(Vista) winload.exe missing or corrupt?

msp32003

New Member
I'm at the end of my rope here....looking for some ideas.

LOng story short, I had to restore last night due to what seemed like a video driver problem. I restored, back a couple weeks and it fixed my video issue. It then did the automatic windows updates, including SP1, which I thought was odd, but I went with it. After the download & update the system rebooted...and then it all went downhill. I actually got another error message which I can't recall at the moment, but it was a black screen not a blue....

I then broke out my original windows recovery discs, rebooted and it went directly to the recovery options and screens as I was expecting. The first disc ran fine, backing up files, blah blah.....it said to reboot...and then THIS stuff started.

I'm get the following winload.exe error message...photo2.jpg picture by 450xDaD - Photobucket

If I press enter, I get this message next:
http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/450xDaD/?action=view&current=photo-3.jpg

If press escape, I loop back and it starts all over....

I've also tried booting with my Vista upgrade cd loaded and get the same messages. I then try to press F11 when booting and I do seem to get the recovery program. When I choose the option to "recover" it acts like it's reading files, reboots and I get thrown in the same loop. Pressing the F6 key does nothing either....

If I could get to the dos prompt I would be happy to at least copy over some of my needed files, and then do a clean windows format & install....but I really want to do all I can to save these files...

Machine:
HP Pavillion Laptop
Vista Home Premium (via Upgrade CD)

Any ideas? I'm even open to 3rd party software to recover these files if I can't get windows running again....
 

My Computer

That's one way to look at it... otherwise boot the Upgrade CD for Vista

Select English(US) or whatever and click next
At the bottom right hand corner, click Repair my Computer

Open up Command Prompt
Type this and hit enter:
sfc \scannow
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro 13inch
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.26GHz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    2GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M @256MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Intel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop: 32 bit Color LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    HITACHI HTS545025B9SA02 250GB (Internal)
    IOMEGA PRESTIGE PORTABLE 500GB (External)
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Black Chiclet-Style Keyboard (Standard US) with Backlight
    Mouse
    No-Button Aluminum Trackpad w/ Mouse Gestures
    Internet Speed
    T1
Thanks for the quick reply.....

I'm not getting any of those screens or options as mentioned in the articles & steps.....

When I press F8...I get this screen. photo2-1.jpg picture by 450xDaD - Photobucket. Coincidentally, it's the same screen I get if I hit F11, OR boot from the disc,

I'm choosing the 2nd option (windows system restore)...because it sounds like the other options have the chance of losing my saved data that I'm trying to keep. (correct me if I'm wrong).

Once I do choose the 2nd option, it does it's thing, press here to reboot. I click it, and then it takes me to THIS screen photo3.jpg picture by 450xDaD - Photobucket

If I hit "R" it loops me back to the previous step...

If I choose "Q" then I loop back to the screens mentioned in my first post...
 

My Computer

That's one way to look at it... otherwise boot the Upgrade CD for Vista

Select English(US) or whatever and click next
At the bottom right hand corner, click Repair my Computer

Open up Command Prompt
Type this and hit enter:
sfc \scannow

When I boot from the Vista CD I get the winload error message
 

My Computer

Thanks for the quick reply.....

I'm not getting any of those screens or options as mentioned in the articles & steps.....

When I press F8...I get this screen. photo2-1.jpg picture by 450xDaD - Photobucket. Coincidentally, it's the same screen I get if I hit F11, OR boot from the disc,

I'm choosing the 2nd option (windows system restore)...because it sounds like the other options have the chance of losing my saved data that I'm trying to keep. (correct me if I'm wrong).

Once I do choose the 2nd option, it does it's thing, press here to reboot. I click it, and then it takes me to THIS screen photo3.jpg picture by 450xDaD - Photobucket

If I hit "R" it loops me back to the previous step...

If I choose "Q" then I loop back to the screens mentioned in my first post...

I'm sorry, but unless you boot a Linux Live CD and backup your data to USB Drives (External or Flash), you cannot keep your data.

It doesn't detect a hard drive because it is looking for hard drives with Windows Vista installed properly.

Damn Small Linux link:
http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/current/current.iso

Download it, burn it to a CD, and boot it. See if you can detect your data, back it up to something (obviously not the thing you are booting DSL off of) and then perform a Destructive Recovery.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro 13inch
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.26GHz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    2GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M @256MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Intel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop: 32 bit Color LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    HITACHI HTS545025B9SA02 250GB (Internal)
    IOMEGA PRESTIGE PORTABLE 500GB (External)
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Black Chiclet-Style Keyboard (Standard US) with Backlight
    Mouse
    No-Button Aluminum Trackpad w/ Mouse Gestures
    Internet Speed
    T1
Get your data off with this.

