Mbr

[amr]

can i reset the MBR whithout Lost my Data ?

[jan1024188]

yes you can....just reinstal your bootloader
you can also boot in windows install disk>repair mode>type fixmbr

i hope that helps

[buteman]

yes you can....just reinstal your bootloader
you can also boot in windows install disk>repair mode>type fixmbr

I haven't used the windows fixmbr. Not used WIndows for a long time.
When I did you used fdisk /mbr to fix it but that simply overwrote it.
Does fixmbr actually repair it and so still leave you access to your linux?

[Juan Pablo]

To install GRUB in the MBR (access to linux and windows)

# grub-install /dev/hda

And the you can configure the bootloader in /boot/grub/menu.lst

[devils casper]

can i reset the MBR whithout Lost my Data ?

resetting MBR means writing new boot up option in master boot record. you are not changing anything in other partes of hard disk... no chance for data loss.




casper

[gtmtnbiker98]

I wouldn't say no chance! If you hose the partition table there is always a chance.

[devils casper]

I wouldn't say no chance! If you hose the partition table there is always a chance.

MBR re-write has nothing to do with partition table......




casper

[drl]

Hi, devils_casper.

MBR re-write has nothing to do with partition table

I think it might, at least indirectly. It's possible that Linux does things differently, but many references suggest that in addition to the boot code, the MBR also contains the partition table.

Scott Mueller, Upgrading and Repairing PCs (13th), seems to say essentially the same thing as the Wikipedia article.

I can imagine MS FDISK (and others) reading in the entire existing MBR, replacing the executable code, leaving the partition table entries alone, and re-writing the 512 byte MBR. So it seems a short stretch that a partition table could get screwed up by, say, an FDISK re-write of the MBR. For safety's sake, Mueller suggests saving a copy of the partition table.

Elsewhere:

People often recommend the undocumented DOS command FDISK /MBR to solve problems with the MBR. This command however does not rewrite the entire MBR - it just rewrites the boot code, the first 446 bytes of the MBR, but leaves the 64-byte partition information alone.

http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/partition...n_types-2.html

Are we talking about the same thing here? ... cheers, drl

Where a data storage device has been partitioned with (what Microsoft terms) the MBR Partition Table scheme (i.e. the conventional IBM PC partitioning scheme), the master boot record contains the primary entries in the partition table.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbr

( edit 1: addition )

[devils casper]

Are we talking about the same thing here? ... cheers, drl

yes ! although MBR have all partitions details but FDISK /mbr not do anything with that part.




casper

[amr]

the fdisk /mbr re_writ the boot code ?

is it mean repair the mpr ?

and if i need to change the OS , say ,an HDD contains Linux -->and want to install MS windows , what is the correct Instructions ?

and what its effect to the partition table ?