Computer Won't Boot and a Disk Read Error Message Displays

If your Windows PC is throwing an error message at you before it even begins to load Windows, it's possible that the boot sector on your organisation partitioning is damaged, corrupted, or has missing files. Here'due south how to troubleshoot those issues.

What Are the Boot Sector and Master Kicking Record?

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The boot sector is a minor section at the beginning of a hard drive that gets created whenever you format the drive. The boot sector contains some lawmaking and information that helps BIOS hand off control of the startup process to Windows. The kicking sector also hosts the Master Boot Record (MBR), which contains the disk signature, partition table for the disk, and a small flake of code chosen the chief boot code.

When a PC starts, the initial power-on routine is handled past the BIOS. The BIOS then loads the main kicking lawmaking into the PC'south RAM and hands off the startup processes to it. The principal boot lawmaking scans the partition table, determines the active partition, loads a copy of the boot sector into the PC's RAM, and hands off the startup process to that lawmaking. Information technology'south this boot strapping process that allows the initial bits of the Windows code to start loading.

The boot sector tin can experience the aforementioned types of issues as whatever other function of your hard drive—missing files, corrupted files, and even physical damage. When the boot loader process fails, it will happen afterward you see the BIOS information but earlier Windows actually begins to load. You'll normally see mistake messages like the following:

• Mistake loading operating system
• Missing operating organisation
• Reboot and select proper boot device
• Invalid partition table
• Bootmgr is missing
• FATAL: No bootable medium institute! Arrangement halted.

If you lot are seeing any of these letters, information technology means yous won't be able to start Windows and will accept to use the Windows Recovery Environs to do your troubleshooting. We're hither to walk yous through that.

Annotation: If your PC starts to load Windows, but then fails, then the bootloader is not the problem. Instead, you should try starting the PC in Prophylactic Mode and troubleshooting from there. Performing a Arrangement Restore would be a good place to start.

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Boot From the Windows Installation Media or Recovery Partition

The starting time affair you'll need to do is start your PC into the Windows Recovery Environment. Information technology'due south possible that your PC has a special recovery segmentation that will let y'all to beginning the Windows Recovery Surround without needing a physical disc. How you do that varies with what make of PC yous own, only you'll often see a message during startup telling you what central to printing to commencement recovery and repair. If your PC doesn't have a recovery division—or you're just non sure how to admission it—you tin also start your PC using a DVD or USB with the Windows installer on it.

If yous don't have an installation disc, you'll have to use another PC to download a copy of Windows. You can then create a DVD or USB install disc that yous can use to kick your ain PC. And by the style, if your PC is nonetheless operational you lot might desire to take the precautionary step of creating a recovery drive or system repair disc that y'all can apply in the future.

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If yous offset your PC using an installation disc, click through until you see the initial Windows installation screen and and then click the "Repair your figurer" link instead of starting an installation. If you're starting from a recovery segmentation or repair disc, the screens might expect a lilliputian unlike, merely you'll end upward at the same options we're going to cover here.

Windows will then load the recovery environs. On the first page, click the "Troubleshoot" option.

The Advanced Options folio will announced side by side and it contains the options we'll be discussing in the adjacent couple of sections.

Note that if you're using Windows 7, the screens may expect a fleck different. Y'all'll see virtually of the same options, though, including the ones we're going to cover next.

Repair Startup Automatically

In virtually cases, you should permit Windows effort to automatically repair startup. Non only will information technology attempt to prepare the Master Boot Tape or recreate the boot sector, it will browse for and try to fix other mutual startup problems besides. On the Advanced Options page, click "Startup Repair."

The adjacent page displays all operating systems detected on your PC—even if you but have i installed. Click the operating system you want to repair.

Windows will begin checking for startup problems and attempting repairs.

When the process is complete, Windows will allow y'all know whether the repairs were successful. Either style, yous'll be given the option to restart your PC or return to the Advanced Options page.

If Windows cannot automatically repair your PC, you tin can always try repairing the Master Kick Record or rebuilding the boot sector manually from the Control Prompt. It'south unlikely it will piece of work if the automatic repair didn't, since these commands are performed as part of the automatic repair procedure, but it won't hurt to try.

Repair the Master Boot Tape from the Control Prompt

If you prefer handling things yourself—or an automatic repair failed—and you're pretty sure that the problem is with your Master Kick Record or boot sector, you tin can likewise drop to the Command Prompt for a quick prepare. On the Advanced Options page, click "Command Prompt."

Once you're at the Command Prompt, y'all'll exist using the bootrec command, and there are a couple of options that tin be useful in fixing bootloader errors.

To restore the Primary Kicking Record, blazon the following command and hit Enter. This command writes a new Windows-compatible Master Boot Record (based on whatever version of Windows y'all're using) to the boot sector without overwriting the existing partition tabular array. Information technology's a good start for repairing boot loader errors resulting from file corruption.

bootrec /fixmbr

To write a whole new kick sector to the system partition instead, type the following command and striking Enter. This option does overwrite the current division table and thus can sometimes crusade problems if you're ready upwards to kicking to multiple operating systems. Information technology won't overwrite whatsoever data on your actual partitions, merely yous may need to reconfigure your multi-boot options after using this command. This command is useful when you suspect your boot sector may have been overwritten by another operating organization installation or malware, or if you doubtable the boot sector itself is damaged.

bootrec /fixboot

And of course, the bootrec tool also offers other more advanced options. Y'all can e'er type bootrec /? to see more options for and get help with the command.

Steps to Take After Recovery

Subsequently yous've successfully repaired your PC and are able to start Windows, nosotros highly recommend going alee and performing a couple of other steps. Kickoff, run the Check Disk utility to scan the integrity of your file organisation and hd. Information technology's always possible that your bootloader fault stemmed from physical problems with your hard disk.

2d, use the Organisation File Checker utility to scan for and fix whatever corrupted system files. It's unlikely that using the steps we've talked almost will crusade bug with organisation files, merely it is possible. And it's a very easy thing to bank check on and prepare.

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While boot loader errors tin can exist a scrap intimidating when they pop up—mostly because of how little information yous're given when they happen—they are reasonably piece of cake to repair. You just take to know what to expect out for and take a recovery solution fix to load.

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Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/32523/how-to-manually-repair-windows-7-boot-loader-problems/

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