"Missing Operating System" when I boot to Vista after OSX 1.3 firmware upda

I did the firmware upgrade 2 days ago and just tried to log on to my Vista boot camp partition today and I get a black screen that tells me I am missing my operating system. From the mac side I can see the windows partition and things look normal to me (the usual windows folders are there), but I don't know if I should be looking for a specific file that has now gone missing.
Any ideas?

You can always use a open source EFI boot loader. It's called rEFIt.
http://refit.sourceforge.net/
Just download the Mac Disk image and install it in OS X.
Then restart your computer, booting to the OS X partition, and rEFIt boot options will pop up. Then you can just select windows and boot to it. This way you also don't have to worry about what you start up disk is set to. All you have to do is keep it on the OS X partition.
It works really great. I use on rEFIt my MBP that I have triple booted.
Message was edited by: Smerky

Similar Messages

"Missing Operating System" when trying to boot from USB

I have a macbook air (3,2), and I'm trying to install Arch onto the partition that currently has Ubuntu. I have tried a few different ways to get the Arch core iso onto the usb key drive, but no matter what I do, I am ending up with the message "Missing Operating System" when I boot into it.
I started out using the instructions from https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US … tion_Media for writing it on OSX, using diskutil unMount, then the dd with bs=8192, and of=/dev/disk2
When that didn't work, I tried booting into my ubuntu install, and used just a plain
sudo dd if=archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdb
Still no luck, so then I went to my old standby of unetbootin, which didn't do any better. I just tried yet again with the dd in ubuntu, and I'm still not having any luck.
Here's some of the relevant info I could find:
$ sudo dd if=Downloads/archlinux-2011.08.19-core-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdb
772096+0 records in
772096+0 records out
395313152 bytes (395 MB) copied, 1.55667 s, 254 MB/s
$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 8065 MB, 8065646080 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 7691 cylinders, total 15753215 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
One interesting thing I noticed was that the dd took about 10 minutes in mac osx, and under 2 seconds in linux. That seemed like a pretty big difference between the two systems, but I'm not sure if that's related to the batch size on the write, or to the implementation of dd used in OSX.
Is there something obvious I'm missing? I know the computer is able to boot from this key drive because I was able to boot an Ubuntu livecd from it just a few days ago. Unfortunately, the MBA won't boot from my external cd/dvd drive because it's not the apple brand super-drive, and I don't want to spend the money for a super-drive, so a cd-based install isn't an option.
Really looking forward to playing with Arch, because some of my friends recommended it to me highly. I'm a former gentooer (years ago) who became fed-up with installing *everything* from source. I can't stand ubuntu doing everything for me, and debian always seemed so far behind the curve on everything, so Arch seems like the perfect OS if I can just get into the installer. :)
Thanks so much!
~Maquis

Oh, forgot to mention, I did the dd from ubuntu with both bs=4M and without a bs argument. the version without the bs argument is the one that went really fast.
Neither version would boot, so I don't think that the way I'm writing it is the problem.
I did just notice that if I just do a sudo fdisk -l without specifying the drive, I have 2 entries for my drive:
Disk /dev/sdb: 8065 MB, 8065646080 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 7691 cylinders, total 15753215 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
Disk /dev/sdb1: 395 MB, 395313152 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 377 cylinders, total 772096 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1p1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS

HELP! How can i restore/recover files from Bootcamp with Boot Failure - Missing operating system error?

Hi,
I am having a few problems with bootcamp on my imac. When i tried to move the bootcamp partition on windows 7 into free space, it crashed and turned off. Ever since i have had the error 'Missing operating system' and it fails to boot. I have some very important files on the bootcamp partition. Is it possible to recover these files or even to restore the bootcamp partition to it's original state? I do not have a backup of my bootcamp partition. Another problem i have is that ever since i tried to expand my macintosh HD partition into free space, when i hold alt while booting up (to choose which partition to boot like i normally do), the bootcamp partition has stopped appearing. This means that i cannot even boot the windows 7 bootcamp partition anymore!
So basically here are my 2 questions:
How can i restore/recover files from Bootcamp with Boot Failure - Missing operating system error?
How can i make the Bootcamp partition appear in Startup Disk and when i hold the option key while starting up my computer to allow me to boot windows 7?
Any solutions are very much apreciated!
Thanks!
I know that bootcamp (disk0s4) hasn't been fully deleted since it appears in disk utility (i cant do anything to it though)
And here is the error i see when i try to launch bootcamp (back when i was actually able to boot up bootcamp to the error screen)

