Have you ever seen Windows saying the BOOTMGR image is corrupt and the system cannot boot? BOOTMGR, which is short for Windows Boot Manager, is an essential boot loader file that allows multiple operating systems to be booted on the same computer. So, if BOOTMGR is damaged, the operating system cannot be loaded.
There are several ways to deal with this issue. For instance, you can restart the computer and check the boot order in BIOS. Or you can use startup repair and Bootrec.exe tool to try to repair it. Besides, if the above ways don’t work, you can reinstall the operating system.
Here are the details.
Check and Change the Boot Sequence in BIOS
When it comes to resolving the issue that the BOOTMGR image is corrupt and the system cannot boot, first of all, you should check whether the boot order is correct in BIOS. Make sure that the hard disk containing the operating system is selected as the first boot option.
Step 1. Restart your computer.
Step2. Continuously press F2, F8, F10, F12, or Esc keys to enter the main interface of BIOS. The specific key depends on your computer and operating system, you can search your own on the Internet.
Step3. Navigate to the Boot tab, and then change the boot order to set the hard drive containing OS as the first boot device. Then press F10 to save the change and exit the BIOS.
Restart your computer to load the operating system. If the issue still appears, read on to try the following ways.
Fix Corrupt BOOTMGR Image
Usually, there are 3 ways to fix the BOOTMGR image corruption issue, and you can try them out one by one.
Way 1. Startup Repair
You can use a Windows installation DVD or USB to restart the computer. First, you need to create an installation media by using Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. You can find this tool on the Microsoft official site and follow the wizard to make it.
Once done, do these:
- Insert the Windows installation DVD or USB into your computer, then restart the computer.
- Press the specific key to enter into the BIOS. Then change the boot order to set the computer to boot from USB or DVD.
- Follow the instructions to select language, time, and keyword settings, and click Next.
- Find and click the Repair your computer button to enter the Windows Recovery Environment.
- Select Troubleshoot > Advanced > Startup Repair.
- Wait until Windows Startup Repair has been completed, and then restart the computer to see if the system boots successfully.
Way 2. Bootrec.exe Command
Similarly, running elevated command prompts could help fix the bootmgr image corrupt issue. To do this, follow the guide below:
Step 1. Repeat steps 1 – 4 detailed in the former part. Then select Troubleshoot > Advanced > Command Prompt accordingly.
Step 2. Type and run these commands (press Enter key after each command):
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd
Step 3. Restart your computer to see if this helps.
Way 3. Reinstall OS
If neither of the above methods works, you have to reinstall OS to deal with the BOOTMGR image corrupt issue. You can use the Windows installation DVD or USB to reinstall OS (by going to Install Now).
Before reinstalling, it’s better to recover your lost files saved in the system partition, because system reinstall could overwrite the selected partition. Thus, I highly recommend using MiniTool partition software to help you recover data although the system cannot boot.
MiniTool Partition Wizard is a free partition manager which aims at protecting hard drive data and redistributing disk space. Its Data Recovery feature can effectively find files lost by deletion, formatting, system corruption, hard drive failure, virus attack, and more.
Let’s see how to use MiniTool Partition Wizard to deal with BOOTMGR image corruption.
Build a Bootable Data Recovery Tool
First of all, since you are unable to boot your PC into a Windows desktop, you need a working computer to get and install MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro. Then create a bootable USB drive using this software.
- Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to load its main interface.
- Click Bootable Media located on the toolbar. Click the “WinPE” option to continue.
- On the next screen, choose USB as the media destination. Your USB drive will be formatted, so be sure it can be formatted before you continue.
- Wait for MiniTool Media Builder to finish the building process.
Once done, plug the USB into the bootmgr image corrupt computer, restart the computer, go to BIOS, and set the USB drive as the 1st boot option. Follow the on-screen instructions to continue. After a while, you will see the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Recover Lost Files
Step 1. On the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard, use the Explore feature to know which is the real C drive (usually contains the Windows folder and the Users folder). Then click Data Recovery on the upper menu.
Step 2. Click the Settings icon to determine which file type you want to recover. This is optional. Feel free to skip if your data is diverse. Then choose the real C drive to scan (here is E).
Step 3. Wait patiently for MiniTool Partition Wizard to finish scanning. Once done, the scanning result is shown as follows. Unfold the tree structure or switch to Type to select the needed files and click the Save button.
Be careful when choosing the file-saving path. It is recommended to save the recovered data to another partition or another hard drive.
Now the key files in the C drive have been recovered. And you can repeat the above steps to recover data in other partitions. When you have all important files recovered, exit MiniTool Partition Wizard, shut down the PC, and remove the USB drive.
Reinstall OS
Now it is time to reinstall Windows. And in the former part of Windows startup repair, you have already made a Windows installation DVD or USB, which will help you go through the installation process.
Step 1. Connect the Windows installation DVD or USB to the computer which needs to have its operating system reinstalled. Restart the computer and press the specified key to get into the boot menu interface.
Step 2. Ensure the Windows installation DVD or USB is now the first boot choice and save the change.
Step 3. Once you see a new purple window, you need to hit the Install Now choice.
Step 4. Follow the next screens to finish the Windows installation.
The fresh operating system can lead you to the desktop successfully. And you can view and reorganize the recovered files in this new system.
Wrapping Things Up
You have learned the ways to repair BOOTMGR. You can try these ways to deal with the BOOTMGR image corruption issue and hope you can successfully fix the issue. Besides,this free partition manager can help you deal with disk issues and manage partitions.
