Resolve Winload.exe Error In Vista

The winload.exe file is used by the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system during boot up. It is recommended that you do not remove this file. Deleting this file can cause problems with your Vista operating system and may prevent it from booting.

By default, this process starts automatically when you start your Vista computer. The default location of the winload.exe file is C:\Windows\System32\Winload.exe.

Winload.exe error

While installing Vista, you may receive the following error at startup:

“Windows did not start correctly
File \Windows\System\winload.exe "could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt: " – status: 0xc000000e”

Recommended Solution

Run the Startup Repair tool using the Windows Vista CD

You may fix the above error by running the startup repair tool by using the Vista CD. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the Vista Installation CD in your CD/DVD ROM and boot your computer from the CD.
2. Now, select your language preferences and click the Next button.
3. Next, select Repair your computer.
4. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, select the Windows operating system you need to repair.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Startup Repair in the System Recovery Options to start the repair process.
7. Finally, click Finish after the repair process is complete.

In case the above steps fail to resolve the winload.exe error, run the chkdsk command on the hard drive on which you have installed Vista. Chkdsk is a command line utility that identifies and fixes bad sector, cross-linked files, and directory errors.

If chkdsk also fails to fix the error and you created a new partition on your hard drive to install Vista then the issue could be occurring because new drive is not visible in BIOS. To resolve this issue, manually change the BIOS settings so that it recognizes the new hard drive on which you have installed Vista.

Is Winload.exe a safe file?

Winload.exe is safe file from Microsoft. However, various malware programs tend to use files that have the similar or same names as genuine processes. If you suspect that you might have an unsolicited process running on your system, check the list of currently running processes. To do this, click Ctrl+Alt+Del, and then click the Processes tab.

If you find any unsolicited process running, immediately perform a malware scan on your entire system using robust antimalware tools, such as Antivirus Plus and StopZilla. After you have removed the reported malware processes from your computer, run a registry scan using advanced registry cleaning software, such as RegGenie, to remove any invalid or harmful entries that the malware may have added to your registry.

I’ve accidentally deleted the winload.exe file – how do I recover it?

If you have mistakenly deleted winload.exe or any other important file, then you may use a reliable file recovery tool, such as Data Recovery Pro or Spotmau Powersuite to recover the lost files.