Fix MBR - Comments Page 4

Usually if you have destroyed your MBR, (or, like me have removed the partition where grub resides (for dual boot, yes)) there is an easy fix. Sift through your old floppies, and get a DOS floppy from it. Boot it, and type "fdisk /mbr". Job done.

No need for XP boot cd's (some pc's just come with a re-install disk, no possibility to boot into repair console from M$) or Administrator passwords. Just a good old floppy.

PS: I have to take back my words to my friend Jan; I now agree floppy drives can be good for something after all :)

i have a problem -- i have dual boot in my system. in c drive i have vista and in d drive i have xp installed.and my problem is that my system only boots vista not xp and i want my boot operatig system to boot by choosing. i have tried everything to fix it.but no progress.
sometime it says ntldr file missing or sometime it says problem in mbr so i dont know what to do so can you help me out.
i dont want to format all drive and again install so please help me out from this problem

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sounds like the FIXBOOT command might help you.

I am receiving messenger service pop ups from system to alert.stating(Stop! immediate attention required) windows has found critical systems errors in my registry. and one from another registry cleaner... I have used windows recovery to fix my mbr several times and I still receive this message pop up, I have even re installed my windows xp several times... how can I resolve this issue? please help me I cannot even play a pc game without interference.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's a page with instructions on how to turn off the Windows Messenger Service: http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/

I have a compaq laptop and needed to format it. It came with a recovey partion. After running the recovery program i got a an 'mbr error' when booting. When using a xp cd it says that it doesn't detect a hard drive. Any suggestions about what to do? Btw, before running the recovery program there was no 'mbr error'.

EDITOR'S NOTE: That means your Master Boot Record on the hard drive got whacked. You can use the Recovery Console (http://askbobrankin.com/recovery_console.html) or look on this site for the TESTDISK program link.

I have a problem with my harddrive.Last day, I found a bad sectors in my c: partition and I've changed my first boot sector on my harddisk using XP boot CD and then restarted my computer.At that time, my harddisk was known in CMOS detection setting. It clearly show my HD informations such as cylinders,heads,sectors,etc..). Then, memory detection is ok. But, HD detection has error. HDD error.. Press F1 to resume.
So,How can I detect my HD? It only show in CMOS. But actually can't detect. Please help me!

EDITOR'S NOTE: If your BIOS cannot detect the drive, there is a serious problem with the disk. You may need a data recovery service. See http://askbobrankin.com/hard_drive_recovery.html

I have a really serious problem which i havnt been able to solve in over 6 months. I have an Acer Travelmate 3290 Core 2 Duo notebook. The problem is, when I bootup, the normal bootup screen stays up for about 10 mins and then the screen displays "Operating System not found". I tried changing the order in Boot Setup, but the Hard Disk is not detected. I know the HD works becouse i connected as an external hard and it's detected without a problem. The funny part is, when the HD is not in the laptop socket, the bootup screen barely stays up for 2 seconds. Hope someone can assist me.... Thanks....

EDITOR'S NOTE: DId you try any of the suggested fixes to repair the master boot record?

I had a dual boot Windows XP and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 Update 4 system. I needed to remove the RHEL so it could be reinstalled fresh for some documentation and testing. So with the mindset of "no guts, no glory" I did the steps above i.e. fixmbr and then for the heck of it also did a fixboot. The system rebooted fine into Windows XP. There were no GRUB complaints, problems, or any issues. I can only vouch for RHEL WS 4 U 4 and not other Linux flavor.

Im getting a GBUB 21 error and I cant even get to the recovery console! When booting from XP CD, it gets to where its supposed to ask you if you want to install or repair but I get a BSOD and a stop error with an error in dmboot.sys
Anything I can do?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, the problem could be a damaged Setup CD, a defective CDROM drive (or cable), or flaky RAM memory. I would swap them out in that order to resolve.

THIS IS TO : Lima

IF you're running on a windows xp os then you should be able to change the boot sequence with some ease. 1. restart you computer then press the key required to enter Setup which is usually F9. 2.go to The obvious option to change your boot order

HI, I put a lot o load work onto my maxtor 40 gb HD as I let the PC on all the night almost every night for downloads... well the problem is today morning the computer was freezed and doing this clicking noise, boot disk failure on reboot no symptoms before that (a year and a half since I own it). Then I ran a bartpe cd, in the first run it didnt recognized the drive but did recognize my secondary HD a Western Digital 160 gb, I was freaked out then I ran the bartpe again and this time there was the Maxtor drive fully functional I even did copies of my important files into the secondary drive. then i tried to boot again...nothing "boot disk failure insert... blah blah". now in the second intent of booting the OS started and here I'm what could have possibly caused this. No recent HW adds just some deep cleaning yesterday morning (the computer worked nice that whole day after that).sorry for the lenght of the post.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sounds like your boot record got hosed. If the FIXBOOT command doesn't work, try the TESTDISK program mentioned often on this site.