WinClone 3 is OS X and saves Windows image it makes for restore - that should work but you will have to try and you would need to make a new image unless it also works with a native Windows system restore image. It is now supported and has come a long way.
http://www.twocanoes.com/
Paragon Clone OS works and does disk-to-disk clone just like CCC you end up with two bootable drives. But does not work with your setup. It would let you clone and move your Windows install to an SSD or another disk drive though and be bootable.
During its clone process it checks for errors which is very helpful and lets you know - something CCC and others should adopt more of.
http://www.paragon-software.com/downloads/demo.html
I wish for our/my sake you had re-read and rewritten the long 'story' and broken it into a brief list of facts we needed.
OS X
Windows
Backup (though external is much safer) and you want bootable OS X clones as well as TimeMachine
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1553
There are a number of things to do like chkdsk and others as well as Windows DVD to do automatic system repairs and find out why.
AppleHFS - the abilty to mount and read HFS volumes can be notorious.
I would rearrange and redo your storage setup and how you use the 4-5 internal hard drive bays.

HT4818 after installing boot camp 4 on mountain lion " Missing operating system"

Hello
I hade a small Windows 7 partition , so after updating to mountain lion , I wanted resize win partition .
I made an image of it , then deleted win partition from utility disk , ( wrong idea )
I didn’t notice that boot camp could erase win partition , anyway I have tried several times , and always after reboot boot camp
I get the same
Missing operating system .
If I boot from dvd install win or if i boot from the boot win partition.
hd and partitions looks OK to utility disk
Any idea to fix the problem ?

I presume that you've followed the instructions for sideloading the iMac Windows drivers into your install via USB stick? (wasn't aware the EFI recognized the SD slot as storage on boot. Now i know)
I always found more success in just slipstreaming the drivers and install.xml file onto a custom Win7 DVD rather than the USB approach when trying with my Late 2009 27" iMac. The Win7 installer needs that enclosed .xml file in the driver package to tell it where to find the drivers so that they be loaded when the Win7 image extracts itself.
If you're using mountain lion, then you should be receiving the proper Win7 driver set. If you wanted to create a custom image, then you can use an ISO file, the driver package and disk utility to make something you can use. Either that or you learn what edits your install.xml file needs to point the installer properly and check it manually.
I don't know what links you have so i'll just include everything:
Installing boot camp on a Late 2009 iMac:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3173
Direct link to Late 2009 iMac-specific Windows drivers.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL995
I'd try a USB stick and the iMac-specific driver set. It should steer your insolent windows installer correctly.
Hope this helps.

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp in win 7
i have windows instaled about a year now.yesterday i tranfer 300 gb of music in my laptop.today i open my mac hold alt on start up to sellect opereting system,i found MacintosHD,recovery, and windows, and i select the windows to boot,but says to me (missing operating system).i boot again osx to see what hapend.osx is workin perfect.i tried to boot windows again but the same msg (missing operating system).i have not make any changes in my mac osx...!!!

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp in win 7
i have windows instaled about a year now.yesterday i tranfer 300 gb of music in my laptop.today i open my mac hold alt on start up to sellect opereting system,i found MacintosHD,recovery, and windows, and i select the windows to boot,but says to me (missing operating system).i boot again osx to see what hapend.osx is workin perfect.i tried to boot windows again but the same msg (missing operating system).i have not make any changes in my mac osx...!!!

Portege R100 won't boot from the HDD - missing operating system

Hello,
I have a Portege R100 that won't boot from the HD, I get the message "missing operating system".
I don't have a compatible CD or floppy driver, I just have a 1.8 inch case for the hd, it works, i also have norton ghost 2003 installed in another computer (a toshiba satellite A45).
I tried to recover the disk using norton and the ghost image in the recovery cds but it keep asking for a password.
I would like to know if there is a way to use the recovery cds with norton and the usb driver and avoid the password screen (or where can I get the password?).
Thanks!

