Windows 7, "Repair your computer" F8 boot option not working (SOLVED)

dchatten:

I can probably help. Start an elevated command prompt and type bcdedit /enum all

Attach the ouput of this command to your next post. Also, confirm that you have the folder C:\Recovery on your disk. You will need to enable the display of both hidden and protected operating system files in order to see it.

Thanks for the reply Mark, much appreciated.

I used the command with an elevated command prompt and the output is listed below, and yes the folder on C:\Recovery does exist along with the boot.sdi and Winre.wim files that are contained in "C:\Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5".

==================================================================

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

bcdedit /enum all

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {e6752482-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {e6752482-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
nx OptIn

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {e6752482-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae Yes
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice unknown
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\boot.sdi

Here are the appropriate entries that need to be repaired:

=======================================================
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
this one is missing references to the device and osdevice partitions

Device options
--------------
identifier {e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice unknown
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\boot.sdi
========================================================

What probably happened was that the partitions on the disk were probably 2048-sector offset if they were created by Vista or the Windows 7 installer. When you restored, TI changed the offset to 63-sectors, and thus the BCD pointers were incorrect. Here is how you can fix them.

<sarcastic comment>God bless Microsoft for using GUIDs in the BCD and for the name of the recovery folder</sarcastic comment>; you have to be really careful to type every character correctly or it won't work. It will help to copy and paste the GUIDs instead of typing them. You could try copying and pasting from the text below if the forum software hasn't added any stray spaces or characters and if I haven't made any mistakes:

===============================================================
Steps to add the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to the Windows 7 BCD store.
12/12/2009  MJW

The general syntax of the commands needed to add the three missing entries is:
bcdedit /set {GUID1} device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\GUID1\Winre.wim,{GUID2}
bcdedit /set {GUID1} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\GUID1\Winre.wim,{GUID2}
bcdedit /set {GUID2} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

Where the GUIDs for your case are:
GUID of boot manager entry: {GUID1} = {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
GUID of device options entry: {GUID2} = {e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}

So the commands would be as follows. Each command is all on one line:
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\Winre.wim,{e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}

bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\Winre.wim,{e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}

bcdedit /set {e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

After entering these three commands, check them again with bcdedit /enum all. You should see these two corrected entries:
================================================================================
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
device                  ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\Winre.wim,{e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
path                    \windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Windows Recovery Environment
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
osdevice                ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\Winre.wim,{e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
systemroot              \windows
nx                      OptIn
winpe                   Yes

Device options
--------------
identifier              {e6752485-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5}
description             Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice        partition=C:
ramdisksdipath          \Recovery\e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5\boot.sdi
================================================================================
*On the above Recovery entry for Windows Boot Loader, we only entered two of the lines (device and osdevice). The others should appear automatically. If they don't, enter them manually as follows:

bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} description "Windows Recovery Environment"
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} inherit {bootloadersettings}
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} systemroot \Windows
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} nx OptIn
bcdedit /set {e6752484-d2da-11de-8cd2-cdc3b318e7d5} winpe Yes

Absolutely perfect Mark, what can i say, i've been pulling my hair out for days with this, i can now use WinRE, thankyou, much appreciated.

You're quite welcome.

If you wondered how I had this information at my fingertips, it was because I had done the same thing recently and had kept notes. I think it was a really stupid blunder for Microsoft to put the recovery image on the main Windows partition. If something happens to the Windows partition and you want to access WinRE, then how are you going to do this?

I moved WinRE to the Windows 7 boot partition instead. Just make the boot partition a little larger (WinRE occupies about 165 MB) and copy the C:\Recovery folder over to the boot partition. You'll have to do this while booted to WinRE from a Windows 7 DVD or the like. Then edit the BCD to point to the new location.

I upgraded over Vista so there is not a boot partition (that I can see) so everything is in C:

Then you'll have to rely on using the Windows 7 DVD for repairs, or you can make a CD with the Windows 7 Recovery Environment on it by typing "System Repair" in the START/Search box and choosing "Create a system repair disk". Extract the ISO image from the CD, put it on your USB flash drive, and boot it from Grub4Dos.

