FIXMBR Vista
Bootrec
Use the Bootrec.exe (FIXMBR Vista or 7) tool in the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) to troubleshoot
and repair the master boot record (MBR), boot sector, and the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store. Windows RE can also be used to troubleshoot startup issues. There are two options, Startup Repair and System Recovery Options. Bootrec.exe can be used to troubleshoot additional problems manually.
To run Bootrec.exe utility, you need to start Windows RE. First startup the computer with the Windows install disk. You might need to set the BIOS to boot first from the DVD/CDROM. Select Repair Your Computer and then select the operating system you want to repair. In the System Recovery Options box select Command Prompt and type bootrec.exe and press enter. You can rebuild the BCD by typing bootrec /rebuildbcd to correct startup issues. To correct a corrupted or infected MBR type bootrec.exe /FIXMBR to write a new MBR. Bootrec /fixboot will write a new boot sector to the system partition to correct a damaged boot sector or non-standard boot sector for FIXMBR Vista. If a Windows XP was installed after Vista or 7 you can use this command to restore the Windows Boot Manager by replacing Windows NT Loader (NTLDR).
Master Boot Record (MBR)
MBR is a 512 byte file located in the first sector on the hard drive. It contains partition information and boot code for starting the operating system.
Recovery Console
Recovery console is a utility that can be started from the Windows install CD. You can also install recover console. Once installed you can select it when you first startup you computer. It will be an option on a menu that is presented during the computer startup.
FIXMBR
The FIXMBR is a command used with Recovery Console with Windows XP that writes a new MBR to the first sector of a hard drive. This command is used to fix or correct a corrupted or infected MBR.
The FIXMBR website has some additional articles you might find useful.
The Fixboot is a Recovery Console command that writes a partition boot sector to a system partition that you can specify.
Boot Sectors
Boot sector is a sector on a hard drive or data storage device that contains code for booting a program stored on some other part of the storage media. The computer BIOS can be set to select any of several boot devices and then copies the first sector from the boot device to address location 0×7C00.
Different kinds of boot sectors can be encountered on computer hard disks and other storage devices. A master boot record (MBR) is the first sector of a data storage device that has been partitioned. The MBR sector contains code to locate the active partition and start its Volume Boot Record.
Volume Boot Record (VBR)
A volume boot record is the first sector of a data storage device that has not been partitioned. It contains code to load and start an operating system installed on that device or within that partition.
Valid boot sectors have a two-byte hex word 0xAA55, called the boot sector signature and must exist at the end of the sector. If the signature is not present either the BIOS or MBR code will report an error message and halt any OS startup process.
The computer BIOS does not distinguish between VBR and MBR. The firmware will only load and runs the first sector of the storage device. floppy devices or USB flash drives will use a VBR to boot. Hard drives use an MBR. The MBR has the partitioning information and will start the VBR which will load the operating system.
Boot Sector Viruses
Since the code in the boot sector is first executed automatically the boot sectors have been targets for computer viruses. As a warning computer BIOS now have included a feature to prevent writing over the boot sectors without user permission.
FIXMBR
FIXMBR is a Recovery Console command that writes a new MBR to the first sector of a hard drive. This command can be used to correct a corrupted or infected MBR. The fixboot command write the partition boot sector.
The FIXMBR website has some additional articles you might find useful.
The FIXMBR XP is a Windows XP recovery console command for fixing the MBR file. The MBR file is the first sector, 512 bytes, on the hard drive and is therefore subject to virus infection and other problems. The MBR contains hard drive partition information, boot record pointer information, and information for boot strapping the operating system. The Fdisk DOS utility will do the same thing in the DOS that FIXMBR does in Windows Recovery Console.
The Windows Recovery Console can be started by booting the computer using the Windows install CD to run FIXMBR XP. If your computer didn’t come with a Windows install CD. You can make one using nLite and the i386 folder on your computer. nLite is a great free utility that can be used for creating custom Windows install CDs that are fully automated and setup to include all drivers, service packs, security patches, and other important tweaks and files you might need. You can also use nLite remove keyboards, languages, and other files to lighten the size of the Windows install disk and provide a faster install.
The following is a YouTube video on FIXMBR XP that you might find useful.
FIXMBR
The FIXMBR website has some additional articles you might find useful.
