06/21/2007 Utilities

Problem : MBR damaged; new MBR created after a repair (PC can not boot)
Symptoms : blank screen at boot time
Solution : refresh the MBR boot code

Why do we need to do this?

If you have just rebuilt the partition tables there's a good chance that DiskPatch had to create a new MBR from scratch. A fresh MBR does not include boot code. So if you checked the results of the partition table repair and everything is okay, you may need to add boot code to the MBR if the disk contains bootable partitions (like your partition that contains a Windows installation).

It's also possible that certain utilities have erased your MBR's boot code, or corrupted it. Or maybe you need to remove Linux bootable code because you have removed a Linux partition.

Things you need to know before we start:

In the world of disks and data recovery we start counting disks at 0 (zero). So the first disk is 'disk 0', the second disk is 'disk 1', etc. Use the cursor keys to navigate the menus, use the key to select an option, use the key to abort or leave a menu.

DO NOT refresh the boot code if you use non-windows or non-dos operating systems; the boot code that DiskPatch writes is Dos/Windows compatible only.

Apart from the previous remark, refreshing boot code is a relatively safe operation; you are not likely to do (additional) damage if refreshing was not the solution to your problem.

1. Start DiskPatch and select the disk.










2. After selecting the disk, the menu will expand, showing actions that can be performed for the selected disk. The selected disk will be marked in high intensity blue in the disk list (disk 0 in our example).



3. Now select 'MBR related tasks', then 'Refresh bootcode'.



4. When finished a completion screen will be displayed.



5. Press a key to close the completion screen, DiskPatch will now return you to the menu.



DiskPatch

DiskPatch is a professional DOS based data recovery utility that recovers data by repairing corrupt disk structures, like the partition tables, 'in-place'.





DiskPatch is designed to tackle the most common issues that prevent you from accessing your data; a corrupt MBR (Master Boot Record), corrupt partition tables, accidentally deleted partitions, corrupt boot sectors, and 'bad' sectors.

Corruption of the MBR, partition tables and boot sectors account for the majority of the problems that lead to 'mass data loss'; situations where an entire drive or partition can't be accessed.

You can fix these problems yourself by running DiskPatch! DiskPatch automatically repairs damaged, corrupt or missing partition tables and boot sectors. Fast. Simple. Safe.

To make recovery from future disasters even easier, DiskPatch allows you to back up important disk structures like the MBR, partition tables and boot sectors.