Dual-boot Windows-based systems allow users to install two versions of Windows operating systems on a single computer. The users have the choice of selecting either of the two operating systems after s/he switches on his/her system's power. The process of booting is accomplished by a component named 'boot loader'. While the boot loader loads the selected operating system in most cases, there are certain situations where the boot loader fails to load. Few reasons for operating system load failure could be file system damage, system file corruption, boot loader corruption, and operating system malfunction. In most of these situations, users encounter an error message stating the cause of halting the Windows boot process. To overcome a boot failure error message, an ideal option is to reinstall the operating system and restore the files from an updated backup. However, in case the backup file becomes corrupt or does not exist, then you will need to use an effective Data Recovery Software to recover the files/folders.

To explain the above scenario, consider a practical case wherein you have a dual-boot system with Windows XP and 7. The boot loader was loading both the operating systems successfully, until one day it displayed below error message while loading Windows 7 operating system:

“Windows failed to start due to missing or corrupt application File windows/system32/winload.exe Error code : 0x000000f”

After the above error message appears, Windows 7 based partition became unbootable, rendering to inaccessibility of all its stored files and folders.

Cause:

The above error message appears when the Winload.exe file is corrupt or missing. The file is required at the time of Windows 7 boot process.

Resolution:

To get past the above error message, you will need to use 'Startup Repair' option. The option although successful in resolving most booting issues, can also fail, displaying the below error message:

“Boot manager failed to find OS loader File repair failed Error code = 0xa Repair action: data store repair failed error code = 0x490”

In such cases, the only option left is to reinstall Windows 7 operating system. To recover files post re-installation, in case no backup is available, you will need to use a third-party Data Recovery Software. A Data Recovery Software uses effective scanning mechanisms to scan the formatted Windows based partition and recoup all files and folders.

Windows Data Recovery recovers all files from a formatted Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 based partition. The Data Recovery tool supports NTFS, NTFS5, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and VFAT file systems.