a computer running Windows 7. Normally, Windows 7 won’t let you install and then run a previous version of Windows. You can work around this issue using Bootsect and BCDedit.

To install a previous version of Windows onto a computer running Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. Insert the media for the previous version of Windows into your CD-ROM or DVDROM drive.

2. Restart the computer and run Setup for the previous version of Windows. Be sure to install the previous version of Windows onto a different partition or drive than the one running Windows 7.

3. Log on to the previous version of Windows and restore the Windows 7 boot manager.

You must specify the partition where Windows 7 is installed. If Windows 7 were installed on C:, you’d use the following command:

bootsect /nt60 c:

4. Create a BCD entry for the pre-Windows 7 operating system you just installed using BCDedit. BCDedit is located in the \Windows\System32 directory of the Windows 7 partition. Type the following commands exactly as shown, where Windows_Version is the version of Windows you installed:

Bcdedit /create {legacy} /d "Windows_Version"

Bcdedit /set {legacy} device boot

Bcdedit /set {legacy} path \ntldr

Bcdedit /displayorder {legacy} /addlast

5. Restart the computer to apply the BCD changes.

For Your Information:

Windows XP Mode provides a virtual Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 (SP3) environment for computers running Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, or Windows 7 Enterprise. You can use this environment to run your applications for Windows XP directly from the Windows 7 desktop. Read More... Configuring And Using Windows XP Mode In Windows 7

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run many Windows XP productivity applications directly from your Windows 7-based PC. It utilizes virtualization technology, such as Windows Virtual PC, to provide a virtual Windows XP environment for Windows 7. Read more: Running Windows XP In Windows 7

Modify the Boot Manager configuration In Windows 7 And Windows Vista To Setup Multi Boot

By 18:48 No comments:

The Windows Boot Manager is responsible for loading Vista or Windows Seven, and, optionally, booting any other operating systems you may have installed.

The Boot Manager in both Windows XP and 2000 stored its configuration in a tiny, easily editable file called boot.ini in the root folder of your C: drive, but in Windows Seven and Vista, this file is no longer used. If you install Windows 7 or Vista on an XP system, and then open the boot.ini file left behind, you’ll see this message:

;Warning: Boot.ini is used on Windows XP and earlier operating systems.

;Warning: Use BCDEDIT.exe to modify Windows Vista (or windows 7) boot options.

The BCDEdit (bcdedit.exe) tool that comes with Windows 7 and Vista is a command-linetool, and isn’t exactly user-friendly. Open a Command Prompt window (In administrator mode), type bcdedit and press Enter, and you’ll see output that looks something like this:

Windows Boot Manager

identifier {bootmgr}

device partition=C:

description Windows Boot Manager

locale en-US

inherit {globalsettings}

default {default}

displayorder {ntldr}

{default}

toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}

timeout 3

Windows Legacy OS Loader

identifier {ntldr}

device partition=C:

path \ntldr

description Earlier version of Windows

Windows Boot Loader

identifier {default}

device partition=D:

path \Windows\system32\winload.exe

description Microsoft Windows Vista

locale en-US

inherit {bootloadersettings}

osdevice partition=D:

systemroot \Windows

resumeobject {70c7d34d-b6b4-12db-cc71-d30cdb1ce261}

nx OptIn

detecthal Yes

What a mess. In short, the first section describes the menu you see when you first boot; the second section here—Windows Legacy OS Loader—describes the older version of Windows (XP); and finally, the third section—Windows Boot Loader—describes your new Windows Seven or Vista installation. If you type bcdedit /? at the prompt, you’ll see a bunch of command-line parameters you can use to add or remove entries, choose a new default (the OS that’s loaded if you don’t choose one before the timer runs out), or run a variety of debugging tools.

But if all you want to do is choose a default and maybe change the timeout, there’s a better tool. Open your Start menu, type msconfig in the Search box and press Enter to open the System Configuration window, and choose the Boot tab as shown in figure below.

