[SOLVED] Grub Not Detecting Windows

Question

Hello,
So here's the scenario:
I initially had Ubuntu and Windows 8, but couldn't boot, so I used boot-repair (via live Ubuntu), and it got fixed; I could use Windows 8 again (Ubuntu didn't matter).
I then deleted Ubuntu, then installed Arch instead. Grub was successfully installed, Arch and Windows 8 are shown, except when I choose Windows 8, it goes to the Windows Boot Manager (which shows a single choice of Windows 8). When I choose it, it says that it failed to start.
File: \Windows\system32\config\system
Status: 0xc000025
Info: The operating system couldn't be loaded because the system registry file is missing or contains errors.
How can I get it to work as before?
I've tried using a custom.cfg as suggested in the manual
menuentry "Windows 8"{
set root="(hd0,1)"
chainloader +1
The entry showed up after running grub-mkconfig, except that it did the same thing as the original choice detected by os-prober (as in the one during the installation mentioned above).
By the way here's my partition layout:
/dev/sda1 Windows System Reserved
/dev/sda2 Windows
/dev/sda3 Arch
I also tried to set root to (hd0,2), but it gave a similar error:
File: \Boot\BCD
Status: 0xc000000f
Info: The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains error.
I believe this is because I've tried to work with EasyBCD/BCDedit before.
Last edited by jddantes (2014-04-16 11:20:46)

Answer 1

Finally solved it!
It was more of a Windows problem than an Arch one. I used Live Ubuntu's GParted and noticed that my Windows partition (/dev/sda2) was marked by an exclamation point. I right-clicked to Information and this was the message:
ntfs_decompress_mapping_pairs: Input/output error NTFS is inconsistent. Please run chkdsk /f on Windows then reboot it TWICE!
I was starting to download a Windows 8 ISO, but thankfully I found out that you could create a recovery drive from an existing Windows 8 installation (I had another computer).
Failed attempts:
There was no reinstall option for me (looking back at it, that's a good thing), so I went for the Fix Startup Problems options. I ran it thrice and I stopped because it finally said that it couldn't fix it.
I had no System Restore Points either.
I wanted to see if the Continue to Windows 8 option would magically be able to boot it, but after the screen froze for 2-3 minutes, I rebooted and went for the Command Prompt.
More failed attempts with the Command Prompt:
I was able to find this http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For … proinstall
The instructions were:
Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd, and then press ENTER.
If the Bootrec.exe tool runs successfully, it presents you with an installation path of a Windows directory. To add the entry to the BCD store, type Yes. A confirmation message appears that indicates the entry was added successfully.
If the Bootrec.exe tool cannot locate any missing Windows installations, you must remove the BCD store, and then you must re-create it. To do this, type the following commands in the order in which they are presented. Press ENTER after each command.
Bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
Bootrec /rebuildbcd
Restart the computer.
So I tried, but it failed anyway. Then I began to notice. The current directory was X: (I was booting from the USB), and by some chance I managed to figure out that there were also C an D.
I searched for the command to display the disks:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000854.htm
wmic logicaldisk get name
What I wanted was E. (This is what will be C normally, with the Program Files and all). I also had F, which I will guess will be the free space remaining which I put aside for swap (it couldn't be accessed in the Prompt with dir f:).
I tried the above solution with E instead of C, but it failed.
What finally worked:
chkdsk /f e:
And now it boots when I choose it in Grub. Sometimes the Windows Boot Manager pops up, but whether it does so or not, Windows 8 loads properly.