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This guide shows you how to fix the Master boot record (MBR) in any of the Windows versions: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10.
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The Master boot record is created when you first install Windows, on the first partition you create. It’s the first 512 bytes of your hard
disk.
If the MBR is damaged, you won’t be able to boot into Windows. All Windows versions – Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 – use MBR and, if
damaged you won’t be able to boot.
It can be damaged by certain viruses that target the MBR to replace it with their own code or in cases when you dual boot with a Linux
distribution (see Error: no such partition. Grub rescue article).
Backup
You can backup the MBR since it’s stored on the hard disk and you restore it later, when needed.
In the above command, /path-to-save/mbr-backup is the path where you want to save mbr-backup .
Restore
Important: Restoring your Master boot record with the wrong partition table will make your data unreadable and will make it
very hard to recover your data later.
You can restore the saved Master boot record using this command:
In this command, /path-to-get/mbr-backup is the path where you have the mbr-backup stored.
Common errors
If the Master boot record is broken, your computer may show some of the following errors:
Error loading operating system (see our Error loading operating system: Fix for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 guide)
Operating System not found(see our Operating System not found or missing: Fix for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 guide)
Invalid partition table(see our Invalid partition table: Fix for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 guide)
No bootable medium found(see our No bootable medium found: Fix for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 guide)
Reboot and select proper boot device(see our Reboot and select proper boot device: Fix for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10
guide)
Other errors can be shown, depending on many factors, that are caused by a damaged boot record.
1. Download Easy Recovery Essentials. Choose your Windows version (XP, Vista, 7 or 8) before downloading.
2. Burn the image. Follow these instructions on how to burn the bootable ISO image very carefully, as making a bootable CD can
be tricky!
5. Choose your Windows installation drive’s letter (usually it’s C:\ ) and click on Automated Repair
8. Done. Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 should properly load now.
You
can
If you don’t have the Windows XP installation CD to run Recovery Console, go to Fix MBR with Easy Recovery Essentials.
The fixmbr command is only available for Windows XP and Windows 2000.
2. At the “Press any key to boot from CD…” message, press any key to boot into the CD
3. When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press R to open Recovery Console
3. Type fixmbr
4. Press Enter
5. Wait for the process to finish. The Windows XP Press R for Recovery Console
fixmbr utility software will repair any damage to the master boot record.
7. Type exit
If you weren’t able to boot your computer because of a damaged MBR, the above instructions should fix it and your Windows XP
should start normally.
If the fixmbr command doesn’t work, try using the map command to get the correct drive name where you want to repair the Master
boot record:
1. Type map
2. Hit Enter
The above output is an example. The output for your computer can be different, but note the drive letter for the item with
Harddisk0 , in this case C:\ .
You need your original Windows Vista installation CD/DVD to run the bootrec utility.
If you don’t have the Windows Vista installation CD/DVD to run Command Prompt, go to Fix MBR with Easy Recovery Essentials.
bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /RebuildBcd
You can type bootrec.exe for a full description of above commands. Windows Vista Repair Your Computer Menu
8. Wait for the operation to finish. If it was a success, a confirmation message will appear on the screen.
You can run Startup Repair for Windows Vista before running bootrec.exe to try and fix the boot error automatically. The steps to run
Startup Repair are:
2. Click on Repair your computer, after you select the language and keyboard layout
Another alternative is to
completely rebuild the BCD, if
the bootrec /rebuildbcd Windows Vista Repair Your Computer Menu
If you don’t have the Windows 7 installation CD/DVD to run Command Prompt, go to Fix MBR with Easy Recovery Essentials.
2. At the “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD…”, press any key to boot from the DVD
3. Select a language
5. Click Next
6. Select the operating system and click Next. The “Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows” must be
checked when you select the operating system.
bootrec /rebuildbcd
9. Press Enter
bootrec /fixmbr
14. Remove the installation DVD from the disk tray and restart your computer
If bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /fixboot doesn’t work, try restoring the boot sector code of your Windows 7:
1. Determine the drive letter of your Windows installation CD/DVD by typing these commands in the Command Prompt:
diskpart
select disk 0
list volume
2. Look for the “CD-ROM” word in a “Type” column. This item is your CD/DVD installation drive letter.
If the drive letter is D:\ , type these commands:
exit
D:
cd boot
dir
If the drive letter is different than D:\, replace the second command with the drive letter you have noted from the previous list
volume command.
4. Press Enter
6. Type exit
If you don’t have the Windows 8/8.1 installation CD/DVD to run Command Prompt, go to Fix MBR with Easy Recovery
Essentials.
1. Boot from the original installation DVD (or the recovery USB)
3. Choose Troubleshoot
bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /ScanOs
bootrec /RebuildBcd
8. Type exit
9. Hit Enter
Windows 8 Repair Your Computer Menu
10. Restart your computer and check if
Windows 8/8.1 can now boot
If bootrec utility doesn’t fix your Windows 8/8.1, try following the next commands to fix the EFI bootloader of the Windows 8/8.1:
1. Boot from the installation DVD or the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 recovery USB
3. Choose Troubleshoot
diskpart
sel disk 0
list vol
These commands will select the first disk of your computer and the list all the partitions available on that disk.
6. Check for the volume item that has the Fs column FAT32. The EFI partition must be formatted under FAT32.
If the volume number of EFI partition is “2”, type the following command:
sel vol 2
If the volume number is different than 2, replace “2” with the number available on your computer.
7. Assign a letter to this partition, a letter that is different that those already available on your computer, for example x:\ . Type
this command to assign the letter:
assign letter=x:
exit
10. Type this command and replace x:\ with the letter you assigned earlier to the EFI partition:
cd /d x:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\
bootrec /fixboot
12. Now you need to backup the old BCD and recreate a new one. Type:
13. Type this command to recreate the BCD and replace the x:\ with the assigned letter earlier:
14. In above command, Windows is installed on c:\ . If the drive letter where your Windows 8/8.1 is installed is different, replace
c:\ with your drive letter.
If you don’t have the Windows 10 installation DVD to run Command Prompt, go to Fix MBR with Easy Recovery Essentials.
1. Boot from the original installation DVD (or the recovery USB)
3. Choose Troubleshoot
bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /ScanOs
bootrec /RebuildBcd
8. Type exit
9. Hit Enter
3. Choose Troubleshoot
Windows 10 Repair Your Computer Menu
4. Choose Command Prompt
diskpart
sel disk 0
list vol
These commands will select the first disk of your computer and the list all the partitions available on that disk.
6. Check for the volume item that has the Fs column FAT32. The EFI partition must be formatted under FAT32.
If the volume number of EFI partition is “2”, type the following command:
sel vol 2
If the volume number is different than 2, replace “2” with the number available on your computer.
7. Assign a letter to this partition, a letter that is different that those already available on your computer, for example x:\ . Type
this command to assign the letter:
assign letter=x:
exit
10. Type this command and replace x:\ with the letter you assigned earlier to the EFI partition:
cd /d x:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\
bootrec /fixboot
12. Now you need to backup the old BCD and recreate a new one. Type:
13. Type this command to recreate the BCD and replace the x:\ with the assigned letter earlier:
14. In above command, Windows is installed on c:\ . If the drive letter where your Windows 8/8.1 is installed is different, replace
c:\ with your drive letter.
More Information
Support Links
Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.
It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also
available for Windows XP and Windows Server.
Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8,
Windows 10.
Applicable Systems
This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:
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Tagged: mbr
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