10. How to make the system bootable again

Check that

  • all partitions are listed in the partition table

  • a partition with your computer OS is listed as *(bootable)

  • you can list the files from the bootable partition

10.1. DOS - Window 95/98

If your OS doesn’t boot, you can reinstall the system files with sys c:.

10.2. Windows 2000/XP/2003

  • Run fixmbr from the Recovery Console

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0

If you still have the problem,

  • Run fixboot to repair NTFS boot sector.

  • Check c:\boot.ini content

10.3. Windows Vista/Windows 7/…, Windows Server 2008/…

  • Run bootrec.exe /fixmbr from the Recovery Console

  • For legacy / PC Intel partition table, check c:\boot.ini content

  • For EFI GPT, check the output of bcdedit /v. To modify the settings, use the bcdedit /set command.

  • Run bootrec.exe /fixboot to repair NTFS boot sector.

Boot Windows in safe mode or from a Windows DVD (Not the DVD from the computer manufacturer) as described in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234 and select

  • Troubleshoot

  • Advanced Options

  • Command Prompt

  • Run chkdsk /f c: to check an repair the filesystem

  • If it doesn’t solve the boot problem, try Startup Repair.

10.4. Linux/FreeBSD

  • Update your /etc/fstab to reflect the new partition order.

  • Update your multiboot configuration

    • Lilo: /etc/lilo.conf

    • Grub: /boot/grub/grub.conf

    • Grub2: /etc/grub2-efi.cfg

  • Reinstall the multiboot in the Master Boot Record.

lilo
grub-install device
grub2-install device