08-24-2009, 11:17 AM

I am running DualBoot on a MacBook with a base operating system of OS X version 10.4.11. My other operating system, which I installed myself, is Windows Vista. When my laptop starts up, I usually hold down the ALT key and then I can choose to run either OS X or Vista.

My problem is that startup of Windows Vista no longer works. I am able to start OS X just fine and run it without problems, which suggests that this is not a hardware issue. But when I try to run Windows Vista, the system loads for a few seconds and then restarts. I have tried running Vista in safe mode, but encounter the same problem. The inability to start in safe mode began when I was attempting to do a system restore from safe mode and my battery ran out. The system restore never completed and now Vista-side will not start at all.

My instinct is that I will have to reinstall or at least repair Vista to get it working again. There are files on the Windows side that I currently cannot access and which would be painful to lose. Is there any way that I can repair the Vista side of things without losing my data? If not, does anyone know how to do a repair/reinstall in a DualBoot situation such as this?

08-24-2009, 02:00 PM

Repairing your computer: To repair your computer using Startup Repair follow these steps:

1. Boot into Vista installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and click Next
3. Click Repair your computer
4. Choose your operating system and click Next. This should bring up System Recovery Options.
5. Click on Startup Repair

from: Windows RE Notes : Using Startup Repair to repair a boot failure due to a missing file

I THINK this would work, but no garuantees ^^