MBR defective? How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

When starting up the computer, you may receive the following error messages such as: B. "OS not found", "OS failed" or "invalid partition table". These are indications that the MBR (Master Boot Record) on the hard disk is damaged and the computer no longer starts . In this guide, we will show you a step-by-step guide on how to fix hard drive or repair MBR.

Table of contents Hide

1 Why is the MBR corrupted?

2 What are the reasons why the bootloader is corrupted.

3 What error messages do I see when the MBR is corrupted?

4 Repair Windows Master Boot Record: Repair MBR

5 Repair boot manager if MBR is

6 Repair boot manager when is GPT

Why is the MBR corrupted?

A defective or faulty MBR prevents Windows from being able to start. This means that the start information is not readable and is therefore not available.

What are the reasons why the bootloader is corrupted.

  • Common reason is when you are trying to install another Windows version  on another partition.
  • Hard drive errors may have damaged sectors and Windows may not start.
  • Viruses and Trojans can also be the reason when the MBR (Master Boot Record) gets corrupted, yet malicious code. The question is how to get a hard drive with corrupted MBR working again?

What error messages are displayed when the MBR is corrupted?

The corrupt Master Boot Record is dumped from the system drive when Windows tries to access it and fails to boot. If the MBR is defective, the following error messages may appear:

  • Error loading operating system.
  • Invalid partition table.
  • No bootable media is found and the system does not work.
  • Non-System Disk
  • No bootable media found
  • Reboot and select the correct boot device.

Repair Windows Master Boot Record: Repair MBR

In order to repair and  rebuild MBR , we need to find out what partition existing disks have beforehand.

  1. Press the key combination  "Win+R"  and  type "diskpart"  in the Run window. Press "Enter" key or click "OK".
     

    MBR defective?  How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

  2. Now type  "list disk"  and press  "Enter key" . Windows then lists all connected hard drives (data carriers).
     

    MBR defective?  How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

  3. If  there is  an asterisk ( * ) next to each disk under the GPT column to the right, the disk is using the GPT scheme. If a hard drive uses the  MBR format  , there is nothing there.
     

    MBR defective?  How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

Repair boot manager when MBR is

Repair broken MBR with Windows Command Prompt CDM. (restore mbr without installation cd)

  1. To fix corrupted MBR on Windows, you need a bootable USB drive.
  2. Before rebuilding the  MBR, boot the computer from this USB stick . For most motherboard manufacturers, the "F8" key is pressed when booting. (depending on the BIOS)
  3. The Windows Installation window appears. Click "Repair your computer options" in the bottom left.
  4. Click on "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced Options" > "Command Prompt" under " System Recovery Options".
  5. Type the following commands and press Enter after each command.
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos

Close the command prompt and restart your computer. This method can fix the master boot code  issue .

Repairing the boot manager when it is GPT

If the disk is in GTP partition style, you need to do the following.

  1. To fix the corrupted MBR, you need a bootable USB flash drive.
  2. Boot the computer from this USB stick . For most motherboard manufacturers, the "F8" key is pressed when booting.
  3. The Windows Installation window appears. Click "Repair your computer options" in the bottom left.
  4. Click "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options" > "Command Prompt" in sequence.
  5. Type the following commands and press Enter after each command.
diskpart
list vol

MBR defective?  How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

sel vol 8

Make sure the EFI partition (EPS) uses the FAT32 file system. Select "sel vol 8" the volume.

assign letter=X:

To assign a drive letter, enter " assign letter=X: ". 

MBR defective?  How to repair corrupt MBR of hard drive

Type exit .

Type the command “ cd /d X:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\ ” and press  “Enter key”. (X is the previously selected drive letter).

cd /d X:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\

Then type “ bootrec /fixboot ” and press the  Enter key.

bootrec /fixboot
bcdboot C:\windows /l de-de /s X: /f ALL

Type ren BCD BCD.old

ren BCD BCD.old

Please restart computer.

With this article, we have introduced a deletion to repair damaged hard disk MBR (Master Boot Record),   boot sector or the MBR defect.

The problem can also occur with older Windows versions such as Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows 10 .

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