Yes, I know that the recovery cds are password protected, that's the password I'm talking about.
I'm not trying to boot from a USB stick, I'm using ghost 2003, this way when I reboot the USB device is recognized as a second hard drive.
I have the option to use the cds to recover from the ghost enviroment but I would need the gho password.
What I would like to know is if there is a command line to force the cd to ghost the second driver instead of the first.
I'm not a great fan of norton ghost but I don't have another option, all cd drivers that I have are incompatible with Portege R100.
Thanks,

[SOLVED] Mac OS X/Arch dual boot Missing Operating System GRUB problem

I am attempting to dual boot Mac OS X.5 and Arch on my "unibody" macbook pro.
I am getting the "Missing Operating System" error over and over. I have followed the Macbook install guide in the wiki and the Beginners install guide. I've also read all the threads I could find on the subject. The common fix seems to be changing the root path on the grub menu.lst... I've tried that. twice. with no luck.
I have EFI on sda1, Mac OS X on sda2 and Arch root on sda3.
My menu.lst is pretty much standard with
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
for both Arch and the Arcch fallback.
I'm not sure what else to try. I can give more information, but I'm not sure what else to give.
Thanks in advance .
Last edited by Weird Fishes (2009-06-14 15:34:31)

I know exactly what the problem is.
If you're using rEFIt, sync your partition tables (should be the menu item called 'Partitioning Tool'). The problem is that GRUB has been installed, but doesn't know where to find the Arch partition.
After syncing, you may find that the boot process hangs at the Linux logo on a gray background. No worries — just reboot and the problem should fix itself.
N.B. You will need to do a partition table sync every time you change your hard drive's layout.

"Missing Operating System" on boot?

My Windows side was working perfectly until very recently, where it now displays a "Missing Operating System" error in the BIOS when I start it up.
I have tried to use EASEUS File Recovery to no avail and it detects the wrong files; OS X also displays the wrong files in my Windows Drive (it appears as if it was a fresh install of Windows). The Windows 7 install DVD does not recognize my OS as being there and I have no idea what to do.
Any help or suggestions? Or do I need to format my drive and lose all my years school work? (I didn't backup Windows only OS X with Time Machine)
Thanks

In fact I've already tried with Ext3 and exFAT, but it didn't work. Even only erasing without creating a new partition doesn't work.
I already have the driver for read/write on NTFS
The hatter wrote:
You moved Windows to higher number.
Okay , but I just want to remove the partition to a lower one, so He can see the OS, without having to reinstall the whole thing, is it possible ?

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp since installing Lion.

I cannot access bootcamp since installing Lion, either through Bootpicker or after holding down the option key after restart. I get the message "Missing operating system." I have access to the bootcamp partition. It shows up on my Mac desktop and was able to run disk verify and repair on it from disk utility. No change. I am using a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Did Lion relabel the bootcamp disk when it created the recovery disk? Thanks.

See here the solution:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3199163?start=0&tstart=0

HT3986 how do I make windows my default operating system when I open my notebook that has boot camp installed

how do I make windows my default operating system when I open my Mac notebook that has boot camp installed

In OSX go to System Preferences>Startup Disk, choose whichever you want.

T420 running Windows 7 has "missing operating system"

While working on my laptop, the computer crashed and later gave me a "missing operating system" message. I don't have any Windows 7 discs; I saw on the forum instructions for fixing ThinkPads running Vista, but not Win 7. Does anyone have experience with how to fix this? Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

what did you see when pressing the thinkvantage button during the boot cycle? if nothing, then something may have damaged the boot loader on the hdd. i believe there is a lenovo utility that can fix accessibility to the recovery partition and allow you to use the rescue & recovery tools there.
if that's a no-go, then try out zoltanthegypsy's suggestion of obtaining a win7 boot/fixit disk. or, lastly, if your t420 is still under warranty, you might try contacting lenovo about purchasing a full recovery dvd set matching the coa on the bottom of the macine. last i heard, they run about $50, but they will work to restore the machine to the factory state when first shipped.
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество
Community Resources: Participation Rules • Images in posts • Search (Advanced) • Private Messaging
PM requests for individual support are not answered. If a post solves your issue, please mark it so.
X1C3 Helix X220 X301 X200T T61p T60p Y3P • T520 T420 T510 T400 R400 T61 Y2P Y13
I am not a Lenovo employee.

