Formatting Error 0x80070057 / BootMGR Missing

[double b26]

hey everyone, ive hit a stone wall with a clean install of win 7 x64 on my laptop. its a dell studio 1537, with ati graphics. this would have been the third clean install of 7 ive done to this machine (because there is lackluster support for this model from dell, i had to do a lot of trial-and-error with some drivers... mainly the ati video, resulting in buggy performance). but now that i have everything hammered out, i was going to do one last clean install of 7. but that hasnt gone so well!

okay, so i erased the partitions and formatted the C drive via the win 7 install disc. i made a new partition and chose it for the installation. the process runs for a while, but towards the end it pops up a box saying, "Windows could not format a partition on disk 0. The error ocurred while preparing the parition selected for installation. Error Code: 0x80070057." at this point i can try the install again, or reboot the pc. retrying to install is redundant.

now when i reboot the computer, the bios screen loads, then it gives me the option to boot from the disc drive. if i dont press a key to boot from the cd, it says the BootMGR is missing.

so basically, im stuck here. it wont format the drive and install, and of course it wont boot without anything to boot. any ideas?

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

Windows 7 has created the MBR information that has somehow screwed all up.You should completely format your entire HDD meaning to convert all its sectors to all zeros.Use the DOS tool called Kill Disk 4.1 for that!





Cheers!

 

[double b26]

Windows 7 has created the MBR information that has somehow screwed all up.You should completely format your entire HDD meaning to convert all its sectors to all zeros.Use the DOS tool called Kill Disk 4.1 for that!





Cheers!

alright. so which one should i download?

second, how do i get to a command prompt? earlier today i had a dell system recovery disc (or something like that) in it, and after not being able to run any of the tests, it brought me to a promt. other than that though, i have not seen a promt since this happened.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

You can't completely delete the MBR from your HDD using the Windows disk.Add me to your contact list now.My hotmail address is:

[email protected]

And then I will connect to your computer with the Team Viewer and do the job for you.Don't worry.You will be able to see on your screen exactly what I am doing.

 

[double b26]

You can't completely delete the MBR from your HDD using the Windows disk.Add me to your contact list now.My hotmail address is:

[email protected]

And then I will connect to your computer with the Team Viewer and do the job for you.Don't worry.You will be able to see on your screen exactly what I am doing.

by contact list, you mean in my email? right?

will team viewer work even though there is no OS or anything on the computer?

EDIT: i have some things to do today, but when i get home later i will check this post again, and if you think this will work, ill add you to my contacts later today.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

LoL Team Viewer wont work without an OS.Go on ANY other computer and run the Team Viewer from there.Just add me on the contact list so I can explain you what to do...

 

[double b26]

LoL Team Viewer wont work without an OS.Go on ANY other computer and run the Team Viewer from there.Just add me on the contact list so I can explain you what to do...

lol. okay, i thought it might be some bootable dos software or something, since i was under the impression that you needed me to run it on the messed up laptop.

anyway, i have installed Team Viewer on this desktop, which is also in my home. i didnt see anything in the software that said 'add contacts', so im still not sure what you mean by the 'add me' thing. on my email, on the software, both??

i sent you an email too, so however is best for you, let me know something. i might be in and out today, so give me a while to reply.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

LoooooooL!I meant that you add me on the contact list using MSN messenger so that from there I can send you the same version of the Team VIewer and all the neccessary DOS tools I am using and that also you can give me the ID and password so that I can connect to your computer using Team Viewer and prepare those DOS tools for you.

 

[tyttebøvs]

Is there so much to prepare, if you want him to run killdisk? You can download an iso image at killdisk.com. Burn it, run it, done.

double b26, just be sure you know what you are doing. You cannot recover anything after killdisk. I take it, your laptop doesn't have a recovery partition of any kind?

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

I want to do that for him so that he can use it from the USB stick instead of spending the blank CD...

 

[double b26]

I want to do that for him so that he can use it from the USB stick instead of spending the blank CD...

Is there so much to prepare, if you want him to run killdisk? You can download an iso image at killdisk.com. Burn it, run it, done.

double b26, just be sure you know what you are doing. You cannot recover anything after killdisk. I take it, your laptop doesn't have a recovery partition of any kind?

there's nothing on the hdd that i am worried about. this began as an intentional format/clean install, so ive already backed everything up on an external, and formatted the drive. but somehow it messed up the formating, so i need to get the hard drive back on track so i can get the OS reinstalled.

if its as simple as downloading and burning an iso, then i can do that... if i knew which one to d/l. i dont mind using the disc because it sounds like a useful tool to have, since i work on my own, and other peoples computers a good bit. plus most older computers dont let you boot from usb anyway.

