Hard drive, partitions cloned but XP says "no bootable device"

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Level 1

11 points

Hard drive, partitions cloned but XP says "no bootable device"

Hi all, another question relating to "no bootable device" but I can't find a solution to this particular issue on the forums...

I've upgraded the HD in my MacBook Pro and used Disk Utility (via the Snow Leopard CD) to 'restore' both the OSX and Windows partitions.

OSX boots fine and the Windows partition is listed in Sys Pref > Startup Disks and Finder. But the Windows partition will not show when holding Option key at boot and using Startup Disk causes the "no bootable device" error.

Does this error come from the Mac BIOS or Windows? Anyone know of a quick fix?

Many thanks,
M.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Mar 19, 2011 4:37 AM

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Answer 1

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The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

Mar 19, 2011 5:35 AM in response to Mateus109

Rather easy, Disk Utility can't image and restore Windows, you need to use software that understands Windows and MBR. You will need access to your original drive, but why not just do a clean install.

There is a new thread every day.

Take a look into Clonzilla, CopyCatX, Paragon HD Manager, or the old WinClone.

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Answer 2

Mateus109 Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 19, 2011 8:04 AM in response to The hatter

Thank Hatter for the info on Clonzilla, CopyCatX, Paragon HD Manager, and WinClone. I obviously should have done more homework before assuming Disk Utility would work

I'll try an XP Repair first before doing a clean reinstall. Reinstalling all my Windows application would be a real pain.

I've also tried FIXMBR, FIXBOOT, BOOTCFG /rebuild, copying various files from the recover CD, etc, etc as suggested on Windows forums but this hasn't helped.

M.

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