Hack 48 Fix the Master Boot Record on NTFS Partitions 
Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003
users having problems accessing or booting from an NTFS disk can use
the FIXMBR program to rewrite a new Master Boot Record on the hard
drive.
FIXMBR
is available only
through the Recovery Console feature
of Windows NT, 2000, XP, or Windows Server 2003. To access the
Recovery Console, you must boot up with recovery diskettes you made
during installation of the OS or select the recovery options from the
installation CD. FIXMBR has one function, just like
DOS's FDISK /MBR: to write a new
Master Boot Record on the disk drive.
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Do not use the DOS FDISK program to replace the Master Boot Record on
an NTFS drive, as doing so can render the drive and data
inaccessible.
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To use FIXMBR follow these steps:
Boot using your Recovery diskettes or setup CD and select the
Recovery Console option. Log on to the drive/partition you wish to repair, typically
C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS. At the command prompt, issue the
MAP command to
determine the device name for the disk partition you want to
"fix"—typically it will be
\Device\HardDisk0. At the command prompt, issue the FIXMBR command
followed by the name of the disk partition to be
"fixed." For example (press Enter
after the command): fixmbr \Device\
HardDisk0
Type exit to leave the Recovery Console and
restart the system.
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Do not use this method to repair a primary active boot partition that
uses GRUB or LILO boot managers [Hack #50] . Apply it only to the
specific drive or partition containing an NTFS boot sector.
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If you do not supply a device name, a new Master Boot Record will be
written to the default boot device, which is typically what you want
to do anyway.
If an invalid or nonstandard partition table signature is detected by
FIXMBR, you will be asked if you want to continue with FIXMBR or not.
How you proceed is determined by whether or not you are having
problems accessing the drive. If you are not having problems
accessing your drives, you should not continue.
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Writing a new Master Boot Record to your system partition could
damage your partition tables and cause your partitions to become
inaccessible
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