MBR (in Russian - master boot record) - a specific set of data, lines of code, partition table and signatures. It is required to boot the Windows operating system after turning on the computer. There are cases when, as a result of various hardware and system failures, the MBR is damaged or erased, which makes it impossible to start Windows. Restoring the Windows 7 MBR boot record solves such problems. This article discusses several simple ways in which you can restore the records.

A bit of theory

After the computer is turned on, the BIOS selects the media from which to boot. At this stage, the device needs to know exactly which partition of the hard drive contains the Windows system files. MBR is a small program that is stored in the first sector of the HDD and points the computer to the correct partition to start the system.

If you install the second operating system incorrectly, the partition table may become corrupted and the first Windows will not start. The same thing sometimes happens with a sudden power outage. If this happens - do not despair, damaged data can be completely restored.

Boot Record Recovery

In order to restore the MBR, you will need the installation disk from which you installed Windows (or any other). If there is no disk, you can create a bootable USB flash drive with Win7. Action algorithm:

Automatic recovery

To begin with, it is worth providing the MBR repair with standard tools from Microsoft. Select Startup Repair. Nothing else needs to be done, it will take some time, and the computer will report the completion of the process. Try starting Windows. If nothing happened, then you need to restore the ICBM manually.

Command line

This path requires several commands to be entered into the Windows Command Prompt.

• From the System Restore menu, select Command Prompt.
• Now you need to enter "bottrec / fixmbr". This command is used to write a new MBR compatible with Win 7. The command will remove non-standard parts of the code, fix damage, but will not affect the existing partition table.
• Then type "bootrec/fixboot". This command is used to create a new boot sector for Windows.
• Further "bootrec / nt60 sys". This command will update the MBR boot code.
• Close the console, restart your computer and try to start the system. If the problem is still not resolved, you need to enter a few more commands.
• Launch the console again and type "bootrec/scanos" and "bootrec/rebuildbcd". With the help of these utilities, the computer will scan the hard drive for operating systems, and then enter them into the boot menu.
• Next, enter "bootrec / nt60 sys" again and restart the computer.

TestDisk Utility

If you don't have a bootable flash drive or disk, you can repair a corrupted recording using a third-party program. To do this, you need to start another (working) OS. If your machine had only one Windows, you will have to connect the hard drive to another computer. Working with TestDisk is quite complicated, so it is recommended that you read the manuals dedicated specifically to this program.

The new Windows 10 operating system from Microsoft has already gained popularity among millions of PC users around the world. But like all new products, Windows 10 is not without flaws. Many users of this OS experience bootloader problems. Most often, this problem occurs due to a new operating system update policy.

Now in Windows 10 you cannot turn off updates, as it was in Windows 7 and XP.

The very same problem with the bootloader manifests itself when the user does not wait for the system update to finish and turns it off the POWER button.

After the user turns on the computer again, he meets such a message on the screen of his monitor.

This message indicates that your bootloader is corrupted and needs to be repaired. It is also worth noting that turning off the computer during the update is not the only reason for the breakdown. The bootloader can still be damaged viruses and various malware. Another fairly common cause of failure is faulty HDD, which are bad sectors, that is, the boot record will be located on these sectors. Also, the cause of the bootloader crash can be installing a junior OS on top of Windows 10. To help our readers restore the bootloader, below we have prepared examples in which we will describe in detail how to restore it.

The easiest way to recover

When a PC user sees a message about a bootloader malfunction, the first question that arises for a PC user is how to restore the Windows 10 bootloader. In this example, we will describe the easiest way to restore it. For this example, we need .

If you do not have this disk and Internet access, you can make it on another computer with the same OS.

You can also use the original Windows 10 installation disc for this task. Well, let's get started. Insert the recovery disk into the drive and boot from it when the computer starts.

In the first window of the Recovery Disk Wizard, you must specify keyboard layout, which will open the wizard menu.

