FIXMBR

  • Thread starter Thread starter William B. Lurie
  • Start date Start date
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William B. Lurie

The first time I used Drive Image 7, it worked fine.
When I went to make a second Drive Image for my next
backup, a month later, it gave me a problem, and when
I aborted it, it left my Master Boot Record in a
peculiar state. My PC and XP function fine, except that
during any restart or start, at the end of BIOS I get a
few lines of error 2, error 3, and error 5, followed by
"Press any key to start", and it starts fine from there.

I get the usual runaround from eMachines ("Restore machine
to like it was when we gave it to you"), and Symantec/PowerQuest
("You should contact eMacines or Microsoft) but no help in
undoing what their software caused. Istructions on how to fix
the Master Boot Record, they don't want to supply.
I can live with the malfunction described, but it's like
a limp....you can live with it, but why should anybody have to?

Can one of the MVPs give me a procedure for getting to where I can
run a FIXMBR? Thank you.
 
First, Bill, Drive Image 7 isn't compatible with XP, XP requires at least
Drive Image 2002.

Second, FIXMBR requires the Recovery Console and haven't we been down this
road before. If you can't install the Recovery Console from either the
download or your XP CD you're pretty much out of luck where that's
concerned. It's my guess, that Drive Image 7 has probably butchered setup
to the point that it is preventing from running the Recovery Console:

For the record, here are the instructions:
Be sure your system is set to boot from the CD. If you are not sure, when
the system first boots you usually see message about how to enter setup or
something similar and tells you to hit a key, sometimes it's del, sometimes
it's esc, just hit the key. This takes you to the system bios, you need to
navigate to where the boot sequence is set, put the CD-ROM drive first in
line.

Place the XP CD in the drive, save your settings and exit. The system will
reboot and should boot from the CD. If you see a message to hit any key in
order to boot from the CD, do so, otherwise, assuming your system supports
it, the system should boot from the CD on its own as it can't find
an OS on the hard drive.

XP Setup will begin by examining your system, don't worry, just let it run,
it's just copying some files to a temp folder. Ultimately, you'll be
brought to a menu. Choose, "Repair a Windows XP installation using the
Recovery Console, press R.

You will be asked for an administrators password. This is not any of the
accounts you've created for XP. It's a hidden system account for which
users are asked only to create a password during setup. Most leave this
blank. If you left it blank, when asked for a password, just leave blank
and press enter.

At the prompt type fixmbr and press enter.
 
Knowing eMachines, that's going to be tricky. Generally, with a retail or MS
OEM distribution of XP, you simply boot the CD, get into RC and run fixmbr.
Alternatively, you could try downloading one of the following to create
bootable diskettes (pick the version appropriate for your OS instance):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-5039-4955-bcb7-4fed408ea73f&DisplayLang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...68-6e4f-471c-b455-bd5afee126d8&DisplayLang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...e9-28fa-40e8-8ec2-631504ef5e26&DisplayLang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...fc-695f-43e5-af05-719f45c382a4&DisplayLang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...74-76af-4c21-b853-d9f07cbfa559&DisplayLang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...33-7773-4f59-bd90-63cacb89ac4e&DisplayLang=en

I've been told (I think) that you can get into RC from the diskettes, but
I'm not sufficiently masochistic to rip through a 6 diskette boot to find
out for sure. ;-)

However, I'm not certain that will correct your situation. It's been several
years since I last did anything with Powerquest products, but the messages
you indicate you're getting are specific, IIRC, to PM/DI. You may want to
try recopying the partition sans interruption.

--
Walter Clayton - MS MVP(WinXP)
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
http://www.dts-l.org
 
Michael said:
First, Bill, Drive Image 7 isn't compatible with XP, XP requires at least
Drive Image 2002.

Second, FIXMBR requires the Recovery Console and haven't we been down this
road before. If you can't install the Recovery Console from either the
download or your XP CD you're pretty much out of luck where that's
concerned. It's my guess, that Drive Image 7 has probably butchered setup
to the point that it is preventing from running the Recovery Console:

For the record, here are the instructions:
Be sure your system is set to boot from the CD. If you are not sure, when
the system first boots you usually see message about how to enter setup or
something similar and tells you to hit a key, sometimes it's del, sometimes
it's esc, just hit the key. This takes you to the system bios, you need to
navigate to where the boot sequence is set, put the CD-ROM drive first in
line.

Place the XP CD in the drive, save your settings and exit. The system will
reboot and should boot from the CD. If you see a message to hit any key in
order to boot from the CD, do so, otherwise, assuming your system supports
it, the system should boot from the CD on its own as it can't find
an OS on the hard drive.

XP Setup will begin by examining your system, don't worry, just let it run,
it's just copying some files to a temp folder. Ultimately, you'll be
brought to a menu. Choose, "Repair a Windows XP installation using the
Recovery Console, press R.

You will be asked for an administrators password. This is not any of the
accounts you've created for XP. It's a hidden system account for which
users are asked only to create a password during setup. Most leave this
blank. If you left it blank, when asked for a password, just leave blank
and press enter.

