How to Solve Winload.exe Corruption after Resizing Windows Vista Partition? by Elfin Ruler

Windows Vista Disk Partitioning scheme is different from earlier Windows versions. Windows Vista partitions require some reserved space before the primary partition, so most of the partitioning software may fail at this point. Though Windows Vista and Windows 7 include built-in features that allow to expand and shrink disk partitions with no data loss, but partitioning software are still used. One common issue related with such software are that they can cause boot problems to a Windows Vista-based system. As a result, the data stored on Windows partitions become inaccessible and compel you to restore it from the latest backup available. If backup doesn't work, use of a partition recovery software is recommended.

To illustrate such problems, suppose you use Windows Vista-based computer. You use GParted (the bootable Linux CD used to manage disk partitions) to resize your Windows Vista partition. After this, you find that you cannot boot into the computer and receive the following error:

File:\windows\system32\winload.exe Status:0xc000000f Info:The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt.

Cause

You have resized your boot/system partition with GParted that has corrupted the Winload.exe file of Windows Vista. Winload.exe is the Windows Vista boot loader that is called by Windows Boot Manager to load Windows kernel and device drivers. Windows cannot boot without this file being absent or corrupt.

Solution

To solve Winload.exe corruption in this case, you should repair the Windows installation by following these steps:

Insert the Windows Vista installation CD/DVD and boot your computer from it. You receive a Welcome screen, at which you need to click 'Next'. Click 'Repair your computer' at the next screen. The System Recovery Options box will appear asking you to 'Repair and Restart'. Click it.

The Windows Vista will start running as normal if the computer repair succeeds. If not, your computer will remain unbootable. In such situations, you should recover the inaccessible data using partition recovery utilities. However, if you have full backup, you can go for formatting and clean Windows install. Partition Recovery Software are scanning-based utilities with high competency to recover lost or deleted Windows partitions safely.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is an advanced, yet safe, utility with rich graphical features to provide easy data recovery. The comprehensive partition recovery utility supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000. The tool is available with quality features, which include Disk Cloning, Disk Imaging, Drive Status and more.