Boot Problem - Master Boot Record Corrupt?

[TomV]

I'm running XP pro on Dell 8250 with 200GB Hard drive.
It appears I am unable to get past the POST (Power on Self
Test) operation. I get the blue Dell startup screen (F2
setup, F12 Boot), a blink of the hard disk lamp and then a
blinking cursor top left on black screen.

I can access the hard drive via recovery console. Have
run Chkdsk /p and /r. Fdisk indicates presence of
partition 1 (dell data) and 2 190GB. Also have run Fix
Boot.

Based upon what I have read it could be due to a virus
corruption of the Master Boot Record, Boot sector, NTLDR
File or partition tables. MS recommends running anti
virus on system before running fix MBR otherwise the drive
may be rendered unrecoverable.

I am unable to boot and run Norton anti virus because the
system does not recognize the C: drive except under
Recovery Console. If I boot from Norton it only scans the
CDROM.

I have data on the disk that I would like to recover if at
all possible. I have thought about loading XP and
installing on another hard drive in this system. I'm not
sure if the XP installed on another drive with NTFS file
system would allow me to access this drive.

Any ideas on how to correct or troubleshoot this further?
THANKS!

 

[BC]

Look in the MS Knowledge Base for instructions on how to
do an in pplace upgrade. Or just search a few pages here,
as I know I've explained it at least 10 times in the last
2 days. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry forgot to mention that I did
do an in place XP repair upgrade (not new install). But
it didn't correct the problem.

 

[BC]

Check the bios to make sure you're set up to use large
disks (if it supports this). If you install windows on
another drive you will be able to access files in the
faulty one as well as use AV to find your virus, but make
sure you completely update the AV software BEFORE you
reconnect the bad drive. If the files you want to save on
on your second partition, you may want to consider
deleting part 1 and reformatting. The files on part 2
will still be there when you're done.

A last word-if you used some of that huge drive to make a
backup partition you wouldn't have to deal with these
problems. Create about a 10 GB partition at the end of
the drive and back up your system partition to it
occasionally (after a complete AV scan). Then go into the
disk management console and remove the drive letter. You
won't even see the drive anymore, but it's always just a
click away if you need it. Good luck.

 

[xe77]

Start the Recovery Console and run FIXMBR and/or FIXBOOT.
IMPORTANT!! When you are done, always type "exit" to quit
the Recovery Console or changes will be discarded. DO NOT
HIT THE RESET BUTTON!

 

[Crusty \(-: Old B@stard :-\)]

If you can't get past the post, you have bios/hardware problems. It has
nothing to do with Windows XP. If upon boot the computer is indicating that
you need to go into setup by pressing F2, it is purely a bios problem.

Have you been trying to overclock your system? Have you made any changes to
your bios in any way. Your computer does not like the way your bios is set
up and is telling you to go into it and make some changes. Default settings
with a save and exit would be good!

--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

 

[BC]

The message to use F2 to enter setup is part of the
manufacturer's quick post overlay. It's just like a
message to press del or whatever to enter setup during a
full post.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I can access the hard drive via recovery console. Have
run Chkdsk /p and /r. Fdisk indicates presence of
partition 1 (dell data) and 2 190GB. Also have run Fix
Boot.

Based upon what I have read it could be due to a virus
corruption of the Master Boot Record, Boot sector, NTLDR
File or partition tables. MS recommends running anti
virus on system before running fix MBR otherwise the drive
may be rendered unrecoverable.

As you can see the C from the recovery console, it is unlikely that the
partition table has been damaged. So first from recovery console I
would try
Fixboot
Fixmbr

If it does not work, here is my suggestion for when the PT *is* damaged
- as just posted for someone else.

Go to www.bootitng.com and in Free downloads get the MBRWORK one. Put
it on a DOS mode boot floppy (eg a Win98 startup floppy, or even one
made in XP by Formatting a floppy in My computer and checking 'MSDOS
Startup disk')

Boot that , run MBRWORK and give
1
to back up the MBR to the floppy (so you could restore things with 2)
3
then
4
to clear out, then there will be a possibility of
A
to search the disk for partitions and rebuild the table, then finally
5
to write fresh standard MBR code
and
6
to set the appropriate one as the Active one to boot from. If you have
more than one partition on the disk this may need a little experiment,
but it is *probably* the first one found