Error message when you start Windows Vista: "The Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information"

When you start Windows Vista, you receive the following error message:

File: \Boot\BCD
Status: 0xc0000034

Info: The Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information

This error occurs when either of the following conditions is true:The Windows Bo...
This error occurs when either of the following conditions is true:

- The Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr) entry is not present in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store.
- The Boot\BCD file on the active partition is damaged or missing.

To resolve this problem, use the following methods in the order in which they ar...
To resolve this problem, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented.

Method 1: Repair the BCD store by using the Startup Repair option
You can use the Startup Repair option in the Windows Recovery Environment to repair the BCD store. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
2. Press a key when you are prompted.
3. Select a language, a time, a currency, and a keyboard or another input method, and then click Next.
4. Click Repair your computer.
5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Startup Repair.
7. Restart the computer.


Method 2: Rebuild the BCD store by using the Bootrec.exe tool
If the previous method does not resolve the problem, you can rebuild the BCD store by using the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
2. Press a key when you are prompted.
3. Select a language, a time, a currency, and a keyboard or another input method, and then click Next.
4. Click Repair your computer.
5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
7. Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd, and then press ENTER.
- If the Bootrec.exe tool runs successfully, it presents you with an installation path of a Windows directory. To add the entry to the BCD store, type Yes. A confirmation
message appears that indicates the entry was added successfully.
- If the Bootrec.exe tool cannot locate any missing Windows installations, you must remove the BCD store, and then you must re-create it. To do this, type the following
commands in the order in which they are presented. Press ENTER after each command.

Bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
Bootrec /rebuildbcd

8. Restart the computer.

Patch Tuesday heads-up: Critical Windows, IE fixes coming

Microsoft plans to ship 10 security bulletins next Tuesday (June 9, 2009) with fixes for a wide range of code execution vulnerabilities affecting Windows, Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer. Six of the ten bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating.

This month’s batch of patches will not include a fix for the DirectShow vulnerability that’s currently being used in drive-by download attacks against Windows Media Player.

You may have noticed that we are not announcing an update for the DirectShow vulnerability addressed in Security Advisory 971778. Our security teams are working hard on a security update that addresses this issue to protect customers, but we do not yet have an update that has reached the appropriate level of quality for broad distribution. We continue to monitor the situation closely and suggest customers follow the guidance provided in the advisory.

In the absence of that fix, Windows users should immediately consider disabling QuickTime parsing to thwart the ongoing attacks. This KB article provides fix-it button that automatically enables the workaround.

Microsoft also announced that an Office for Mac fix will be coming this month to address vulnerabilities already fixed in May’s MS09-017. Microsoft originally shipped fixes for Windows users but the Mac patches were not ready in time.

The image above captures the essence of this month’s fixes. Windows users should treat the IE and critical Windows patches with the utmost priorities. Businesses considered at high-risk of targeted attacks should immediately test and deploy the Microsoft Office patches.

The Windows patches will be available all versions of the operating system — Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft fixes Bing bug

Microsoft today said it had fixed a bug in Bing that had infuriated Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) users when they discovered that the company's new search engine had hijacked their browsers.

"Last night, we corrected the issue with Bing on machines running IE6," a Microsoft spokeswoman said Wednesday in an brief e-mailed reply to questions.

Starting Monday, when Microsoft took Bing live, IE6 users began complaining that although they had previously set other search engines as the default, searches typed into the browser were instead directed to Bing.

"Woke up this morning to discover that Bing had hijacked [my IE6 address bar search]," said a user identified as "clmerc" on a Google help message forum. [I] can't change it via search/customize on the IE tool bar."

"Bing seems to have hijacked many user-programmed search preferences away from Google," echoed "Jimpobg" on another help thread. "Since I didn't know what Bing was, I really thought my computer was infected with malicious software. Well, actually....it WAS. Sounds like classic Microsoft behavior."

