winload.exe is missing (again!)

Question

I updated Windows 8.1 in an attempt to activate my copy of Windows (see last question). It finished updating, and it restarted. I went to do something, and when I came back, I was greeted with a blue screen saying that winload.exe is missing, or something like that. So I restarted and booted to HP Recovery to attempt a System Restore. Everything but System Recovery (back to Windows 7) was greyed out. So I popped in my Windows 8 64-bit disc to try Automatic Repair, which worked the first time winload.exe acted up. I can't get into System Restore or Startup Repair. Refresh and Reset doesn't work. Chkdsk didn't work. /fixmbr doesn't work. Right now, I'm doing another Automatic Repair. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I only have the Pro edition disc, and right now I can't get the 8.1 evaluation ISO because I'm about to burst my data cap. I'm gonna look for a Ubuntu disc in my drawers to back the files up. When I'm finished, I'll try to do an upgrade install of Windows 8. If it fails, I could try to factory reset to Windows 7.

The model of my PC is a Compaq Presario CQ1-2010AN, running Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center.

Answer 2

Hi Bocacao,

What is the make and model of the computer?

**Method 1:**I would suggest you to use a different Windows 8 installation DVD and check if you can perform System Restore or Automatic Repair.

Method 2:

If you have a system recovery partition, you may also try to reset the computer to factory reset using recovery partition. Check if it helps.

Note: Be sure to back up any data you want to keep before you begin. Resetting to Factory Reset will delete all the data.

Hope this information helps. Reply to the post with updated status of the issue to assist you further.