 

[double b26]

okay, so i downloaded the entire free suite. i tried making a bootable usb, but it kept giving me an "Error Opening Drive Handle" message, and canceled itself. so then i tried the burn cd option, and the iso burnt w/o a problem at 4x.

i booted up the iso in the laptop, and chose the killdisk option. right now its doing its thing, i guess. i opted to erase all the data, F10'ed a couple times, and typed ERASE-ALL-DATA in the box. and now there's a progress bar and stuff on the screen.

so when it gets done i should be able to put the win 7 disk back in, boot, format from the install disc, and get it up and running again... right?? :good:

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

Yes thats right.

Just note that on some hard disk drives the formatting process can take up to 19 hours so let it finish!!!

 

[double b26]

it didnt go so smooth. here's the deal:

i ran killdisk last night. when i started, it estimated that it would take a little less than 2 hours. about 2 hours into it, i checked the progress and it was at 59%, with about 30 min left. so i played a few more rounds of modern warfare 2, and at about 2am i checked it again before i went to bed. it was still at 59%. at this point, i kind of knew something was not normal... it seemed hung. but, i left it alone and went to bed.

i checked it again this morning around 11am, and it still was at 59%. so it had been hung at that point from at least 2am - 11am. i tried hitting ESC to stop the process. didnt work. so in the end, i had to force it to power down.

i havent messed with it since then. what do you think? could it be corrupt burn of the program? could it be my hdd that's the problem (i still have factory warranty on the pc, so i probably can get a free fix if i turn it in soon)? should i try running killdisk again?.. maybe let it run for a solid 24 hours before calling it a lost cause?

thanks for the help though, and let me know what you think.

now i have to go out and try to get this broken spark plug out of my van's engine.... always something to work on around here, i swear! :gun:

 

[double b26]

well, i guess i'll run killdisk one more time, and if it hangs again, i will call dell and see about getting it fixed.

 

[double b26]

tried the routine again, with the same results.

i called up dell, and after an hour on the phone (they are thorough), they are sending me a replacement hdd... 1-3 business days. i could have sent it in and let them do it, but i opted to do it myself to expedite the process. the rep also asked me if any rubber pieces were missing, or if anything else was wrong with it. they are sending me some new rubber feet, and wanted me to send it in to replace a scuffed up display bezel, but i told him not to worry about that. so hats off to dell and their warranty service. definitely above and beyond what i expected.

oh yeah, the rep had me hold the "Fn" key while i turned on the system and it took it to a pre-boot diagnostics program. it ran some tests and came back with an error 0142, which is related to the hard drive. just thought you guys might want to know about that little trick.

thanks again for the help though.

 

[double b26]

well, i got my new hdd yesterday. only took one business day to get here! so im back up and running.

i have to call them back though because the hdd they replaced my old one with doesnt have the free-fall sensor, which my old one did, and i paid extra for. this one is the same size, just not FF sensor. so im going to tell them that they need to give me the right one, or a 320 gb replacement, since that was the basic hdd size, if you didnt get the one with the FF sensor.

beside that though, dell has done great with handling the repair.

 

[Eddie Haskell]

I'm trying to install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on a SATA hdd that had a corrupt version of XP Pro on it. I keep getting "BOOTMGR MISSING press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to restart" right after the POST screen. I'm trying the "disk kill" idea, if that doesn't work get ready for more suggestions. No OS on the HDD and not too many options other than maybe buying another HDD, seems to me if the PC is supposed to boot from CD/DVD it shouldn't worry about the BOOTMGR, wouldn't it be on the install disk? Computers, gotta love em

 

[hondro]

I'm trying to install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on a SATA hdd that had a corrupt version of XP Pro on it. I keep getting "BOOTMGR MISSING press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to restart" right after the POST screen. I'm trying the "disk kill" idea, if that doesn't work get ready for more suggestions. No OS on the HDD and not too many options other than maybe buying another HDD, seems to me if the PC is supposed to boot from CD/DVD it shouldn't worry about the BOOTMGR, wouldn't it be on the install disk? Computers, gotta love em

Man sounds like it's either still trying to boot from your hard drive or somethings messed up with ur windows cd.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

Man sounds like it's either still trying to boot from your hard drive or somethings messed up with ur windows cd.

Exactly.Or maybe his CD/DVD-ROM drive doesn't work properly...