Bootmgr is missing AND F11 doesn't work

[LadyMifty]

So I was following internet instructions on how to reset my laptop to factory settings without a CD or recovery manager. It told me to go to view my drive partitions and make C: drive "active". I did that. Then my laptop reset, and came up to a screen saying bootmgr is missing, push "CTRL, ALT, delete" to reset.

Ok, so apparently I screwed up that factory reset. My bad.

So looking on the internet again to fix this problem, I find that I should buy a windows reinstallation kit. Once I have it, I should reset the laptop and push F11 over and over to get to a system restore screen. Problem: F11 isn't doing anything. Nothing at all. So I haven't bought the reinstallation kit because I'm not sure if I can make it run with F11 doing nothing.

Now what??

Additional info: this is a HP Pavilion dm1z-4200 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC with Windows 7. A GeekSquad agent said I fried my hard drive, but he's also the same guy who said that my screen couldn't be fixed so I should buy a new laptop. I fixed the screen myself after he said that for $35. I don't believe him on  this issue either. I don't think there's essentially a self-destruct sequence that I activated, so I think he's full of it. Please let me know!

[Huffer]

You are doing pretty well following the internet, right? I mean do you want honest advice or are you going to lump us in with Geek Squad? You borked it up by making the C:\ drive "active". On Windows 7 the active boot partition is likely a smaller "system" partition. That advice was good for Windows XP but beginning with Vista the boot mechanism is a little different. So where are you now? If you turn it completely off and then back on what do you see on the screen? Can you get into BIOS (F10) as you power up? There is a hard drive self-test in there that will settle the issue of whether the hard drive is bad. It pains me to agree with the Geek Squad or even say they might be right, but they might be right and we can use science to know for sure. The Geek Squad guy meant they can't fix the screen. $35 is an exceptionally low price but I keep preaching the gospel here that laptop screens have come way down in price and replacing them is not hard. Sometimes people even follow my advice but mostly they really would rather have a new laptop.

[LadyMifty]

I certainly do want honest advice. I just don't know if I should trust GeekSquad when they said that I should just buy a new computer when the screen just needed to be replaced. It seems like that guy just wants me to buy a new computer and not fix anything, especially since that isn't the first time I was told to buy a new computer when it wasn't hard to fix it. But if other people here start agreeing with him in this instance, then I know that he had actually given me good advice on this issue.

When I turn it on and then off, I see a black screen that says that bootmgr is missing and to push "CTRL, ALT, delete" to restart. When I push F10 I get a screen with information about my laptop and ability to change the admin name and password, and some other stuff. On the top it says "InsydeH20 Setup Utility". Is that what you are asking me to look at? I don't see a spot that says anything about hard drive self-test. Is there something I need to do on that page to get to it?

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your help! 🙂 I definitely want to fix my laptop and not buy a new one. I can't the money for even a cheap laptop. 

And keep preaching about laptop screens! It wasn't too hard at all, and not too pricey either!

[LadyMifty]

Oh, after playing around a little bit, I found that if I push ESC while starting up the computer I can get to a screen with options. F11 (system restore) doesn't do anyhting, but F2 (system diagnostics) brings me up to a page where I can test my hard drive. I'm doing it now. It says it'll be done in 2 hrs. I'll let you know what the results are then!

[LadyMifty]

So the results for the extensive hard drive test show that everything passed. It says, "SMART check: passed and Long DST: passed"

[LadyMifty]

Should I just buy a windows reinstallation kit even though I can get F11 to do anything? Is there something else I can do?

[Huffer]

F11 is used when the laptop has a working recovery partition on the hard drive. So if F11 does not work, that is not a reason NOT to get a recovery disk, it is the reason you HAVE to get a recovery disk.

[LadyMifty]

Ok, so all I have to do is get the reinstallation kit and then just stick it in? This is very good news! I thought I needed F11 to run the disk.

[Huffer]

Yeah please don't make it any harder than it is. Put the disk in...tap esc + f9 or just f9 to select booting from the recovery disk and off you go. 

[LadyMifty]

Ok, so I got the USB to reinstall windows. I ran the program a few times, but each time I had a problem. Right at the end of it trying to install windows, I'd get this popup screen. What do I do now??