How to Fix a Hard Drive Boot Sector

The boot sector on your hard drive is a file called the Master Boot Record (MBR for short). This sector of the hard drive is a major part of the computer's boot process, and without it, your operating system cannot successfully boot. If the MBR is corrupted by a virus or deleted through user error, you can fix it by using your operating system installation CD.

Things You'll Need

• Windows XP operating system installation CD

Instructions

1. Turn on your computer, insert your installation CD, restart the computer and wait for the "Press any key to boot from CD" message to appear." Press any key on your keyboard as soon as you see this message.

2. Press "R" once the welcome menu appears and wait for the Recovery Console to load.

3. Log in to your operating system by pressing "1," pressing "Enter," typing in your Administrator password and pressing "Enter."

4. Type "fixmbr" in the Recovery Console window and press the "Enter" key. If you are asked to confirm the command, type "yes" and press "Enter."

5. Restart the computer and allow it to boot normally by typing "exit" and pressing "Enter."

References

• Microsoft: Fix MBR Command