MBR is the Master Boot Record and it is the first sector of your hard drive. Your BIOS uses the MBR to find out what operating system is on your computer. Sometimes the MBR gets damaged or corrupt and stops your operating system from loading. Here are the ways to fix it from your Windows XP machine or Window Vista.
Fix MBR on Windows XP
Reboot your computer and insert your Windows XP setup disk into the CD/DVD drive. If you get an error or Windows tries to load reboot again and launch your BIOS and make sure your CDROM is first.
After the Windows XP disk finished loading press the R button to repair a Windows installation.
The Recovery Console will load and it will have you type in a number that corresponds to your Windows installation. Usually it is 1, just press enter after and type in your administrative password if you have one.
Next step is to type in fixmbr at the prompt. It might take a second or two but your old damaged MBR will be replaced by a fancy new one. Next run fixboot after it is finished. Reboot and you should see the Windows boot logo.
Fix MBR in Windows Vista
For Windows Vista the process is a kind of the same, load the CD/DVD in to the drive or use your recovery drive to boot into the Windows Vista Recovery environment. Using the recover drive skips this first part in most cases, if it doesn’t just click the Repair Computer on the bottom of the install Vista screen.
After doing that you should be at the System Recovery Options. Select the Command Prompt and type in bootrec.exe and hit enter.
After that you should be good to go. If not post a comment or head to our forums for help.
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