Windows 7 installer creates the separate boot partition to make it more convenient to use BitLocker. However, I like the idea of having a separate boot partition anyway. Mine contains, in addition to the Windows 7 boot files and the WinRE image mentioned above, ISO image files for TI, DD, VistaPE, PartedMagic, and Windows Home Server restore.

If you want to change a single-partition Windows 7 installation into one with a separate boot partition, besides doing it manually you can use a tool that's part of Windows 7 as described in the post by Charles May here: http://forum.acronis.com/forum/6098

Thanks Mark

Another useful ISO on my much used USB drive- that Grub4Dos is a useful piece of software.

I might try the extra partition- not sure on its usefulness given my "Swiss Knife" USB flash drive.

Thanks alot, this helped alot. Been trying to restore this netbook back to factory config and thought by just imagex the original System partition and running restore would of been enough.

I am not very familar with Windows 7 however. Is there a problem if multiple machines have the same GUID numbers? If it is a problem, is there a way to reset the numbers?

Paul:

Having the same GUIDs on multiple machines is not a problem. Just don't connect two identical disks to the same PC though...

Hello Mark,
I have this problem at moment. I would be really grateful if you could give me some direction in resolving this. My problem is I have win 7 and I get this message when I boot up. How do I start an elevated cmd prompt if windows won’t boot up?

I have used a product called Fedora that I burnt onto CD. This is some kind of Unix operating system that runs of the CD and allows me to browse my hard drive. It has its own menu and all but I can’t seem to find anywhere an area to run bcdedit /enum all.

I have a feeling if I can somehow run this command you specified and somehow post the result you would be able to crack this.

Can you please help...

Danny:

To edit the BCD you will need either a Vista or a Windows 7 DVD. You would boot your PC from the DVD and enter the repair mode to get to a command prompt to run the command.

Can you borrow a Vista or Windows 7 DVD from someone? If not, do you know anyone else with a Windows 7 PC? If you do, have them create a System Repair disk for you. Type "System Repair" in the Windows 7 Start/Search box, click on "Create a System Repair Disk", insert a blank CD into the drive and you'll have what you need.

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the advice; I will ask couple of my mates. I have an Acer laptop that came preloaded by funny enough no win 7 or any other CD. Is it possible to download a System repair disk from the net at all?

Danny:

Yes; here is one source online: http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/

Mark, I downloaded that recovery CD, I have run the cmd prompt and got the results. How do I copy the result from the DOS screen on my notebook so I can post them here using my desktop pc?

One of the easiest methods is to just redirect the output to a file. For example, if you have a flashdrive connected and it's assigned E:, you can run bcdedit /enum all > e:\bcdoutput.txt to save it to a file on the flashdrive.

Your a champ mate, that is great. Here is the results

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
path \bootmgr
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {default}
resumeobject {60359f5a-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
displayorder {default}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {default}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {60359f5a-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
nx OptIn

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {60359f5e-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d\Winre.wim,{60359f5f-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment (recovered)
locale
osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d\Winre.wim,{60359f5f-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
systemroot \windows
winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {60359f5a-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae Yes
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {60359f5d-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice unknown
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d\boot.sdi

Device options
--------------
identifier {60359f5f-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d}
ramdisksdidevice partition=C:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\60359f5c-dab7-11de-b908-f83f1ca4a13d\boot.sdi

Hi Mark,
All sorted thanks heaps. I just followed the instructions you posted previously

Danny:

Glad you got it working.

Mark,
would you mind offering advice to me? I appreciate anything I'm going nuts trying to figure this out.

Mike

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
path \bootmgr
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {default}
resumeobject {96d5c9a6-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
displayorder {default}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {96d5c9a4-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {default}
device partition=D:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {96d5c9a8-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=D:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {96d5c9a6-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
nx OptIn

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {96d5c9a8-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {96d5c9aa-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
device ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\Winre.wim,{96d5c9ab-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment (recovered)
locale
osdevice ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\Winre.wim,{96d5c9ab-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
systemroot \windows
winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {96d5c9a6-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
device partition=D:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=D:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae No
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {96d5c9a3-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=D:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\boot.sdi

Device options
--------------
identifier {96d5c9a5-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
ramdisksdidevice partition=D:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\boot.sdi

Device options
--------------
identifier {96d5c9a9-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=D:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\96d5c9a8-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\boot.sdi

Device options
--------------
identifier {96d5c9ab-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a}
ramdisksdidevice partition=D:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a\boot.sdi

Mike:

Your BCD looks like it has five entries under the title "Windows Boot Loader", and offhand it looks like entries 1, 2, and 4 do not belong there. At the end there are four entries under the title "Device options" and entries 1 and 2 look like they do not belong there. One of either 3 or 4 is correct but they refer to different recovery folders, so which is the correct folder name?