T60 Missing operating system

Hi!
I have a un IBM thinkPad T 60. When I press thinkVantage button during boot up, the Predesktop Area doesn't load. There's only "Missing operating system" message displayed.
I had before a message that I doesn’t understand but the computer copy on my external hard disk directory with name Preboot, MinNT et RRbackups.
Some one understand what is not OK ? Thanks

cestvert welcome to the forums,
If you have acess to another IBM/lenovo system you may want to repair the R&R program by pressing the F11 key or want to repair the MBR(if your service partition is still intact).
follow this link and download the program for your appropriate OS
Important: For Windows Vista systems, do not save the file in C:\ directory. When prompted, select a drive and directory in which to save the downloaded file. Be sure to select a path that does not have a space in its name.
Cheers and regards,
• » νιנαｿѕαяα∂нι ѕαмανє∂αм ™ « •
●๋•کáŕádhí'ک díáŕý ツ
I am a volunteer here. I don't work for Lenovo

Missing Operating System

I have a Lenovo T500 Thinkpad. I turned off my laptop and now when I turn on the laptop I receive a message that states "Missing operating system". I do not have any recovery disk or install disk. How do I fix this error? The only thing that I have been able to access is via the blue ThinkVantage key. I receive a screen that has a Startup Interrupt Menu with three options. ESC to resume normal startup, F1 to enter the BIOS Setup Utility or F12 to choose a temporary startup device. I see the messages where the drives are partitioned and I should be able to set back to factory standards somehow, but I sure don't know how to even begin. Can anyone help me, as I am clueless.
Thank you

Hi kew659 and welcome to the forum!
Per support page, your T500 came with Win XP pro. Even if you contact lenovo to buy recovery discs, I think they would only sell you Win XP media.
Try following, it will work if you had a good recovery partition of Vista or XP:- http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS013955
Maliha (I don't work for lenovo)
ThinkPads:- T400[Win 7], T60[Win 7], IBM 240[Win XP]
IdeaPad: U350
Apple:- Macbook Air [Snow Leopard]
Did someone help you today? Compliment them with a Kudos!
Was your question answered today? Mark it as an Accepted Solution!
Lenovo Deutsche Community Lenovo Comunidad en Español
Visit my YouTube Channel

Missing Operating System Error

Hello, my aunt asked me to fix her computer but I fix game systems. She had it for a few years, Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5892(model # PSLC0U-02501F).When I turned it on, it said press F2 for Setup Utility and F12 for Boot Manager.After everything, it says " Missing Operating System".I tried everything on setup and boot manager, took hard drive out and put back in, took memory put and put back in , took big battery and put it back.Please Help!!!!!!!

Can you get it into the bios setup screen. If so is the hard drive listed. It sounds to me like a hard drive failure. If you replace the hard drive you will also probably have to buy a set of recovery disks unless your aunt made a set.
L875D-S7232 (Win 8.1)

"Missing operating system" help!

Hey all,
My Mini's hard drive died the other day, so I installed a new one. I have the OSX dvd in my drive, and when I go to boot up, I get an error message "Missing operating system."
If I try to boot from CD by holding down the C button on my keyboard, nothing happens -- same error message. It appears my USB keyboard isn't powered.
Any ideas?

The Apple Aluminum keyboard doesn't work with the startup keys on the mini.
You can use your Apple remote instead: as soon as you hear the startup chime or beep, hold down the menu button on the remote. It will put disc icon up on the screen that you can select with your mouse.
Keep in mind that you need to use the install disc that shipped with your model of Mini -- or else a full retail version.

"Missing Operating System" when I boot to Vista after OSX 1.3 firmware upda

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for