In this window, we will select the second tab " Troubleshooting” and immediately go to the next “”.

In the additional parameters, we are interested in the "" tab. After clicking on this link, the wizard will ask you to select an OS to restore its launch.

The computer under test has one Windows 10 operating system installed, so there is only one choice in the wizard. Once the OS is selected, the system will begin troubleshooting the computer and should repair the corrupted bootloader.

If using this method you fail to return Windows 10 to working order, then in the following examples we will describe the detailed process of restoring the boot sector using system utilities diskpart And BCDboot.

Restoring the Windows 10 bootloader using the command line

For this method, we also need Windows 10 recovery disk. Let's boot from the disk, as in the previous example up to the item "". In this menu, we are interested in the "" tab, which we will go to.

First of all, we will run the console utility on the command line diskpart. To do this, in the console, enter the command diskpart

We need this tool for display information about all local drives in the system. Now we need to find the bootloader partition number. This is usually a hidden partition that takes up 500 MB. This partition is created automatically by the Windows 10 installer. Next, to search for it in DiskPart, we will enter the list volume command

From the image you can see that the partition with the boot record is in the first volume on drive C. Also in the image you can see that Windows 10 itself is installed on drive D. Now we must exit the disk program. You can do this with the exit command.

After exiting DiskPart, enter the command bcdboot.exe D:\Windows Also note that the command uses drive D, since it is on it that ten is installed.

This command completely restored dozens of boot files. The principle of this command is to use the utility BCDboot. The developers specifically created this utility to work with Windows boot files. It is also worth noting that thanks to the same utility, the Windows installer creates a hidden partition and copies boot files to it.

Restoring the Windows 10 bootloader using the command line (Method two)

In the second method, we will also use the utilities diskpart And BCDboot and try to overwrite the bootloader. To do this, run DiskPart and find out on which disk our hidden partition and the partition on which Windows 10 is installed are located. The launch of this utility is described above.

Now we need to format the hidden partition, which is located in the first volume. To do this, we will type the select volume 1 command, which will select our hidden encrypted partition with a size of 500 MB.

The next step is to format the selected partition. This is done in order to erase all files from it. For this operation, enter the command in the console format fs=FAT32

After formatting our partition, we will exit the disk utility and enter the new bcdboot.exe D:\Windows command that was entered in the previous example.

This command will not fix the bootloader files as in the previous example, but create new. As you already understood, this method is used if the first one did not work.

Another Way to Repair Windows 10 Boot Using Command Prompt

This method requires a utility bootrec. Unlike the previous utility, this utility does not restore bootloader files, but restore boot record. That is, she restores the MBR- the first sector on the HDD. It is very important for the operating system that the MBR is safe and sound. When the computer starts, its BIOS first of all looks for the MBR to start the operating system from it. For this example, let's start, as in the previous examples, the command line. The utility in question has two main commands /FixMbr and /FixBoot The first command is required to fix MBR, and the second creates a new. First of all, consider the situation when our MBR is damaged. To do this, enter the first command in the console.

In the image above, you can see that the operation was successful, which means that the MBR has been restored.

Now consider a situation where the first method does not work, that is, we will create a new MBR sector. To do this, we use the second command.

From the image above, you can see that the new MBR sector was created successfully.

The examples show how easy it is to restore the MBR sector using the Bootrec console utility. If you have problem with start m Windows 10, we recommend using this example first.

We clean the system from malware before restoring the bootloader

If malware is the cause of the bootloader crash, then this malicious code must be removed before recovery. It will help you in this situation. This is a rescue disk has a lot of tools for restoring a computer, as well as treating it from viruses. You can download Dr.Web LiveDisk on its official website www.drweb.ru. This Live CD is based on linux and is free. This disc is distributed as an ISO image that can be burned to either an optical disc or a USB flash drive. After burning the image to disk, launch Dr.Web LiveDisk.

