| MBR or Master Boot Record is the initial program | | | | · Insert the boot CD or DVD into the |
| referred by Windows at startup. It is a small code | | | | drive and boot your computer from it. For this, |
| located on first sector of hard disk, which | | | | edit the BIOS settings to boot from CD and |
| communicates partition table information to boot | | | | press any key when it prompts for |
| the computer. Using this data, the Windows | | | | · Press 'R' to start Recovery Console |
| operating system loads from boot partition. If | | | | · Enter the administrator username and |
| boot sector gets damaged, your system will fail | | | | password to start Recovery Console command |
| to boot, thereby will make your partitions | | | | prompt |
| inaccessible. In order to restore these partitions, | | | | · Execute 'fixmbr' command. This will |
| either use your backup or scan the drive using a | | | | rewrite the boot record |
| Partition Recovery Software. | | | | · When the repair process is complete, |
| To illustrate, suppose you use a Windows based | | | | exit the console and restart the computer |
| computer and when you try to boot the system, | | | | Try to reproduce the behavior. If the issue |
| it prompts that boot sector has been modified or | | | | remains the same, you should format and reinstall |
| is damaged. You cannot boot into the system and | | | | Windows. To do so, boot the computer using |
| cannot access the stored partitions and data. | | | | installation media and access Recovery Console. |
| Cause | | | | At times, when you reformat the drive and |
| Boot sector is damaged or overwritten by an | | | | reinstall Windows, backup fails to restore required |
| application. | | | | data as it is damaged or not updated. To cope up |
| Solution | | | | with these problems, you are recommended to |
| You should follow these steps to solve the | | | | use a Partition Recovery utility. |
| existing issue: | | | | |