To use bootrec, load the Windows Vista repair environment as detailed above, then go to the advanced options screen and open the command prompt.

From the command prompt, type 'bootrec /scanos' and press ENTER.

This command scans your hard disks for any Vista installations that are not currently included in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) table which the Vista boot manager uses.

In the screenshot above, BootRec has detected a 'rogue' Vista installation which is not included in the BCD and thus is not bootable (or visible to the Vista startup repair process).

If the bootrec /scanos command gives you a result, you should be able to continue the repair process. If it does not, you may wish to run diagnostic software on your hard disk drive again (as covered above) since it may not be possible to repair your problem. See our 'worst case scenario' section below for more details.

Recovering 'lost' Windows Vista installations

Assuming that you got a result from the 'bootrec /scanos' command as covered above, you can now proceed with getting your lost Vista lamb back into the secure BCD table fold and making it bootable again.

First let's make sure your computer is working with a clean Master Boot Record (MBR), the first sector of the hard drive which acts as both an introduction and a table of contents for the Vista 'book' to get metaphorical for a second. From the command prompt, type 'bootrec /fixmbr' and hit ENTER, followed by 'bootsect.exe /nt60 all /force' and ENTER again.

What you have just done is created a new MBR (in case errors in the first sector of the hard drive or a virus corrupted the old one) and told it to use the Windows Vista boot loader to load Vista installations present on any of the hard disks in your computer. If you receive an 'element not found' error when entering either command, proceed to the section below for help.