Tuesday 13 November 2007

Windows Vista - Windows XP Resetting the MBR - cursor blink at boot after recovery

After restoring a system via Ghost, which we are no longer using, or via ShadowProtect Version 3.0 (fixed in 3.1), one may need to reset the Master Boot Record (MBR) and Boot Sector on the new hard disk, replaced hard disk, or disk RAID array.

The key indicator that there is a problem is the blinking cursor in the top left corner of the screen after trying to reboot into the now recovered/restored OS.

The process has changed a bit as far as the command structure in Windows Vista versus Windows XP.

For Windows Vista:
  1. Boot the Vista DVD
  2. Choose the Repair option at the Install Screen (bottom left corner link)
  3. Click on the Command Prompt option
  4. bootrec /fixmbr [Enter]
  5. bootrec /fixboot [Enter]
  6. Exit [Enter]
  7. Restart into the OS.
In Windows XP:
  1. Boot the Windows XP CD
  2. F6 if RAID drivers are required and install when prompted
  3. Repair Windows
  4. Logon to the Recovery Console
  5. fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0 [Enter]
  6. fixboot c: [Enter]
  7. Exit [Enter]
  8. Restart into the OS.
The system should then boot into the recovered OS with no issues.

Links: Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice info Philip! Do you mind if I link to this blog post from the StorageCraft forums?

Nate

Philip Elder Cluster MVP said...

Nate,

Please do.

Thanks,

Philip

Anonymous said...

Thanks! :)

-Nate

Unknown said...

Thanks for the info it really helped me get out of a tight spot

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info...it was the answer I was lookiing for...
I had installed openSuse on a second hard drive to try it out and reformated the drive after I decided to try something else and that's when I received my GRUB error 22.
Thanks,DJ