Select the first item in the start menu and continue downloading Dr.Web LiveDisk. After a few seconds, the OS based on Linux, which is actually Dr.Web LiveDisk, should start up.

In this operating system, you can completely clean your computer of viruses and even make a backup of all information.

Also useful is the fact that this OS has full Internet support and a built-in browser Firefox.

Summing up

In conclusion, I would like to say that if you know all the intricacies of bootloader recovery, then you can quickly fix your computer. It is also worth paying attention to the situation when it is impossible to restore the boot sector and the bootloader itself. In this case, you need to play it safe and use the tools of a full system restore. These means are full system image, created by means of the Windows 10 OS itself, as well as a program such as Acronis True Image. We hope that our material will help you restore the bootloader from the MBR, and the computer will function as before.

Related videos

Or another disk storage device. (For a floppy disk, this is the first physical sector; for a hard disk, it is the first physical sector for each partition) When the computer boots from a floppy disk, it is loaded into memory by the POST program (in IBM PC architecture computers, usually from address 0000: 7c00), control is transferred to it with the long command jump.

The boot sector, sometimes called stage1, that is, the first stage of the operating system boot, loads the program of the second stage of the stage2 boot of the operating system ( secondary bootloader, sometimes a boot manager or an authorization and access protection program is loaded as stage2). (In some operating systems, the role of stage1 is performed by the MBR and when booting the OS from the hard disk, the boot sector is not used. On non-bootable partitions of the hard disk, boot sectors may also not contain the boot program)

see also

Links

• - an example of creating a boot sector

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Boot sector" is in other dictionaries:

Wiktionary has the article "sector"

Sector: Sector (Mortal Kombat. A sector in geometry is a part of a circle bounded by an arc and two radii connecting the ends of the arc to the center of the circle. Sector is a structural unit, department and some public or industrial organizations ... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Sector. A disk sector is the smallest addressable unit of information storage on disk storage devices (HDD, floppy disk, CD). It is part of a disc track. For most devices ... ... Wikipedia

- (eng. Boot viruses) a computer virus that is recorded in the first sector of a floppy or hard disk and is executed when the computer boots. When you turn on or restart your Boot computer, the virus replaces the boot code, and so ... ... Wikipedia

A computer virus that writes itself to the first sector of a floppy or hard disk and executes when the computer boots. In English: Boot sector virus See also: Computer viruses Financial Dictionary Finam ... Financial vocabulary

- (English master boot record, MBR) code and data necessary for the subsequent boot of the operating system and located in the first physical sectors (most often in the very first) on a hard disk or other information storage device ... Wikipedia

This article should be wikified. Please format it according to the rules for formatting articles ... Wikipedia

Windows XP starts in the Internet phone machine In computer science, booting is a complex and multi-step process of starting a computer. The boot sequence is a sequence of actions that the computer must perform in order to ... Wikipedia

Here is a chronological list of the appearance of some known computer viruses and worms, as well as events that had a serious impact on their development. Contents 1 2012 2 2011 3 2010 4 2009 ... Wikipedia

Very often, the cause of a computer failure is damage to the boot sector or the master boot record.

When you do this, you cannot start the computer in Safe Mode or Last Known Good Configuration mode. The computer may not give errors, or you will see the following entries on the screen:

NTLDR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart,

Cannot start Windows due to corrupted or missing file: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

How to restore the boot sector and boot record using the recovery console?

For Windows XP:

To do this, in the BIOS, select boot from a CD / DVD disk, or set the boot priority from a CD / DVD disk. Files will start downloading. After the download is complete, press R - start the recovery console.

Which copy of Windows should I sign in to?

1: C:\WINDOWS Which copy of Windows should I sign in to? Type 1, press Enter.

A message will appear:

**WARNING** This computer has a non-standard or invalid master boot record. Using FIXMBR can damage the existing partition table. This will result in the loss of access to all partitions of the current hard drive. If there are no disk access problems, it is recommended to abort the FIXMBR command. Are you confirming the writing of the new MBR?