If your system is booting could you look at C:\Recovery and determine which is the correct folder name? It will be either:
C:\Recovery\96d5c9a2-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a or:
C:\Recovery\96d5c9a8-6477-11de-b08e-fc6b6ebe950a
You will have to enable viewing of both hidden and protected operating system files in order to see the folder. I suspect entry 4 is the correct one.

Could you describe the symptom?

Hey Mark, would you be able to help me? Ok, this is the outline of what happened: I installed ubuntu on a usb flash drive, forgetting to redirect the bootloader to the usb as well...giving me the grub on my windows 7 drive. I got rid of grub...i think, and was left with errors in boot manager. tried to load recovery, but my os didn't show up. After hours of messing around, my os finally showed up, and I managed to repair my partition without the need of using ubuntu as a bootloader. After saying all of that, I managed to boot into windows 7, without the windows 7 splash. I found some command fix to correct that, can't remember what it was, so now the 7 splash is back. Everything is working fine except for my recovery menu. it's not showing up the "repair your computer" option. So I was wondering if you can assist me in that? Also, for some reason, the C:/Recovery isn't in my C:. Oddly enough, I have my C: Local Drive, and then D:/Recovery. Is that supposed to be right? If not, how do you go about correcting it? Lastly, would you be able to refresh my memory on how to reveal the hidden files? Cannot remember... My computer is an alienware m11x, with 1 hard drive. P.S. Do you edit the bcd in the elevated cmd in windows? Or when using the recovery command prompt?

Anyways, here's my result from bcdedit /enum all:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {b7754f4a-63c2-11df-90e0-b2624e42944f}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {b7754f4a-63c2-11df-90e0-b2624e42944f}
nx OptIn
detecthal Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {b7754f4a-63c2-11df-90e0-b2624e42944f}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Ian:

Could you post a screen shot from Windows 7 Disk Management showing the layout of your disk? Type "Create and format" into the start menu's search box and click on "Create and format hard disk partitions" to see the Disk Management window, similar to the example below:

You can use the Snipping Tool (type "snip" into the search box) to get a screen shot. Before doing so, please drag the window border and adjust the column sizes so that the information shown in the example is visible, especially the status column.

To reveal hidden files use the information in this article: http://www.themudcrab.com/enablevhsf.php#tagVista. The procedure for Windows 7 is exactly the same as for Vista. After doing so, let me know which partition the Recovery folder is located on and the name of the folder (long GUID name) contained in the folder, if found.

Thanks for the response. I attached the screen shot. As for the location of the Recovery folder, I can't locate the folder in the my C: Drive, but it's in the D: Drive. Also, I cannot find the GUID inside this drive. I also attached screen shots of both drives for reference. Thanks again for the help.

Ian:

I suspect that Alienware set up your PC originally to boot from the Recovery (D:) partition, and you now have it booting from the Orthrus (C:) partition.

Let's take a look at the BCD on the Recovery partition also. It may already contain the links that allow booting via F8 to the recovery environment. If so, it is a simple matter to switch the boot volume and re-enable the original functions that came with the PC. Could you post the output of the following command, entered into an elevated command prompt window?

bcdedit /store D:\Boot\bcd /enum all

Also, before this all happened was the Recovery (D:) partition visible in Windows Explorer?

Before all this happened, all that was visible was the Orthrus (C:). The output of the "bcdedit /store D:\Boot\bcd /enum all" command is:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=D:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-us
inherit {globalsettings}
default {default}
resumeobject {ec937b2c-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
displayorder {default}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 10

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {default}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-us
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {ec937b2e-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {ec937b2c-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
nx OptIn

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {ec937b2e-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
device ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{ec937b2f-3baf
-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{ec937b2f-3baf
-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
systemroot \windows
nx OptIn
winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {ec937b2c-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=D:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {ec937b2f-3baf-11df-b0ed-999c77fe10ee}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=D:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi

Ian:

A quick look at the BCD on your Recovery (D:) partition seems to indicate that it is all intact and set up properly. All you need to do is to change the boot flag from the C: partition to the D: partition and Windows will boot from the Recovery partition and all of the options for recovery should be there. Also, you can remove the drive letter from the D: partition so that it is hidden again.

Try this one step at a time:

1. Start Disk Management again. Right-click on the D: partition and choose "Mark Partition as Active"
2. Reboot your PC. Windows should boot normally but from the Recovery partition. To verify, type "bcdedit" from an elevated command prompt window and you should see the same output as in your last reply #26
3. To hide the recovery partition, start Disk Management. Right click on the D: partition and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths". In the dialog that opens, click on the "Remove" button to remove the drive letter from the partition.
4. Confirm that the recovery partition no longer shows up in Windows Explorer.
5. Check the "Repair your computer" F8 function. Reboot the PC. Right before the "Starting Windows" splash screen appears, tap the F8 key repeatedly to get the boot manager menu. Timing is very critical here; you may have to try several times to get your timing right. Once the menu shows up, the first choice should be "Repair your computer". Select this and verify that you boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

If step 2 does not work out (the PC fails to boot or produces an error message), post back and we'll use the Windows 7 DVD and a manual command prompt to set the C: partition active again (do not use the automatic repair at this point).

Thank you very much! It works perfectly now! I just have to clean up some stuff that grub left behind, and it should be back to normal.

Great! Sometimes it is rather remarkable that changing only two bytes (on a 500 GB disk) can make such a difference. More specifically, it was only 2 bits that were changed to swap the Active flag from partition 3 to partition 2!

Hi Mark,

Just happened across this fantastic thread whilst searching for a solution to my F8 Repair Computer at boot problems, if I select this option there is not a further menu, just the option to start Windows.

Here is my bcdedit file:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum all

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {bootmgr}
device                  partition=C:
description             Windows Boot Manager
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
default                 {current}
resumeobject            {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
displayorder            {current}
toolsdisplayorder       {memdiag}
timeout                 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {current}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Windows 7
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence        {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
recoveryenabled         Yes
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              \Windows
resumeobject            {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
nx                      OptIn

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier              {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description             Windows Resume Application
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice              partition=C:
filepath                \hiberfil.sys
pae                     No
debugoptionenabled      No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier              {memdiag}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \boot\memtest.exe
description             Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess         Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier              {emssettings}
bootems                 Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier              {dbgsettings}
debugtype               Serial
debugport               1
baudrate                115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier              {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier              {globalsettings}
inherit                 {dbgsettings}
                        {emssettings}
                        {badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier              {bootloadersettings}
inherit                 {globalsettings}
                        {hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier              {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype     Serial
hypervisordebugport     1
hypervisorbaudrate      115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier              {resumeloadersettings}
inherit                 {globalsettings}

C:\Windows\system32>

& that is it, there is no section at the end titled 'Device options'! FYI I have no special boot partition, the Recovery folder on C: has the subfolder 20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455 containing the Winre.wim file.

Please can you assist?

nur0:

Try typing the following three commands into an elevated command prompt window:

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}

bcdedit /set {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

Each command is all on one line.

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the swift reply, unfortunately I had no success:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} device r
amdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da
1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
An error occurred while attempting to reference the specified entry.
The system cannot find the file specified.

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} osdevice
ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-
da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
An error occurred while attempting to reference the specified entry.
The system cannot find the file specified.

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /set {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} ramdisks
didevice partition=C:
An error occurred while attempting to reference the specified entry.
The system cannot find the file specified.

C:\Windows\system32>

This was from a Win7 command prompt run as admin, the commands c&p from your post. Baffled by this, which file can not be found I wonder? The Recovery folder on C: exists, as does the file Winre.wim in its subfolder.