At the prompt type fixmbr and press enter.
Click to expand...
Michael, when I posted that query a little while ago, I intended to, and
forgot to, mention what we had tried in the past few days. I was hoping
I could use it as a club over Symantec/Power Quest. But what you say
about incompatibility between the latest Drive Image, which I only
recently bought, and XP, scares me, because it is in direct contra-
diction of the words in the Quick Start Guide for Power Quest Drive
Image 7.0 which I printed out. As for Drive Image 2002, in their Guide
it says "Drive Image for Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0 Workstation-----
Drive Image 7.0 does not run under Windows (x, Windows Me, or
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation. If you have one of these operating systems,
use the Drive Image CD that is marked for your operating system".

I really do understand that to FIXMBR required Recovery Console,
and loading RC means loading from the XP Installation CD, and for
reasons that we could not track down, I've been unable to do that
from the CD I borrowed (because the OEM doesn't furnish one).

So I guess the only point that needs resolution is your positive
rejection of Drive Image 7.0 for use with XP.

Thanks, and kind regards .
Bill Lurie

William B. Lurie
 
Michael,

Actually Drive Image 7 is the latest from PowerQuest (Symantec). It works
slightly differently than Drive Image 2002. When I purchased originally the
Drive Image 7, my CD came with both. Personally I use Drive Image 2002 for
it's speed of recovery but I also like Drive Image 7 because it can create
image right from the Windows with out exiting, including the OS partition
that contains the Windows XP but I dislike the restore portion only because
it takes long time. Since I do lot's of strange stuff that has to do with
testing of hardware and software, I need to restore fairly frequently so my
program of choice is Drive Image 2002. As far as Drive Image making a mess
out of the image, I never had any major problem.

It's not clear as to what happened to Bill's MBR but running FIXMBR should
have been the first thing to do in such a case. So, Bill, just run the
Recovery Console and type FIXMBR.
 
Can one of the MVPs give me a procedure for getting to where I can
run a FIXMBR?
Click to expand...

What happened when you ran fdisk /mbr from the Win98 boot floppy as
suggested in the other thread?
 
Sarge said:
@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl:




What happened when you ran fdisk /mbr from the Win98 boot floppy as
suggested in the other thread?
Click to expand...
I have not done that because I am not running Win 98 but XP Pro.
I beleieve I asked to clarify that anpmaly when I received that
advice initially, and haven't seen any explanation......should I try a
set of WIN98 floppies even tho' I'm running XP?
 
-----Original Message-----

I have not done that because I am not running Win 98 but XP Pro.
I beleieve I asked to clarify that anpmaly when I received that
advice initially, and haven't seen any
Click to expand...
explanation......should I try a
set of WIN98 floppies even tho' I'm running XP?
Click to expand...


If you are given good advice and are too afraid to try it,
why bother posting?

I assume that you have rejected my earlier suggestion to
give up computers and take up knitting. I understand that
you might be afraid of the needles, but you are obviously
not bright enough to deal with the consequences of your
own fumbling with the PC. Ceramics maybe?
 
Wislu said:
where I can


boot floppy as


XP Pro.


received that


explanation......should I try a




If you are given good advice and are too afraid to try it,
why bother posting?

I assume that you have rejected my earlier suggestion to
give up computers and take up knitting. I understand that
you might be afraid of the needles, but you are obviously
not bright enough to deal with the consequences of your
own fumbling with the PC. Ceramics maybe?
Click to expand...
Wise-ass remarks only show your own lack of intelligence.
The simple question I asked was, did the person suggesting
that I use WIN98 floppies realize that my system is XP and not
WIN98. That question hasn't been answered.
 
-----Original Message-----

Wise-ass remarks only show your own lack of intelligence.
The simple question I asked was, did the person suggesting
that I use WIN98 floppies realize that my system is XP and not
WIN98. That question hasn't been answered.
Click to expand...

One problem with being intellectually challenged is that
you assume that everyone else is also. You've been given
a good and logical potential solution and you refuse to
implement it until you've been told three times that it's
OK to go ahead. If you're THAT afraid of your computer,
how do you ever expect to learn anything?
 
Because FDISK should be kept far away from NT kernels, especially on modern
hardware. At present the issues are minimal, but FDISK can easily trash NT
kernel boot strap code.

Forget about FDISK. It's potentially worse news than the current issue.

--
Walter Clayton - MS MVP(WinXP)
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
http://www.dts-l.org
 
I have not done that because I am not running Win 98 but XP Pro.
I beleieve I asked to clarify that anpmaly when I received that
advice initially, and haven't seen any explanation......should I try a
set of WIN98 floppies even tho' I'm running XP?
Click to expand...

You asked if I really meant Win98 - I replied in the affirmative. See:
<[email protected]>.

Mr. Clayton advises against this procedure. He's an MVP and I'm not, so
you'll have to decide for yourself. There are situations where fdisk /mbr
will trash your partition table. Based on what you've told us I don't
believe that'll happen in your case, but that's just my opinion.

Back to your inability to boot from the XP CD: Is this particular CD you're
using bootable on other machines? Are you "pressing any key to boot from
CD"? Will your machine boot from any other CD, like the Emachines restore
CD?
 
I have to agree with Walter, I don't think using FDISK is a good idea.
 
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