FREE Paragon Rescue Kit Express

Then reinstall/factory recover.

Set windows update to notify and let you choose.

Install all the other updates ( i.e. not SP1 ) first.

Restart. Then install SP1 if offerred.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Vista
    CPU
    Intel E8400
    Motherboard
    ASRock1333-GLAN R2.0
    Memory
    4gb DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 9500GT 1gb
  • Operating System
    win7/vista
    CPU
    intel i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    ballistix 2x8gb 3200
:huh::confused:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Vista
    CPU
    Intel E8400
    Motherboard
    ASRock1333-GLAN R2.0
    Memory
    4gb DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 9500GT 1gb
  • Operating System
    win7/vista
    CPU
    intel i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    ballistix 2x8gb 3200
winrar or wizip, restore,recovery,registry error fixers,or in the my documents make a new folder and name it Downloads and you should be ok

Not to be rude at all, but I am extremely confused at the point you're trying to make/question you're trying to ask.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro 13inch
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.26GHz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    2GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M @256MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Intel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop: 32 bit Color LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    HITACHI HTS545025B9SA02 250GB (Internal)
    IOMEGA PRESTIGE PORTABLE 500GB (External)
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Black Chiclet-Style Keyboard (Standard US) with Backlight
    Mouse
    No-Button Aluminum Trackpad w/ Mouse Gestures
    Internet Speed
    T1
Thanks all....I will try that Paragon Rescue and/or Linux ideas....got to run up to Wally World to get a blank CD to burn....it seems I have none around here...

I will keep you all posted of my success...

Thanks again! I appreciate it!
 

My Computer

Thanks all....I will try that Paragon Rescue and/or Linux ideas....got to run up to Wally World to get a blank CD to burn....it seems I have none around here...

I will keep you all posted of my success...

Thanks again! I appreciate it!

You're welcome! Happy New Years!

P.S. Please add to my reputation by click the scale at the right hand top corner of my post!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro 13inch
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.26GHz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    2GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M @256MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Intel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop: 32 bit Color LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    HITACHI HTS545025B9SA02 250GB (Internal)
    IOMEGA PRESTIGE PORTABLE 500GB (External)
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Black Chiclet-Style Keyboard (Standard US) with Backlight
    Mouse
    No-Button Aluminum Trackpad w/ Mouse Gestures
    Internet Speed
    T1
A little update for today....downloaded the recommended Paragon program, seems to have least opened the door to my files I've been concerned about saving.

As I write this, files are transferring from the lame-duck HD, to my portable storage hard drive...so far so good....Once I get these backed up completely, I guess I can start to explore the possibility of mending my OS...and/or boot files....worst case I guess I'll start from scratch....hope not though...

I'll let y'all know how I fare tomorrow.....

Thanks again
 

My Computer

It's ALIVE! Ok...well I've got it going, and still need to transfer over my backup files. Ended up doing a fresh re-install with my recovery disks which resulted in Windows XP. Which leads me to my next question, which seems appropriate since I ended up on the VistaForums.....

What are the advantages of re-doing my upgrade to Vista? I rarely if ever had any issue with XP, but I'm not clear what benefits Vista actually has.....not sure how it benefits me other than looking pretty

Machine info:
HP Pavilion Laptop
AMD Turion 64
1.59 Ghz, 2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon Graphics

Special thanks to ComputerAge and SWI2....reputation points are on their way! :party:
 

My Computer

OK, I'm so happy it's working. Since you asked, here's a quick review of Vista
PROS
-Newer interface
-All computer will eventually switch to Vista
-When a new operating system (like Win7) comes out, you can directly upgrade. XP to Win7 upgrade is not supported, so you would have to backup and restore ALL your data.
-Once you install SP2, it is quite stable
-Windows Update is so easy
-New programs come to make doing everyday tasks simpler

CONS
-All the errors with XP took so many years to solve. Now we have to do it again with Vista
-90% of all the products out there are compatible with XP. About 70% is compatible with Vista. My Palm Pilot, to this day, still syncs with my XP desktop.

--RF
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro 13inch
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.26GHz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    2GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M @256MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM
    Sound Card
    Intel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop: 32 bit Color LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    HITACHI HTS545025B9SA02 250GB (Internal)
    IOMEGA PRESTIGE PORTABLE 500GB (External)
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Black Chiclet-Style Keyboard (Standard US) with Backlight
    Mouse
    No-Button Aluminum Trackpad w/ Mouse Gestures
    Internet Speed
    T1
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