Fix MBR
"I was trying to fix a spyware problem and it seems I messed up my computer. Now when I start Windows XP, I get the 'MBR Corrupt' and 'Error loading operating system' messages. What should I do?"
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Got a Damaged Master Boot Record?
Although those messages sound pretty scary, there's a good chance your hard drive is still intact. In most cases this problem can be fixed with a simple procedure that repairs your Master Boot Record (MBR). When you start your computer, the BIOS (basic input/output system) looks for the MBR on the first sector of your hard drive. The MBR tells the BIOS which partition on the hard drive contains the operating system.
So... if the MBR is damaged, the BIOS can't locate and start the operating system. When your BIOS detects a damaged MBR or boot sector, you'll see ominous messages like Invalid partition table, Error loading operating system, or Missing operating system. In some cases, dark clouds will apppear on the horizon, and you may hear the distant rumble of thunder. But fortunately, the Recovery Console offers some tools to help clear up the problem.
Repairing a Damaged MBR
Your Windows XP setup CDROM has a tool called the Recovery Console, which is designed to help you repair a damaged master boot record or boot sector. To start the Recovery Console and fix your damaged MBR, follow these steps:
- Restart your computer with the Windows XP Setup disk in the CDROM drive.
- If you are prompted to press a key to start the computer from CDROM, do so quickly. Otherwise it may try to boot from the hard drive.
- After a few minutes, you'll see a prompt to press the R key to start the Recovery Console.
- When Recovery Console starts, it will prompt you to enter a number corresponding to the Windows XP installation that you need to repair. In most cases, you'll enter "1" (which will be the only choice). If you press ENTER without typing a number, Recovery Console will quit and restart your computer.
- Enter your Administrator password. If you don't enter the correct password, you cannot continue.
- At the Recovery Console command prompt, type fixmbr and then verify that you want to proceed.
Your damaged MBR will be replaced with a shiny new one, and you should then be able to boot your system normally. In some cases, you may need to repair the boot sector in addition to the MBR. If your system still doesn't boot properly, repeat the steps above, but issue the fixboot command instead.
NOTE: These procedures assume that you have only one operating system installed. If you are an advanced user and have a multi-boot system with more than one operating system, you may need to do some additional reading about the fixmbr and fixboot commands at the Microsoft website.
Do you have experience with a damaged master boot record? Post your comments below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on June 7, 2006 08:59 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Fix MBR (Posted: June 7, 2006 08:59 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/fix_mbr.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Fix MBR"
(See all 85 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Romayne
27 May 2009
I'm having a problem getting my Admin password to work - presume it's the one I log into Windows with? At any rate I tried it twice plus also the one for the alternate Windows version on another drive, but neither were accepted. Finally I tried none at all, but that just bumped me out completely - could you perhaps clarify on what to do in such a situation?
EDITOR'S NOTE: This should help: http://www.askvg.com/how-to-reset-recover-forgotten-windows-nt-2000-xp-2003-administrator-password/
Posted by:
José Silva
29 May 2009
I used the command fixboot and I have solved my boot problem on XP
Thanks
Posted by:
higino Fonseca
07 Jun 2009
Hi,
First of all fantastic article.
Can you help me with my problem?
I have a laptop that I instaled Iatkos and it suddently gave me an error when accessing MBR it states:
Boot0: MBR
Boot0:done
Boot1:error (and stops here)
Since I can't access my hard drive on the laptop and the DVD how can I solve it up?
Thanks
Posted by:
Dave Wilson
29 Jul 2009
Does anyone know how to do this for a Solid State drive? Or any tools to use to fix a solid state drive? When I boot my Lenovo X300 laptop with solidstate drive all I get is a blinking cursor...No tools I've tried so far will let me access the boot partition.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In theory, the software shouldn't know or care if you have a solid-state or spinning platter disk. What tools have you tried, and what happened?
Posted by:
seema
17 Aug 2009
I have win XP in c drive and fedora 11 in f drive. To remove fedora, i run fixmbr command from the recovery console of Win XP bootable CD. Now my laptop is saying "operating system not found" Now wat to do. please help me if you are having a solution.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Your XP system is still there, don't worry. I think the FIXBOOT command will help.
Posted by:
sridhar
24 Aug 2009
i unknowingly cleared mbr. can i use this fixmbr
EDITOR'S NOTE: Seems like it can't hurt...
Posted by:
Michael Meyer
02 Sep 2009
I have windows xp sp 2. I'm getting the MBR error message. The internal cd/dvd drive that came with the computer doesn't work anymore. I have and external cd/dvd drive/burner. I changed the BIOS settings so that the removable device is first. I put the Windows XP disc in the burner. When I reboot, I'm getting another message: PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable. Any suggestions?
Posted by:
bryan francisco
06 Sep 2009
can someone help me how to fix the MBR of an external hardrive??? and if i dont have an os installed?? how can i fix the MBR otr that disk??? please help!
EDITOR'S NOTE: The process of repairing the MBR should be no different for an external drive. But I'm not sure if you even have an MBR for a drive with no OS installed.
Posted by:
Brian 500
09 Sep 2009
You can fix a corrupted MBR with a product called DriveRestore Professional. Run a boot sector analysis and it will detect all the drive errors... the product will then auto-repair the errors for you. It can be downloaded at: www.pcrecovery.com/driverestore
Posted by:
Paul Higgins
15 Oct 2009
I have used fixmbr and fixboot many times for myself and others, usually succesfully.
for those with some of the problems listed above there is an excellent option called UBCD for Windows. (google it- one works for XP, but for vista you need the Vista specific version- google UBCD for Vista). It can boot you into Windows recovery console without the need for a Windows disc. You do need to build the CD and have a bit of know-how, but I taught myself to use it succesfully. It includes many other tools, such as partition managers and recovery.
there are many good guides to explain how to build and burn the CD as there are to use it.
I wotk on the thory that if my drive is innaccessible, and I can't afford professionalhelp, what have I to lose?
Be aware though, if you have critical data any attempt at home recovery can make professional recovery very much more expensive if you corrupt the data further or overwrite it.