Winload.exe missing error in Dual Boot setup

Microsoft is heading for a well-earned disaster with this OS if they do not
fix the dual boot installation problem. What's the chance of this before the
January release date? Win XP has no problem installing on a second hard drive
and getting all the information and location of the boot loader correct but
Vista is a hit or miss fiasco-works for some but not for everybody. I get
this error and can find no solution that works. I have installed under WinXP,
installed from the DVD, changed the BIOS settings. I examine the Vista Boot
loader in VistaBoot Pro and it seems to point to the correct drive. I run the
repair function from the Vista DVD, it identifies the problem, says it fixed
it but of course it did not. Does anyone no of any clear troubleshooting for
this or is Vista just more Microsoft crippleware?

 

Hi,

Well, as Vista code is finalized, nothing more is going to change. I've not
run into any issues in creating dual boots with Vista setup, so you'll have
to be more specific as to what problem you are encountering. What
configuration do you have? Where is XP or other OS installed and where are
you trying to install Vista to? Which is the active (system) partition? What
order are you trying to load the OS's in?

By the by, dual-booters are not the norm, and it certainly will not be a
disaster if there is an issue with this scenario. It simply would mean
people would have to use a third party solution.No iteration of Windows and
its bootloader were ever designed for multiple booters, though each
subsequent release would at least recognize and allow booting of older
versions that were already installed.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

I'm getting the feeling you are trying to install XP after you have
installed Vista. If this is the case that would explain the problems.

Otherwise try and provide more info about the problem.

Colin T

 

If you have your first drive as first in boot priority, then when you
installed xp on the second drive the boot files were on the first drive. If
you then formatted the first drive when installing Vista, the XP boot files
would be gone. This would be the case if there were 1 partition per drive.
As the others have said, provide specific information. Which drive is first
in boot priority, what system you want to install on it. How many
partitions and which is active. Same for the second drive. How are you or
have you done any installations to date.

 

I have installed XP on many systems in multiboot configuration because some
piece of hardware or software required a prior version of Windows.
In this case I installed Vista (RC1 32 bit) to a separate SATA hard drive
from the drive XP is installed on. In this scenario XP has always installed
and dual booted as expected. Even XP64 installed (long ago totally deleted,
drives reformatted) on this particular machine in this configuration. As
Vista will not be universally supported by peripheral and software makers
this is the scenario many upgraders will face, and this is indeed Microsoft's
problem and not that of the user. Vista users should not have to reflag
drives as bootable, rewrite boot configuration files manually or resort to
third party multi-boot programs. This will make the Mactel look even more
attractive. I do not have exotic hardware on this machine: Nvidia chipset
supporting an AMD 64 dual core and SATA/EIDE hard drives. Is there a
solution?

 

I have quite happily had all various beta versions of Vista co existing with
XP and server, multi-booting using nothing other than what was on the
Vista/Longhorn and XP disks, I also have an Nvidia chipset, AMD 64 with
SATA/EIDE drives. If you'd like to explain what is actually happening and
post the output from BCDedit.exe and tell us what drive configurations you
have and what is on them it would be more use than a rant about Microsoft.
How can we tell you the solution when we don't know the problem?

Colin T

 

bcedit.exe is unusable under XP as the command prompt box opens and closes
instantly.
Here is the display from Vistaboot Pro:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {ntldr}
displayorder {ntldr}
{9bc67a58-7d9d-11db-93b4-e7f190d29836}
{cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 8

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {9bc67a58-7d9d-11db-93b4-e7f190d29836}
device partition=G:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows Vista
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
bootdebug No
osdevice partition=G:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {9bc67a59-7d9d-11db-93b4-e7f190d29836}
nx OptIn
pae ForceDisable
detecthal Yes
nointegritychecks No
vga No
quietboot No
sos No
debug No
custom:47000005 301989892
3

Windows Setup
-------------
identifier {cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71}
device partition=C:
path \$WINDOWS.~BT\Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Setup Rollback
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \$WINDOWS.~BT\Windows
resumeobject {a342dd53-7d9c-11db-93b4-806e6f6e6963}
nx OptOut
detecthal Yes
winpe Yes
custom:47000005 301989892
1

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {9bc67a59-7d9d-11db-93b4-e7f190d29836}
device partition=G:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filepath \hiberfil.sys

Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {a342dd53-7d9c-11db-93b4-806e6f6e6963}
device partition=C:
path \$WINDOWS.~BT\Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Setup
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
pae Yes
debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=C:
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes
custom:47000005 301989892
2

Windows Legacy OS Loader
------------------------
identifier {ntldr}
device partition=C:
path \ntldr
description Windows XP Pro
custom:47000005 301989892
6

EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes

Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200

RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}

Boot Loader Settings

 

Does appear you are never going to give the information requested by
numerous people trying to help you. I give up, hopefully someone else will
persevere. Good luck.

 

Wow that looks like a bit of a mess

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of the below (I'm trying to get a
feel of what is happening)
After your system posts reading from the output below the Vista Bootmanager
has a timeout of 8 seconds, so you have obviously changed that from 30
seconds

When the Vista bootloader displays (if) it has an entry for previous
versions of windows, a Microsoft Vista option and a rollback option(did you
try an upgrade) and a Microsoft Vista option.

Now where and when do you get the missing winload.exe error?

Generally when installing dual boot at the reboot the vista bootloader
appears for a second and then continues the Vista installation, was this
when you received the error?

There is also a hibernation entry, which on my hardware (similar to yours)
didn't work until RTM, to the extent that even the reset button wasn't good
enough to get the thing going again, perhaps this is where the problem lies.
Did you leave the system while it installed Vista so that it could have
hibernated?


Colin T

 

The Vista installation appears to go smoothly. The system did not hibernate
and was not unattended at any point.
I modified the default menu time using Vistaboot Pro. I also set WinXP pro
as the default OS.
The Vista bootloader comes on as it should. If I try to boot to Vista I get
the fail to find winloader screen.
Vista is on the G drive as identified by WInXP; WinXP is on the C drive.
I presume the Vista bootloader is looking for the Vista files in the WinXP
installation rather than the Vista installation.

 

The error regarding winload.exe is generated because your Vista option
presented in the boot menu choice is "pointing" to XP.
You state "The Vista installation appears to go smoothly" this is not
substantiated by the results listed in the Vistaboot Pro display.
Under heading "Windows Boot Loader" identifier is not correct for Vista.
Under heading "Windows Setup" identifier is correct for Vista - this
heading suggests a "rollback" to XP.
An unsuccessful Vista install and rollback to XP does not remove entries mad
in BCD.

BCDedit.exe is available via start>run>cmd - change path to
C:\$windows.~bt\windows\system32 - bcdedit.exe /? for help - bcdedit.exe /v
will list all entries and identifiers in the BCD store.