Microsoft's spokeswoman ignored Computerworld's questions about the root cause of the problem, but one user on the Google forum explained that IE6 uses a Windows registry key to parse unknown text, such as a search phrase, that's typed into the address bar. "The problem is, Microsoft developed their URL SearchHook to do one thing: Take the unknown text from the address bar and add it to the URL http://auto.search.msn.com/response.asp?MT=text+from+addressbar&srch=4&prov=gogl&utf8," said "Kilyo" on the same thread as clmerc. "But Bing stopped acknowledging [search] provider requests."

Some users were clearly unsympathetic, and blasted the complainers for running an ancient browser. "If you use IE6, you deserve as much pain and suffering as humanly possible," said someone labeled "positrongoo."

IE6 debuted in August 2001, about two months before Microsoft launched Windows XP. According to U.S-based metrics vendor Net Applications, IE6 accounted for 16.9% of all browsers used last month. Rival StatCounter, however, pegged IE6's share over the last 30 days at a slightly-higher 21.6%.

Microsoft may have agreed with positrongoo. Yesterday, when it first acknowledged that Bing had hijacked the search preferences of IE6, it urged users to ditch the old browser. "We apologize for any inconvenience [this] has caused," Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday. "In the meantime, we encourage customers to upgrade to IE8."

Today, Microsoft again implicitly pushed people to upgrade. "This issue did not impact IE7 and IE8 users," the company spokeswoman said.

A Google employee confirmed that Microsoft had, in fact, fixed the Bing bug. "We've been monitoring [this] very closely and are pleased that Microsoft is now reporting that the problem should be fixed," said "Jaime" early Wednesday on the two Google help forums. "If anyone is still having this problem, I'd very much appreciate your posting here to let me know."

As of late Wednesday, no one had stepped forward on the threads to report they were still seeing Bing rather than their preferred provider.

Net Applications noted that Bing surged to a 6% share of the search market within hours of going live, but said most of its traffic came at the expense of Microsoft's legacy search engines, MSN's search and Windows Live Search. Both of those services now automatically process search requests using Bing.

Vista Wireless Connection Is Periodically Lost

When you try to use a wireless network adapter to connect to a Microsoft MN-500 or MN-700 Wireless Base Station, you may notice that the wireless connection drops periodically. This issue may occur at seemingly random intervals, from several minutes to an hour or more.

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

- There is a problem with the firmware for your base station.
- IEEE 802.1X authentication is enabled.
- Your universal serial bus (USB) wireless adapter is experiencing problems that are related to the USB bus.
- Your Internet is a DSL connection that uses Point to Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) authentication.

To determine and resolve this issue, use the following procedures in the order they are presented. After you complete each procedure, test to see whether the problem is resolved. Continue to the next procedure if it is not.

Part 1: Disable IEEE 802.1X Authentication

Examine each computer that is experiencing the symptoms described in this article, and disable IEEE 802.1X authentication. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Network and Internet, click Network and Sharing Center, and then click Manage network connections.
3. Right-click the network that you want to disable 802.1X authentication for, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Security tab, and then, in the Security Type list, click No authentication (Open).


Part 2: Update Firmware
To update the base station firmware, follow these steps.

Connect to your base station and to the Internet to follow these steps, if the following conditions are true:

- If you lose your connection only after a long time, follow these steps while your connection is working.
- Use a network cable to connect to your base station.

1. In the Broadband Network Utility (BNU), on the Tools menu, click Base Station Management Tool.
2. Type your user name and password to log on to the Base Station Management tool.
3. In the menu pane, point to Management, and then click Upgrade Firmware.
4. Under Current Base Station Firmware Version, note the version and date listed.
5. Follow the steps that are listed under To upgrade the base station firmware.


Part 3: USB Wireless Network Adapters

If you have a USB wireless network adapter, you may experience problems that are related to the limitations of USB. If you have multiple USB devices, the USB network adapter may share data bandwidth, power, or both to a degree that it causes you to experience the symptoms that are described in this article.

To resolve this issue, try the following suggestions:

- If your computer has more than one USB bus (two USB ports typically share one USB bus), connect the wireless network adapter to its own USB bus. Connect your other USB devices to a different USB bus.
- Disconnect any unused or unnecessary USB devices.
- Use a powered USB hub to connect the network adapter to the computer.