How to Fix “BOOTMGR is Missing” in Windows 7/8/10

The primary source of BOOTMGR's missing error is the absence of Windows Boot Manager, which commonly affects Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Vista. Switching on your computer, it will display “BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart” or “BOOTMGR is missing. Press any key to restart.”

How to fix “BOOTMGR is Missing” in Windows 7/8/10? Don’t worry; you can find comprehensive solutions to this problem on this page.

Part 1: What is “BOOTMGR is Missing”?

BOOTMGR (Boot Manager) is a program that boots the operating system. BOOTMGR files are frequently found in the system reserved partition or system partition and are read-only. When BOOTMGR errors occur on our computer, this prompt means that our computer system boot manager is lost, indicating that BOOTMGR is damaged or missing and the system cannot read the necessary boot information so the computer fails to boot.

Part 2: Why does My Computer Say “BOOTMGR is Missing”?

Before you can fix it, you need to first understand what the real cause of “BOOTMGR is missing”. There are many reasons why “BOOTMGR is missing”, but the most common are listed as follows:

• BOOTMGR document is corrupt or the configuration is mistaken

• Your PC is trying to boot from an unbootable hard drive

• The BIOS boot sequence is incorrect

• Hard disk boot program corrupted

• BCD or MBR are damaged

Part 3: How to Fix “BOOTMGR is Missing”?

For Windows 7/8/10, this part will provide you with a list of 8 ways to this problem.

• Troubleshoot the BOOTMGR Missing Errors without a CD or USB

1. Restart Your Computer

Before entering the Windows operating system, it will come out with a screen saying “BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart” or “BOOTMGR is missing. Press any key to restart”. You can follow the command to restart the PC or press the power button until the computer is turned off and then turn it on.

However, restarting sometimes doesn’t fix this error. You can try the following methods listed below:

2. Remove all the Unbootable Devices

If there are any unbootable devices connecting to your computer when restarting it, such as an unbootable hard drive, USB flash drive, soft disk, and so on, try to remove all the external storage media, then try to restart your computer.

3. Resetting the BIOS Boot Sequence Options

If your computer boots from another hard disk that has no boot files, then it will encounter this error. You can try resetting the BIOS boot sequence.

Step 1: Restart your computer -> Once restarted, immediately press the specified key to enter the BIOS. Generally, press ESC, F2, F10, F12, or the Delete key. But you can also Google your computer’s BIOS methods.

Step 2: Using the keyboard to select the Boot tab -> Find the BOOT ORDER Priorities -> Use the arrow keys to select the hard drive where you installed Windows -> then press the “+” or “-” key to change its order.

Step 3: Press F10 to save or select the Save & Exit tab to save-> then click Yes in the pop-up window. After that, your computer will start automatically. Try to check if the error is fixed.

Or you can install a hard drive to check whether the “BOOTMGR is missing” problem is caused by this reason.

• Troubleshoot the BOOTMGR Missing Errors with a CD or USB

You can also use installation media to fix this problem. Here are the steps to create a bootable USB drive:

Step 1: Plug a USB drive into your PC -> Run Windows USB/DVD Download Tool.

Step 2: Choose the system image in the source file path -> Select USB Device in the media type -> Insert USB device -> then click copying.

Once you’ve created a bootable USB drive, how can you use the Windows installation Disc or USB flash drive?

Step 1: Insert the bootable USB into your PC -> Boot your PC into BIOS -> Follow the steps for resetting the BIOS order above to set your installation media as the primary boot drive.

Step 2: When your computer displays "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD …” please press any key immediately to boot -> Click Repair your computer to run WinRE. Then you can use WinRE to fix “BOOTMGR is missing”error.

4. Run Startup Repair in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) is the system recovery environment for Windows. In Windows 7, WinRE began to be installed on the hard disk by default; you can continuously press F8 to enter WinRE in Windows 7/8/10.

Steps: Repair your computer -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Repair

5. Recreate BCD in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

BCD (Boot Configuration Data) is the startup settings data in the operating system. The system uses the BOOTMGR program to import the BCD file to complete the boot menu. Usually, when the BCD file is corrupted or faulty, it may cause Windows 10/8/7 to fail to boot.

Step 1: Repair your computer -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Command Prompt

Step 2: Type these commands in order, and after each command, click the Enter key to run.

bootrec /fixmbr -> This command writes the compatible Windows 7/8/10 master boot record to the system partition.

bootrec /fixboot -> This command writes the new boot sector to the system partition using the boot sector compatible with Windows 7/8/10.

bootrec /scanos -> bootrec /rebuildbcd, these two commands scan all disks for compatible Windows 7/8/10 installations.

Once that is done, restart your PC and check if the error is fixed.

6. Run System Restore in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

System Restore reverts your system to a selected restore point. By the way, you must satisfy that your PC has turned on system protection or a restore point; otherwise, it won’t work. If you have a proper restore point, try the following method:

Step 1: Repair your computer -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> System Restore

Step 2: Select a state to restore -> then click Next -> Select Finish to restart the computer.

7. Rebuild the MBR in the WinPE

Rebuilding the MBR (Master Boot Record) is to re-establish the master boot record of the hard disk, that is, to reinstall the boot program. MBR is the first sector of the hard disk, which stores the partition table and startup program of the hard disk and is an important part of the computer’s startup. If there is a problem with the MBR, the computer will not start or various error messages will appear.

Step 1: Prepare a CD or USB with WinPE -> Boot your PC into BIOS to set the bootable drive as the primary boot drive -> Enter the USB flash drive boot screen -> Choose the WinPE tab to enter

Step 2: Find the DiskGenius in WinPE and turn it on -> Click Disk -> Click Rebuild Master Boot Record, then click Yes and restart your computer.

8. Reset the Computer

Steps: Repair your computer -> Troubleshoot -> Reset this PC. You can choose to keep your files or remove everything and then reinstall Windows -> Confirm Reset. The computer will automatically restart and initialize the system. This process may take a long time. Please wait.

Bottom Line

While resetting the computer can solve the problem, in the process, you may lose important files that were not backed up due to personal error. To avoid such a mistake, you can download CloneGo, an easy but very useful tool to back up without any data loss, to backup important data.