Figure: The Boot tab of the System Configuration tool provides most of the features of BCDEdit in a much more pleasant interface

Here, the easy options are truly self-evident, and the advanced options are at least accessible. On the right, you can adjust the Timeout from its default of 30 seconds; type 5 here, and you’ll instantly shave off 25 seconds from your unattended boot time. (Don’t use a value so small that you won’t have time to change it, lest you set an inoperable installation as the default and have no way to get around it.).

To choose the default OS, select it in the list and click Set as default. When you’re done, click OK, and then restart Windows to see how your new settings work.

Of operating systems and filesystems When setting up a dual-boot system for day-to-day use, you’ll need to consider the matter of sharing files between your operating systems.

In order to share files between operating systems, both partitions must use filesystems supported by at least one OS. For instance, if you have a dualboot setup with both Windows seven or Vista and Windows 98, you’ll be able to see both drives while you’re in Windows Seven Or Vista, but you’ll only be able to see the 98 drive while 98 is running. (Although Windows Seven And Vista can read drives formatted with the FAT32 filesystem, it can’t be installed on one.).

Now, if both your partitions use the NTFS filesystem—which is what you’d likely get if you set up a dual-boot system with Windows Seven or Vista and XP—you also may have ownership problems to contend with. Every file and folder on your PC has an “owner,” a user tied to a specific account on your PC. If, for instance, you create a file in Windows XP and then attempt to modify it in Vista or windows 7, you may be denied permission until you “take ownership,”.

And in regards to protecting your data, encryption is also effective at preventing an intruder from reading your files by installing a second operating system on your PC.

How To Change Your Boot And Login Screens In Windows Vista

By 20:39 No comments:

The first thing you see as you boot up your computer is your boot screen and shortly after you’ll come to your login screen (if you have login enabled.) Although you don’t spend much time using these interfaces, customizing them can be a nice touch.

Optimizing Display Settings In Windows

Installing Windows DreamScene | Working With DreamScene

Customizing Your Windows Start Menu

In this post, i am going to let you know how to customize both these screens.

To successfully achieve this in an easy manner, you’ll need two tools: ‘Vista Boot Logo Generator’ and ‘LogonStudio Vista’. Both of these programs do not need to run in the background, so the performance of your system does not deteriorate at all. These programs simply patch your system files, so you don’t have to do any shell scripting or editing of system files. Add a personal touch to your system as you follow this chapter.

Enable the Aurora Boot Screen

The boot screen in Windows Vista is plain and lame. To change the boot screen, follow these simple steps:

Press the Start button, type ‘msconfig’, and hit enter
If prompted, select Continue
The System Configuration window will come up. Click on the Boot tab
Select your Windows Vista installation
Check the ‘No GUI boot’ box
Press OK
Click on Restart

Your computer will now reboot, and you will see the Aurora boot screen.

Making a Custom Boot Screen

You can easily make your own boot screen for Windows Vista by following this guide: (Please note: this does not work when you updated your windows vista with Service Pack)

Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\en-US
Locate ‘winload.exe.mui’ and take ownership of the file
Rename the file to ‘winload.exe.mui.old’
Press the Start button, type ‘msconfig’, and hit enter
On the ‘Boot’ tab, check ‘No GUI Boot’
Press OK and when prompted to restart, select ‘Exit without restart’
Download Vista Boot Logo Generator
Install the software on to your machine
Open Vista Boot Logo Generator
Select your boot screen (you’ll need both 800x600 and 1024x768 24-bit BMP files)
Select ‘File - Save Boot Screen File As…’ and save your new ‘winload.exe.mui’ file in C:\Windows\System32\en-US

Restart your computer to verify your boot screen works.

Customize Your Logon Screen

Logon Studio, created by the Stardock team lets you customize your Windows Vista logon screen. Choose from many styles that will make your computer stand out from the crowd.

Logon Studio is freeware, which can set any wallpaper as your logon screen. All you need to do is to download this utility and choose the wallpaper you want to use.

Logon studio lets you create custom screens within the program. Once you apply the screen, Logon Studio locks your computer so you can test drive the screen to see if it works for you.

How to Use Logon Studio

Logon Studio is simple to use, but in this post, I’ll show you the basics. To change your login screen, do the following: