Automated Startup Repair fails. Cannot find OS Loader.

Anonymous
2009-11-02T14:44:48+00:00

On installation of 'Windows 7', after installing needed drivers, some of which were designed for XP or Vista, on a Toshiba Portege M200 (Tablet PC from 2003) and Windows 7 automatically downloading and installing updates:

Windows 7 can't boot.

It goes directly to the Automated System Recovery and no matter which option I choose it fails to fix the problem.

  1. Sometimes it says it did fix the problem and didn't.
  2. Sometimes it says it failed to fixed the problem and in those cases the Diagnosis and Repair details says as:

Root cause found:

Boot manager failed to find OS loader.

Repair action: File Repair

Result: Failed. Error code = 0x490

Time Taken = 4767 ms

Repair action: Boot configuration data store repair

Result: Failed. Error code = 0x490

Time Taken = 150ms

Repair action: System Restore

Result: Failed. Error code = 0x1f

Time taken = 68489 ms

What is the cause of this? And how do I fix it?

The harddrive is brand new and a full memory check said the RAM was good.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2010-09-23T12:15:39+00:00

I had the same problem on one of our laptops.  This has 2GB of memory so it appears to be related to that and Windows updates.  I did the following from the following Microsoft article which resolved the issue for me http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392/en-gb.

To run the Bootrec.exe tool, you must start Windows RE. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Put the Windows Vista or Windows 7 installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
  2. Press a key when you are prompted.
  3. Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then clickNext.
  4. Click Repair your computer.
  5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
  6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
  7. Type Bootrec.exe, and then press ENTER.

Note To start the computer from the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD, the computer must be configured to start from the DVD drive. For more information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with the computer or contact the computer manufacturer.

!\[\](http://support.microsoft.com/library/images/support/kbgraphics/public/en-us/uparrow.gif)Back to the top

Bootrec.exe options The Bootrec.exe tool supports the following options. Use the option that is appropriate for your situation.

NoteIf rebuilding the BCD does not resolve the startup issue, you can export and delete the BCD, and then run this option again. By doing this, you make sure that the BCD is completely rebuilt. To do this, type the following commands at the Windows RE command prompt:

  • bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
  • c:
  • cd boot
  • attrib bcd -s -h -r
  • ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
  • bootrec /RebuildBcd

/FixMbr The /FixMbr option writes a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-compatible MBR to the system partition. This option does not overwrite the existing partition table. Use this option when you must resolve MBR corruption issues, or when you have to remove non-standard code from the MBR. /FixBoot The /FixBoot option writes a new boot sector to the system partition by using a boot sector that is compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Use this option if one of the following conditions is true:

  • The boot sector has been replaced with a non-standard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector.
  • The boot sector is damaged.
  • An earlier Windows operating system has been installed after Windows Vista or Windows 7 was installed. In this scenario, the computer starts by using Windows NT Loader (NTLDR) instead of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe).

/ScanOs The /ScanOs option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option displays the entries that are currently not in the BCD store. Use this option when there are Windows Vista or Windows 7 installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list. /RebuildBcd

The /RebuildBcd option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option lets you select the installations that you want to add to the BCD store. Use this option when you must completely rebuild the BCD.

After following the above i then ran the following from command prompt:

bootrec /fixmbr

then

bootrec /fixboot

This resolved the issue for me and allowed me to log on to the PC in its previous working state.  Great stuff.

Hope this works for you!

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-05-01T11:58:16+00:00

    I seem to have pretty much the same problem with my new HP Pavillion dv3 2221TX, which is supposed to have windows 7 installed on it. All I get is that is goes into the start-up repair and then reports signature problems which mainly seems to boil down to "Missing OS loader". I can not use the computer, have no Windows 7 CD and sit (Nepal) more than a thousand km from where I bought the computer (Bangkok) with a useless machine. Occasionally it appears to want me to identify a keyboard type, but whatever I change it to it continues to give me a "missing OS loader" error or "boot manager failed to find OS loader" and "error 0x490". If this is a common error why can i not find anything useful on the Windows 7 Help and Support site? What now?

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-05-11T15:53:58+00:00

    At least my problem got solved in an easier way than what skygoat was trying, but it works only if you don't mind losing installed programmes and data files, which happens to be the case if your new computer gives the missing OS loader problem on first start-up. A friend solved this for me. After starting the computer keep pressing the escape-key every one or two seconds until a screen comes up. Then press F11 (system factory default settings or so). And basically reinstall the whole lot. It may take about 1.5 hours but in my case it seems to work perfectly well now.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-06-26T11:32:08+00:00

    The laptop in question has been running Linux for the last six months - without a single problem.  Meanwhile, back in Windowsland, a number of my colleagues have experiences similar problems, which they "solved" by reformatting their computers.  I have not seen Startup Repair solve a single problem in that time.  Not one.  It takes ages, and itnever works.  We have also had endless problems with subversion because of the atomic oplocks NTFS bug (see http://ankhsvn.open.collab.net/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=614).  I can only conclude that filesystem guys screwed up.  Perhaps it will be fixed in SP1, perhaps not.  At any rate, I won't be running mission-critical apps on Windows 7.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-07-04T23:44:22+00:00

    Dena

    I have a similar problem I can't boot past advanced boot options, I can't boot on my repair disk or installation disk.

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