Do I perhaps need to create the complete entry for 'Device options' in BCDedit first, & if so how?

nur0:

Yes, we probably need to create the entries for the boot loader section and for the ramdisk device options. I'll look this up and reply again later tonight.

Thanks Mark, I look forward to any further reply

nur0:

The following are the commands needed to create the two BCD entries from scratch. First, the boot loader entry for WinPE:

bcdedit /create {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} /d "Windows Recovery Environment" /application osloader /inherit {bootloadersettings}

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} path \windows\system32\winload.exe

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} systemroot \windows

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} nx optin

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} winpe yes

Next, the Device Options entry for the Ramdisk:

bcdedit /create {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} /d "Ramdisk Options" /device

bcdedit /set {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

bcdedit /set {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} ramdisksdipath \Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\boot.sdi

Hopefully these will work. If there aren't any error messages when entering the commands then you should end up with the following two new sections in the BCD, which you can observe by doing bcdedit /enum all:

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
device                  ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
path                    \windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Windows Recovery Environment
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
osdevice                ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
systemroot              \windows
nx                      OptIn
winpe                   Yes

Device options
--------------
identifier              {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
description             Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice        partition=c:
ramdisksdipath          \Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\boot.sdi

Mark, thank you once again, we are getting there - I had partial success! First section failed on the first entry, so I tried the second batch to create Device Options from scratch & this worked great. My bcdedit /enum all now reads:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum all

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
nx OptIn

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae No
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=C:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\boot.sdi

C:\Windows\system32>

Back to the first batch of instructions, here is what happens on the first one:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /create {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} /d "W
indows Recovery Environment" /application osloader /inherit {bootloadersettings}

The inherited entry type specified is not valid.
Run "bcdedit /?" for command line assistance.

C:\Windows\system32>

Then the second one (and all subsequent) is thus:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} device r
amdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da
1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
An error occurred while attempting to reference the specified entry.
The system cannot find the file specified.

C:\Windows\system32>

- which is what we were getting before.

I ran bcdedit /? /create to check out the format of the instruction set:

bcdedit /create [{}] [/d ] [/application |
/inherit [] | /inherit DEVICE | /device]

then had a look at the inherit entry, could this be where the problem lies?

/inherit [] Specifies that the new entry must be an inherit
entry, and specifies the application
type. If is not specified, then the entry
can be inherited by any entry. If specified,
can be one of the following:

BOOTMGR
BOOTSECTOR
FWBOOTMGR
MEMDIAG
NTLDR
OSLOADER
RESUME

The modifier prevents the inherit entry from being
inherited by an application entry of .

Our instruction was /inherit {bootloadersettings} - this does not seem to include any of the apptypes in that list?

nur0:

Progress is good. The reason that the second and subsequent steps failed was because the first step, which creates a new boot entry for the Windows Recovery Environment, failed to create the entry. Therefore all steps that modify that entry would fail.

Try leaving the /inherit modifier out of the command, so it would then be the following:

bcdedit /create {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} /d "Windows Recovery Environment" /application osloader

Mark, brilliant, now we are really getting somewhere. The new command worked, & so did the other ones listed earlier. Only problem is I now have TWO 'Windows Boot Loader' sections, the second being the new one but it is still missing the line:

inherit {bootloadersettings}

which should occur between the 'description' and 'osdevice' lines.

Here is my new bcdedit /enum all:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum all

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
nx OptIn

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd24
55\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment
osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd24
55\Winre.wim,{20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
systemroot \windows
nx OptIn
winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {20405b7a-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae No
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {20405b7d-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=C:
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455\boot.sdi

C:\Windows\system32>

So I guess all we need now do is remove the first 'Windows Boot Loader' section, and insert the missing 'inherit' line to the new 'Windows Boot Loader' section?

nur0:

No, you don't want to remove the first 'Windows Boot Loader' section! That's the one that boots Windows 7 :)

Let's try adding the inherit element manually:

bcdedit /set {20405b7c-da1e-11de-a5da-b03fc1fd2455} inherit {bootloadersettings}

@ Mark, lol my bad ;-)

Just tried the new instruction & yea it works. All sorted now, got my F8 repair from boot working as it should.

