Can't boot to windows 8.1 anymore after trying to install windows 7

[bluekryptonite]

Firstly, allow me to explain that title in detail. I had windows 8.1 working fine up until I wanted to install windows 7 along side it on the same hard drive. I shrunk the volume and created a small partition for windows 7 to be installed to but I think the mistake was doing this from within the os and not from a disk or usb. I have since deleted the windows 7 partition and re extended the volume to its normal state. But now I believe the system reserved partition got deleted and now the only way to boot to windows is to start my pc with the data cable removed from the os drive, going into the bios, reconnecting the data cable, going back into bios and reselecting the correct drive and bingo I'm in windows 8.1. Otherwise if I leave the cable plugged in on startup I can't access the bios and the os wont load. I should note I do not have the installation disc for 8.1. Sorry for the long question but I felt I had to explain everything step by step. So is there anyway to recreate system reserved image and if so do I need the disc?

 

[Colif]

You shouldn't be attaching hard drives to PC while its on, you can break stuff doing that.

its likely that win 7 wrote over the boot sector for win 8.1 and you probably need to rebuild it again

follow this: https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-rebuild-the-bcd-in-windows-2624508

 

[bluekryptonite]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately there is no other way for me to boot and I use my pc for everything so i gotta take the risk but if I can get it fixed and have that knowledge for the future I will definitely not plug cables in while the pc is on anymore. I'm waiting on a repair/recovery disk so I can see this through because my external hard drive isn't compatible with 8.1 and doesn't work properly(the reason why I wanted to install windows 7 alongside it so I can have access to it)so no use using that nor do I have any dvds I can burn at the moment. If everything fails(and I hope not)I'll install a fresh copy of windows 7 which I have the disk for and then reupgrade to 8.1 which loses everything unfortunately but at least I have a backup of all my apps and personal files. I will respond back when I've fixed the issue(hopefully).

 

[bazbazan]

Hello, bluekryptonite.

This problem is likely caused by your BIOS/UEFI firmware is incorrectly parsing EFI system partition / system reserved partition. This partition has some leftovers from Windows 7 installation attempts, so your PC stopped booting.

Try updating UEFI firmware to the latest version (look on the website of your notebook or motherboard vendor).

Try running CHKDSK over that partition. Try rebuilding BCD hive on that partition (BOOTREC /REBUILDBCD).

Also, there's a way to rebuild System Reserved Partition from scratch, outside of Windows (using Emergency Boot Kit):
http://www.prime-expert.com/articles/a16/rebuild-system-reserved-partition-from-scratch.php

 

[bluekryptonite]

Can I put the emergency boot kit on a dvd? My external hard drive only works with windows 7 and I dont have a flash drive. Oh and does flashing uefi mean flashing entire bios? By the way it is a MSI Z97 Gaming 5.

 

[bazbazan]

Can I put the emergency boot kit on a dvd?

Yes, Emergency Boot Kit can be put both to CD/DVD and to USB thumbdrive.

 

[bluekryptonite]

Well I did the same thing to boot to windows again but this time I couldn't do it. The msi logo appeared and then it went to a blue screen error saying my computer needs to be repaired. I couldn't even boot from my windows 7 disk! So my solution was to turn of the computer, unplug everything, and remove the cmos battery to reset the bios and it worked. I was then able to reinstall windows 7 and I'm currently in the process of reinstalling all of my programs. As I said I had backups of everything on another hard drive but they are just copies of all the installation software and also documents, app data, and personal files. Anyway thanks for the help. I'm going to download that emergency boot kit and burn it for future use as well as take notes of the other info. Even though I "kind of" solved the problem myself I'll still select yours as the solution. Take care.