Press: Y

The new master boot record will be written. Wait for the corresponding message.

Enter the FIXBOOT command.

The message appears: Destination Partition: C:. Do you want to write a new boot sector to the C: partition?

Press the Y button.

A message will appear: The file system on the boot partition is NTFS (or FAT32). The FIXBOOT command writes a new boot sector. The new boot sector has been successfully written.

Type exit to exit the console. Now, if this was indeed the problem, the computer will turn on without problems.

For Windows 7

For Windows 7, the commands are slightly different. Yes, and the console will also start differently.

How to restore the Windows 7 bootloader?

You will also need a disk with the Winows 7 operating system. We boot from the disk, as is the case with Windows XP.

After downloading the main files, a window for selecting language options will appear. At the bottom there will be a system restore button.

Click it and choose the option you want. In our case, the command line.

We also type the following commands. At first

bootrec /fixboot (or bootrec.exe /fixboot)

bootrec /fixmbr (or bootrec.exe /fixboot)

We also press type exit to exit the console.

In the case of Windows 7, the Recovery Console can be started without a disc using Startup Repair. As a rule, the system itself will prompt you to run the recovery tool in case of a failure.

Note: If suddenly you see that the letter of the system drive in the recovery console is different from yours (that is, you know for sure that the OS was installed on drive D, and not on C, just enter the drive letter in the console. For example: D :)

We hope that you will be able to restore the OS. However, this method will not necessarily help you. Be careful. The authors of the site are not responsible for any damage caused to your PC.

But she also has problems. When a computer running this OS refuses to boot, it may be necessary to restore the HDD boot sector, from which the entire system is initialized and started.

If the problem is not related to user actions, as a rule, the built-in Windows 7 diagnostic tools will be able to solve the problem on their own, just wait for a reboot after an unsuccessful start, in which you will be prompted to boot into the system recovery tool and select the self-fix option there.

So, if you are faced with the problems described at the beginning of this material, first of all, calm down, nothing bad has happened and everything can be fixed, since restoring the boot sector for a modern operating system is a standard procedure.

Your actions will differ depending on what exactly led to the inability to boot into the "seven".

If you installed the WinXP operating system over Win7, then you should download the EasyBCD program. By running it in XP, you can restore the bootloader and return it to the Windows 7 boot list in a few simple steps.

If, for example, you installed Windows XP on top of Windows 7 and booted via EasyBCD, and then, for some reason, decided to demolish the partition with XP on the HDD, then you have a more complicated situation. By uninstalling XP, you removed EasyBCD, which means that now the computer does not know how to boot at least some kind of OS.

To restore the Windows 7 boot sector, you will have to remember where you have the Win7 recovery disk (of course you created it, right?) Or, if the answer is no, then we are looking for the disk. It doesn’t matter what you found, what is, then insert it into the drive . Now you need to boot from the disk, and enter the "System Restore" section. Using the Bootrec.exe utility, which is available on the installation disk and the seven recovery disk, restoring the Win7 boot sector will not take much time.

When you select "System Restore", after a short wait, you will have options, most likely, it will be possible to restore only one OS - Windows 7. On the next screen below, you will see the "Command Prompt" option, click on it and a window will open, in which will need to type several commands.

First you need to check if everything is in order with the Bootrec utility, to do this, type in bootrec and press the Enter key. Further, each command will need to be completed by pressing this key. Text describing the utility's capabilities will appear.

In order to start the recovery of the boot sector, we will type the command

If in response the computer writes that “The operation was completed successfully”, then everything is in order and the bootloader has been overwritten. You can proceed to the second part, we type the command

bootrec /fixboot

After you press enter, the computer will form a new boot sector, everyone can now type the command

After all these manipulations, you can enjoy the normal operation of your OS.

As you have seen, restoring the Windows 7 boot sector is indeed a very simple procedure.