Re: Corrupted MBR -Regular occurrence

Franc Zabkar wrote in news:2m11v3tc95drcsu5c1de0gsvtr6r9holpq@xxxxxxx
On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:27:38 -0700 (PDT), Bernard
<bernard.herrok@xxxxxxxxx> put finger to keyboard and composed:

I've had to format my hard drive around 6 times in the past 6 months
because of a corrupted MBR.

Initially, a few runs of CHKDSK in the recovery console and a running
FIXMBR has fixed the problem for a couple of months only to have the
same problem happen again.

I can't understand why your OS or your software would want to write
to the MBR, unless you were repartitioning the disc or intentionally
refreshing the MBR code.

If I'm not mistaken NT keeps a signature there.

Instead I suspect that your drive is developing bad sectors.

A corrupt MBR is not a bad sector.
It's a readable one that lost it's expected contents to a certain extend.


If you believe that the MBR code is corrupt because FIXMBR is telling
you so, then be aware of the following bug (it is also present in Win
XP Home's recovery console).

====================================================================
Error Message When You Run fixmbr Command:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/266745/

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to run the fixmbr command in the Microsoft Windows
2000 recovery console, your computer system may display the following
error message:

This computer appears to have a non-standard or invalid master boot
record. FIXMBR may damage your partition tables if you proceed. This
could cause all the partitions on the current hard disk to become
inaccessible. If you are not having problems accessing your drive, do
not continue. Are you sure you want to write a new MBR?

RESOLUTION

Ignore the error message described in the "Symptoms" section of this
article. The fixmbr command can safely rewrite the MBR.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft
products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The fixmbr command causes this error message to be displayed on your
computer system whenever you run the command, regardless of the state
of the Master Boot Record (MBR).
====================================================================

- Franc Zabkar
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: FixMbr?
    ... Recovery Console cdeverything ... wrong with my computer mind you, I can boot in to either system. ... Why didn't fixmbr work? ... So have you backed up this functioning MBR? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Fehler beim Laden des Betriebssystems
    ... > MBR neu schreibt. ... FIXMBR versucht also auch eine defekte ... | The Recovery Console, a troubleshooting tool in Windows XP Professional, ... you cannot use Recovery Console to repair partition tables that ...
    (microsoft.public.de.german.windowsxp.setup)
  • Re: Corrupted MBR -Regular occurrence
    ... The reason I run FIXMBR is because recovery console doesn't recognise ... because of a corrupted MBR. ... When you attempt to run the fixmbr command in the Microsoft Windows ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)
  • Re: Corrupted MBR -Regular occurrence
    ... in the past 6 months because of a corrupted MBR. ... Error Message When You Run fixmbr Command: ... When you attempt to run the fixmbr command in the Microsoft Windows ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)
  • Re: Corrupted MBR -Regular occurrence
    ... because of a corrupted MBR. ... a few runs of CHKDSK in the recovery console and a running ... If you believe that the MBR code is corrupt because FIXMBR is telling ... When you attempt to run the fixmbr command in the Microsoft Windows ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)