An interstate colleague copied the contents of a Windows 7 install disc onto the network, and I copied the network files to my desktop.
I burned the files onto a blank DVD, as they appear on the original DVD.
However, a laptop won't boot from this DVD. The extension bay is set to boot before the HDD.
When I press F11 during startup, I receive a message saying "BOOTMGR is missing". The file "bootmgr" is present on the DVD, in the root directory.
Why won't the burned DVD boot?
The boot file wasn't added. Much like OS installations hide the bootloader in the first sectors of the hard drive, the installation discs use a hidden boot file. Without that file there is NO way to make the disc bootable. The boot file is located in the /boot folder of the directory you downloaded. You will need to use a program like IMGBurn, or PowerISO that support manually adding a boot file, to make a disc bootable.
In which-ever program you decide to use you will need to use the add boot file option, and browse to /boot/etfsboot.com, that is the file you need.
If you'd like you can get an installation disc from here: https://superuser.com/a/305434/383497 this would be much less work.
