Windows 10: Bootmangr is missing error, only if i try and get in to the bios.

This is driving me nuts.
Im trying to get in to the bios (F2 or Del) so i can change the password. When hitting any key on the keyboard i get an error that Bootmangr is missing, and to re start my PC. If i dont try and get in to the bios Windows starts fine.
This is not random, its happening every time. I do have a password on the PC, and can enter that fine, but its just a user password which i need to change.

Iv never seen this happen in all my PC years, and while its not the end of the world i know its something that isnt right and will cause me issues later on.
The fact that Windows starts fine if i leave it to its own devices is the confusing part, as it means Bootmangr isnt missing or corrupt.
My thoughts are that by pressing a key down i might be causing the HDD to delay starting, and so giving me this error. Just a guess though.

Formatting and re installing answers are going to be helpful, as im not going to do this. Its always easier said than done. I need to figure out what the issue actual is, in case it happens again.

System is running Windows 10 64 bit, and its been working fine since Win 10 came out.
Ive done a start up recovery and no errors have been found.

Cheers for any help.

Dave.

:)

 

If I try to delete the Ghost folder I get the message "Could not find this file This is no longer located in C:\Users\(My name)\Downloads. Verify the item's location and try again."

Original title: Ghost Folder(s) in Download Directory

Over the last couple of weeks, after doing some downloads, I have moved the contents of the folder created in "Download" to another directory. In several cases it has left behind a "Ghost Folder". If I try to delete the folder I get the message "Could not
find this file. This is no longer located in C:\Users\(My name)\Downloads. Verify the item's location and try again." Restarts, restores, etc do not clear the problem.

If I use cmd with admin permissions to bring up the directory, the file is listed as being there but using "rmdir" to delete it also dumps an error stating the folder is not in that location. I preformed an error check on my C drive and no errors were found.

I know have 3 of these folders and it is getting annoying!

 

If I try to delete the Ghost folder I get the message "Could not find this file This is no longer located in C:\Users\(My name)\Downloads. Verify the item's location and try again."

Hi Pratiksha,

Thanks for the reply. I rebooted the PC into Safe mode and tried to delete the folders - all 3 of them - using both the file explorer and cmd (DOS) using rmdir /s /q . Same as before with same error messages saying that the file/folder does not exist.

As I have been using Windows - and before it existed, DOS - since it was first out, I tend to leave the view hidden folders/files/drives on anyway. There is nothing odd there and nothing else visible. If I click on the folders in question, it says "This
folder is empty".

As I said I have been using Windows a long time and have tried almost every version (some very much worse than others!) and I have never come across this before. So my supposition is that it is very much a Windows 10 specific problem.

If you have any further ideas please let me know.

Mike Sharpe

 

Hi fliplip and welcome to Tenforums.
It may help people to help you, if you fill in your system specs, so we know what kind of BIOS we're dealing with.
Thanks! *Smile

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm about 200 miles away from my PC so that's why the profile is as it is. All I can remember is its a 3 year old Asus MoBo. Can't fill the info in until Monday.

 

Is it BIOS passwords you want to change [there's 2 possibles] or the Windows login password? The BIOS can be set to first keep the computer booting to the OS/Operating System and the second is to prevent any changes to the BIOS settings including the other password. The BIOS passwords are not in much consumer use but are somewhat favored in businesses where more people would have access.

 

Thanks.

I have two bios passwords set, one is a user setting that locks the PC, the other is the bios admin password. My son found out the user password so I just want to change that. Ive used this method for years and it's only just stopped working over the past week.
The issue is I can't get in to the Bios, due to Windows failing if I hit a key on the keyboard to access the bios.
I have no trouble entering the user password, as that's the first screen that comes up when the computer is turned on.

I'm wondering if I should just do a system restore first to make sure it's not Windows causing any issues.

I hope that makes sense.

Im not a novice, I've been building all my own PC's for about 20 years, but do admit I'm not an expert either.

Dave.

 

Most of my computers don't use UEFI so they boot to the BIOS process which all occurs before the OS loads. If I can't get into those BIOS' I can't boot the computer.

 

fliplip, I want to make sure I understand. You can enter the user password to enter the OS with no problem. But you cannot enter BIOS? Is that correct? I know you said you have been building computers for quite awhile, but are you sure you are entering the BIOS boot key at the proper time? I ask because, it is my understanding that at startup the BIOS goes through the initialization then turns the boot process over to the hard drive. You enter BIOS before the process turns it over to the hard drive. So, the problem, as I understand it, cannot be the OS because the BIOS entry is made before the OS becomes involved. Therefore I would suspect a problem other than the OS.

What type of keyboard do you have? Could it be the issue? Here is a solution you may try, assuming you have a UEFI Bios.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5...dows-10-a.html. I don't believe it will work with a legacy bios, but it may be worth a try.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

First off, thus has been working perfectly on this PC for about 3 years, with Windows 7, 8 and now 10, and I've had other PC's that I do this with. I know when and how to hit the relevant keys, and have no issues with entering the bios password to allow the PC to hand over to the OS so it boots ok. Letting it do this works fine 100% of the time.
Once the password has been entered I see a screen that shows the MoBo name and at the bottom is a line of text that says hit F2 one Del to enter Bios. Normally doing this, at this time will evoke a new password box, and once the correct password is entered I get in to the Bios set up screens.
At the moment if I hit either of those keys on the keyboard (I've also tried another keyboard), I get the Bootmangr file missing error, and i have to reboot. This makes no difference, same options/error depending on what I do.

Unfruatlualy I don't have a UEFI bios boot option under Advanced start up settings.

I too can't see how it's a OS issue, BUT it's Windows that is complaining it can't find the boot file. As I know the Bios hasn't changed I can only assume something in the OS is causing this.

Possible that the C: drive is stalling when I press a key maybe?

 

I was not trying to make it sound quite like it did when I made that suggestion. I was simply trying to "logic" it out. I don't recall ever hearing of a problem like this before. I thought I had encountered every possible problem that could happen, but obviously not.

I have had both Legacy and UEFI installs on this computer at different times. It does not matter which, the process for entering the BIOS is the same, although I don't use passwords.

 

No offence taken, I too have never seen this happen before. Normally I can figure these things out, but not this as I've not seen it happen before. I'm just not sure where to look. I could re set the bios by taking the battery out and shorting it out, but as this is post bios I'm not sure that would help.
ill post back if I do figure it out, but I can't do anything until Monday when I'm back home.

 

I'm sorry, I don't have any other suggestions for you. I really don't know of another one.