Fix: "boot from hard drive ..." error for Vista and Parallels

The Problem
I did something to my Boot Camp installation of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, and I don't know what that something is.

When I launch My Boot Camp in Parallels Desktop, it hangs on the black screen with a persistent "Boot from hard drive ..." message. While Vista hangs during boot in Parallels, it works just fine booting by itself. Ugh.

The Fix
I browsed many forums in search of a solution; none worked for me. Bound and determined, I decided something had to be done.

This fix is inspired by the information found at Microsoft's website that describes how to use bootrec.exe in the Windows Recovery Environment.

The steps below outline how I configured Parallels to boot to the Windows Vista installation DVD to access the Windows Recovery Environment and how I used bootrec.exe to fix the master boot record on my Boot Camp partition. The figures at right are screen shots of the steps.

1. Start by modifying the boot devices in your Parallels Boot Camp configuration. Under the advanced tab of Hard Disk 1, change the device connection from IDE 0:0 to IDE 0:1.
   
   
2. Select Yes to the warning message, and Parallels will automatically set the CD/DVD device connection to IDE 0:0. This will configure Parallels to boot to the Windows Vista installation DVD.
   
   
3. Stick the Windows Vista installation DVD into the optical drive, and run the Boot Camp virtual machine inside Parallels. Hard drive booting will fail, and Parallels will continue to boot from the DVD.
   
   
4. Select Next at the Windows Vista installation welcome screen, and then choose to repair your Windows installation.
   
   
5. Windows will search for installations and prompt you with a list; choose your installation and select Next.
   
   
6. At this point, Windows will attempt to repair your installation. If you've done this before, the repair may fail, and you must select to view the advanced options for system recovery and support. Otherwise, the list of options will present itself.
   
   
7. Choose the option to open a command prompt window.
   
   
8. This is the step that involves the information at Microsoft's website. Execute the the following command:
   
   bootrec /fixboot
   
   
9. Wait for the operation to complete successfully, and then execute this command:
   
   bootrec /fixmbr
   
   
10. Wait for the operation to complete successfully, and then close the command prompt window and select to restart the computer.
    
    
11. Stop the virtual machine while it attempts to reboot.
    
    
12. Return the boot devices back to their original configurations (see steps 1 and 2 above). Under the advanced tab of Hard Disk 1, change the device connection from IDE 0:1 to IDE 0:0.
    
    
13. Select Yes to the warning message, and Parallels will automatically set the CD/DVD device connection back to IDE 0:1. This will configure Parallels to boot to the hard drive as normal.
    
    
14. If all went well, your Boot Camp installation of Windows Vista will no longer hang at "Boot from hard drive ..." as a Parallels virtual machine.