How to resolve Unable to boot Error: 0xc00000e9 Windows 7 Boot Problem

Please be informed to use the tips below at your own risk, only if you are comfortable with resolving such issues on your own. Though I have made the work as simple and as less risky as possible- the content should be used with discretion.

This post caters to below conditions:

· Unable to boot Error: 0xc00000e9

· You are not able to install fresh operating system on your laptop/computer. It shows error "Setup was not able to update the boot configurations, any changes will not be applied."

· File: \Boot\Bcd error

· I tried installing Ubuntu/ Linux/ other OS is not able to detect my hard drive contents

· Not able to repair your computer with inbuilt options

· F8 not working during start-up

· Altogether not able to access inside windows/ desktop. Blue screen during start-up.

So all that means your laptop has problem with the entries which tell your computer while booting where to boot from. The problem is tough one, with everything at risk, your data, your hard drive etc.

Now this is a big one, if you are not comfortable playing with OS and HDs, please do not go ahead. Look for some expert help from either your friends or your technical support shop. If you have background with issues like this, you can go ahead.

Before doing things, lets understand few things:

· What has happened?

When your laptop boots, apart from IO system, some entry on your hard disk tells it about all the bootable operating systems (Remember multiple OS boot choice menu?) which are installed. This is called the boot configuration of the system. Everytime a shutdown is done, it needs to properly close. Now if due to a sudden event (hard boot, hibernation or who knows what..)  this boot configuration entry gets corrupted- the system can not load the startup options correctly.

You loose access to the booting options and your data.

· What is the risk?

- The laptop/ computer you always loved is gone now :(
- Your data is at risk. To me the data is like it never exists. You should always have your critical data as minimum as possible and at safer place. If your data is not at 3 places simultaneously it is at risk.

- Your laptop repair cost, a good amount for such cases- 1 to repair, then to recover data will be huge.

· What to do?

There is still hope :) The below steps might help depending on different cases:

- You still have some option of OEM recovery installed originally in your system. This is called as Ghost drive. (This is important, proceed if you have OEM, otherwise you should seek professional support)

Normally all the manufacturers have certain kind of inbuilt recovery systems these days. The cache is even after running it, it fails. You are able to access cmd but no GUI.

Through your command you can peek through your system drives. Once you are in the ghost drive containing OEM installation (Generally it is X drive) try the below steps:

In cmd type diskpart

"list disk" - it will populate a list of all the hard disks in the system, numbered 0, 1, 2 etc. Here you have to select disk which contains your Primary Boot OS. Type command:

"select disk" - to select the disk

"list partition" - to populate list of all the partitions numbered 0, 1, 2.. etc. Here you need to check for a small partition- which is the windows way of putting all the critical boot, mbr info at a safer place, so that in case of problems with partition this info remains safe. This is generally 100-200 mb small drive. Look for your partition number and select this by typing:

"select partition 2" - 

"detail partition" - see if this is set as active partition, if not type:

"active"

Once this is done, now is the time to attempt for mbr (master boot record recovery) type-

"bootrec /fixmbr"

"bootrec /fixboot"

Reboot the system now. This should resolve the problem and you will be able to access your desktop now. If this does not help you need to manually place bootmgr file in the windows root drive. Follow below steps:

Look for your windows drive, go to it by typing C: at command prompt

Check for windows installation folder by dir command

You should see a missing bootmgr file

This file is present at your Ghost drive/Recovery folder/ you will need to check manually for this file

Then copy it to your OS Drive by copy command

Reboot the system now and there you go. In my other article I will write on proper ways to manage windows for a safe and sustainable use.

Always remember to use the above tips at your own risk, only if you are comfortable with resolving such issues on your own. Though I have made the work as simple and as less risky as possible- the content should be used with discretion.

Appreciate your comments, mails if you want to get in touch or seek help on such topics.