Restore Packard Bell Easynote - BOOTMGR missing

Reinstall Windows after a failed install (without CD)

Situation: Attempted to do a fresh Vista install using the recovery partition on the Packard Bell Easynote.

Problem: Halfway the process a “blue screen of death” (memory issue), failed to boot afterwards “BOOTMGR is missing”. Notebook did not come with a Windows CD nor does it have a CD-drive.

Solution

After trying various approaches, this one worked.

  1. Remove the HDD and connect it to a working computer (for example using a USB case).
  2. Install and run testdisk (freeware) on this computer, www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
  3. Select your Easynote external HDD drive (take care do not select the wrong HDD!)
  4. Change the boot partition (primary) to the Packard Bell recovery partition, usually the first partition listed. The currently listed bootable partition is the failed windows install.
  5. Reinstall the HDD in the Easynote and boot, if it worked you will see the Packard Bell Recovery Management window, follow the steps to reinstall Windows

That’s it, hope it helps!