Wish I could buy you a beer or 2, I guess an online thanks will have to suffice. Great work, thank you again :-)

nur0:

You're quite welcome. Glad that it all worked out.

Hello, I have a small issue the partition from where I have to recover is there, the files are there, why do I receive that invalid path?

GUID2 {1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
GUID1 {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} device ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume1]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} osdevice ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume1]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
bcdedit /set {1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi

----------------------------------------
When I try to run first of it, I receive this:

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} device ramdisk=[\Device\Hard
diskVolume1]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
An error occurred while attempting to reference the specified entry.
The system cannot find the file specified.
----------------------------------------
My BCD ENUM:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device boot
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {f23bf914-a9ba-11df-8af3-806e6f6e6963}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 10

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows 7
locale en-US
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {f23bf914-a9ba-11df-8af3-806e6f6e6963}

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {f23bf914-a9ba-11df-8af3-806e6f6e6963}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Microsoft Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
pae Yes
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device boot
path \Boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi
---------------------------------------

All help is welcomed, thanks.

Viorel:

Offhand it looks like your BCD is missing an entry for booting into the recovery environment. You should be able to add one manually by entering the commands listed in reply #35 above (but substitute your {GUID} identifiers for the ones in the reply).

Where is your \Recovery folder located? A default Windows 7 installation will locate this folder in the main Windows partition; usually at C:\Recovery. If yours is located at C:\Recovery then you should substitute C: for \Device\HarddiskVolume1 in the commands listed in your reply above, after you create the missing BCD entry. For example:

bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}

bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}

bcdedit /set {1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} ramdisksdidevice Partition=C:

Please correct me if I've made an incorrect assumption about the location of the Recovery folder.

Hi Mark:

As I stated there up, the Recovery is on the hidden partition, that partition has 10 GB in size, and you can check images bellow

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/246922/Photos/Others/Nokia_Recovery_partition.P…
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/246922/Photos/Others/Nokia_Recovery_partition_c…

Viorel:

The recovery partition on D: doesn't look hidden in your pictures. If it's visible as the D: drive when you're entering the BCD commands then change C: to D: in my reply 43 above. Also, from your pictures, the path to the recovery .wim file is D:\Recovery\restore.wim, correct? If so you will need to use this path in your command entries as follows:

bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} device ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\restore.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}

bcdedit /set {1f8184a4-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} osdevice ramdisk=[D:]\Recovery\restore.wim,{1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0}

bcdedit /set {1f8184a5-14de-11df-9734-f08c6d8c50b0} ramdisksdidevice Partition=D:

etc...

If you have unhidden the D: partition when entering the BCD commands then you can hide it again after successfully modifying the BCD.

Please see image bellow with the error also on it, well let me explain it once again, the drive was in the beggining hidden, but than it changes after i used Acronis Disk tool. I always get this error, I also tries with Device D: and nothing works...

Looking at the capture.jpg, it is difficult to tell for sure but it looks like there might be some omission errors using the { } characters.

You can copy the example above and paste it iinto the command line without retyping it. Or if corrections are necessary,
then paste into your notepad editor and make the correction and then copy again into your clipboard and paste the revised command without any additional typing.

I tried so many times, from Notepad, to write the entire command, nothing helps.

.

Mark,
Would you mind looking at my info? I am having same problem, and I want to restore the factory image. Sorry I made two posts - not sure how that happened, and I could not figure out how to delete the previous one. I am a noob to this blogging.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-us
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {2d1020e0-9b28-11df-a002-a4badbfacbd8}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-us
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {2d1020e2-9b28-11df-a002-a4badbfacbd8}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {2d1020e0-9b28-11df-a002-a4badbfacbd8}
nx OptIn
bootstatuspolicy DisplayAllFailures

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {7a17869d-c7c3-11df-92d7-a4badbfacbd8}
device ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Win
re.wim,{7a17869e-c7c3-11df-92d7-a4badbfacbd8}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Win
re.wim,{7a17869e-c7c3-11df-92d7-a4badbfacbd8}
systemroot \windows
nx OptIn
winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {2d1020e0-9b28-11df-a002-a4badbfacbd8}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}

Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}

Device options
--------------
identifier {7a17869e-c7c3-11df-92d7-a4badbfacbd8}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi