Hi all! Today I will talk about a fairly common problem with operating systems of the Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 family - violation of the integrity of the MBR boot loader. No matter how hard Microsoft tries to take into account possible problems in the operation of its software, it is probably impossible to foresee everything at the development and testing stage. Various third-party loaders (activators, other versions of operating systems, viruses) add problems to stability.

What is needed to restore the bootloader.

1. Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 installation media.
2. User.
3. DVD drive.

Let's get started!

The easiest way to restore the bootloader. To use the Startup Repair tool, you must first start the Windows RE recovery environment.

For this:

• Set the BIOS to boot from installation media.
• Select an item System Restore.

• Further.
• In the dialog box, select Startup recovery.

• Follow further instructions.

After the Startup Repair tool completes, restart your computer. Try starting Windows normally, without installation media.

If the problem persists, let's proceed with further actions.

Now we will look at restoring the MBR boot record using standard operating system tools. Which come either as part of the installation disk or as a component of the operating system. Namely BOOTREC.EXE And BOOTSECT.

BOOTREC.EXE- boot record recovery tool. Supports the following options, from which you can choose the one that suits you best.

This option writes a master boot record compatible with Windows 7 or Windows Vista to the system partition. It does not overwrite the existing partition table. This option should be used to troubleshoot problems with MBR corruption or if you need to remove non-standard code from the MBR.

/FixBoot

This option writes a new boot sector to the system partition using a boot sector that is compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. This option should be used if at least one of the following conditions is true.

• The boot sector has been replaced with the non-standard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector.
• The boot sector is damaged.
• After you installed Windows Vista or Windows 7, you installed an earlier version of the Windows operating system on your computer. In this case, the Windows NT Boot Loader (NTLDR) is used instead of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe) to start the computer.

This option searches all drives for installed systems that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. It also displays any entries not included in the boot configuration data store. Use this option if your computer has Windows Vista or Windows 7 installed and does not appear in the boot manager menu.

/RebuildBcd

This option searches all drives for installed systems that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. It also allows you to select the installed systems that you want to add to the boot configuration data store. This option should be used if you need to completely rebuild the boot configuration data store.

Let's get started!

To use the Bootrec.exe tool, you must first start the Windows RE recovery environment.

• Insert the Windows 7 or Windows Vista installation disc into your DVD drive and turn on your computer.
• When prompted, press the key.
• Select an item Restore your computer.
• Specify the operating system you want to restore and click Further.
• In the dialog box System Recovery Options select item Command line.
• Type Bootrec.exe and press ENTER. A complete list of options will appear.
• Write down the MBR sector, what is the command for?

Bootrec.exe /FixMbr;

• After pressing Enter, the computer will notify the user about the successful completion of the operation in the next line;
• Next, carry out the procedure for recording a new boot sector by entering

Bootrec.exe /FixBoot;

• All that remains is to enter Exit and try to restart the computer.

If not, we will describe how to restore the Windows bootloader in another way using the same program:

• Enter the command line from the installation disk or flash drive.
• Enter Bootrec /ScanOs, after which the utility will scan your computer for the presence of an operating system.

Bootrec/ScanOs

• Write the command Bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd in the next line, the program will offer to add all found versions of Windows, including XP and others, to the start menu.

Bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd

• All you have to do is agree with this by pressing Y and Enter in sequence, after which when loading the system you will have a choice of which OS to load - XP or Seven.

If that didn't help either. You can also fix the problem with the MBR with one more command. To do this, on the command line you need to enter bootsect /NT60 SYS, then Enter.

Team BOOTSECT allows you to write the specified program code of boot sectors that provide loading or ntldr, or bootmgr .

Command line format:
bootsect (/help|/nt60|/nt52) (SYS|ALL|< DriveLetter >:}

Bootsect command line options:
/help— display of help information;
/nt52— recording the boot sector code that enables the use of the ntldr bootloader for operating systems prior to Windows Vista.
/nt60- writing program code to boot sectors to ensure loading of the bootmgr file - the boot manager of Windows Vista/Server 2008 and later operating systems of the Windows family.
SYS— the recording will be performed in the sectors of the Windows system boot partition in the environment in which this command is executed.
ALL— program code will be written for all existing partitions that can be used to boot Windows.
DriveLetter— drive letter for which the program code of boot sectors will be rewritten.
/force— forced disabling of disk volumes used by other programs to ensure exclusive access for the bootsect.exe utility
/mbr- changing the program code of the master boot record (MBR - Master Boot Record) without changing the disk partition table. When used with the /nt52 parameter, the MBR will be compatible with previous versions of Windows Vista. When used with the /nt60 parameter, the MBR will be compatible with Windows Vista and later operating systems.

bootsect /nt52 E:— create for drive E: boot records for Windows XP/2000/NT operating systems, i.e. for booting based on ntldr;
bootsect /nt60 /mbr C:— change the boot sectors of drive C: to ensure that the bootmgr manager loads, and this is Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10;
bootsect /nt60 SYS— changing boot sectors for the partition from which the current Windows OS was loaded.

Let's also try using the command BCDBOOT. This is a tool that is used to create a system partition or restore the boot environment located on a system partition. The system partition is created by copying a small set of boot environment files from an installed Windows® image. Means BCDBOOT creates a boot configuration data store ( BCD) on the system partition with a new boot entry that allows you to boot the installed Windows image.

It is not always possible to cure Windows 7 using standard methods without using additional bootable media. The most convenient option is to use a bootable flash drive as the latter, which is written both by the OS’s own tools and by third-party utilities. Also, before performing the recovery procedure, you must prepare the BIOS accordingly.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows 7

The easiest way to make a bootable drive is offered by Microsoft in its Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. It is downloaded from the company's website and requires installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and an OS ISO image to work. To create bootable media using this utility, do the following:

This is just one way to create a USB drive to solve system problems. It can also be recorded using the UltraISO program - although it is paid, but with a trial period.

Using UltraISO for boot drive

After installing and launching the program, the user will be required to do a minimum of actions to burn the installation media:

Preparing a laptop or PC for working with a USB drive

Modern devices allow inexperienced users not to go into the BIOS in order to be able to boot from something other than the hard drive. To do this, there is a boot menu, which is usually called up by pressing the F12, F10, F8, etc. keys (depending on the BIOS version and the board manufacturer) immediately after turning it on. F12 is most often used on laptops.

If this mode is not available to you, you will have to change the BIOS settings.

You can usually enter the configuration change window by pressing the Del key before loading Windows. In the window that opens, you will need to select an item that may be called Boot, Boot Menu, Boot Manager, etc., and then change the boot priority from HDD to USB.

Restoring Windows 7

After loading information from the USB drive, the OS installation window will open. It is possible to reinstall the system, but this method should be reserved for the most extreme case, since some or all of the user information on the disk may not be saved after this, and a lot of time will be spent on reinstallation. Therefore, first try to restore Windows using the means that you have:

Here are several remedies that often help cure the system even with very severe failures.

Startup recovery

This tool also works in automatic mode and is often unable to provide normal operation. However, she often manages to solve problems that may arise when installing previous versions of the OS, for example, XP as a backup along with the “Seven”.

In this case, the MBR boot record is overwritten and the newer OS simply does not boot. After launching this utility, if a problem is detected, the user will see a window prompting them to fix it. After rebooting, the system can be started as expected.

System Restore

This item involves returning the OS configuration to one of the previously saved states, i.e. with its help you can roll back to the last or earlier checkpoints. For this:

1. Open the appropriate item, after which a new window will appear. It will display the last of all the points that Windows was able to create.
2. You can select an earlier one if you check the box that allows you to show all points.
3. Click “Next”, in the next window - “Finish”, after which the OS will roll back to the restore point you selected.

You will need one of the LiveCD programs, which also needs to be written to a disk or flash drive. As an example, we will use a utility that has proven itself to be a powerful and simple tool - Hiren’s Boot CD. It includes many programs for restoring and diagnosing hardware and Windows, including those for working with MBR.

Having created the media with the utility, you need to:

• In the same way as in the previous method, install autorun from the media via BIOS;
• Select “DOS Programs”;
• Now find “Disk Partition Tools”, in which there will be “Paragon...”;

MBR (in Russian - master boot record) is a specific set of data, lines of code, partition table and signatures. It is required to load the Windows operating system after turning on the computer. There are cases when, as a result of various hardware and system failures, the MBR is damaged or erased, which makes it impossible to start Windows. Restoring the Windows 7 MBR boot record solves such problems. This article discusses several simple ways in which you can restore records.

A little theory

After turning on the computer, the BIOS selects the storage medium from which to boot. At this stage, the device needs to know which partition of the hard drive contains Windows system files. MBR is a small program that is stored in the first sector of the HDD and points the computer to the correct partition to start the system.

If you install the second operating system incorrectly, the partition table may be damaged and the first Windows will not be able to start. The same thing sometimes happens when there is a sudden power outage. If this happens, do not despair; damaged data can be completely restored.

Boot Record Recovery

In order to restore the MBR, you will need the installation disk from which you installed Windows (or any other). If there is no disk, you can create a bootable USB flash drive with Win7. Action algorithm:

Automatic recovery

To begin with, it’s worth leaving MBR repair to standard Microsoft tools. Select Startup Repair. There is no need to do anything else, some time will pass and the computer will indicate that the process is complete. Try starting Windows. If nothing works, then you need to restore the ICBM manually.

Command line

This path requires multiple entries.

• From the system recovery menu, select Command Prompt.
• Now you need to enter “bottrec/fixmbr”. This command is used to write a new MBR compatible with Win 7. The command will remove non-standard parts of the code, fix corruption, but will not affect the existing partition table.
• Next enter “bootrec/fixboot". This command is used to create a new boot sector for Windows.
• Next “bootrec/nt60 sys”. This command will update the MBR boot code.
• Close the console, restart your computer and try to start the system. If the problem is still not resolved, you need to enter a few more commands.
• Launch the console again and enter "bootrec/Scanos" and "bootrec/rebuildbcd". Using these utilities, your computer will scan your hard drive for operating systems and then add them to the boot menu.
• Then enter “bootrec/nt60 sys” again and restart the computer.

TestDisk utility

After that, select the installed operating system, click “Ok” and “Apply”.

It will save the user from having to reinstall the operating system and, therefore, save his time.

Overwriting the Master Boot Record ( Master Boot Record) allows you not only to restore it (if necessary), but also to deal with it.

Restoring (overwriting) the Master Boot Record ( Master Boot Record) in automatic mode

– install the boot disk into the drive tray (or );

– click Ctrl+Alt+Del;

Delete to login CMOS Setup Utility;

– install boot from CD/DVD-ROM, press F10, authorize the changes made, the reboot will begin;

, press any key;

- in the window Windows Boot Manager select Windows Setup /Windows Installation –> click Enter;

US), click Next;

there are 2 or more of them installed);

– set the switch Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows –> Next;

– in the next window – System Recovery Options (System Recovery Options) – options available:

· Startup Repair (Automatically fix problems that are preventing Windows from starting);

· System Restore (Restore Windows to an earlier point in time);

· System Image Recovery (Recover your computer using a system image you created earlier);

· Windows Memory Diagnostic (Check your computer for memory hardware errors);

· Command Prompt (Open a command prompt window);

– select Startup Repair;

– startup recovery tool Startup Repair will diagnose and troubleshoot problems;

– (if no problems are identified, a message will appear “Startup Repair could not detect a problem”);

– click Finish –> Restart;

– during reboot, press Delete to login CMOS Setup Utility;

– install downloadfrom your hard drive, click F10;

Restoring (overwriting) the Master Boot Record ( Master Boot Record) by using

– install the boot disk into the drive tray (or);

– click Ctrl+Alt+Del;

– during reboot, press Delete to login CMOS Setup Utility;

– install boot from CD/DVD-ROM, press F10, authorize the changes made, the reboot will begin;

– after reboot, if the message appears “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD...”, press any key;

- in the window Windows Boot Manager select Windows Setup /Windows Installation –> click Enter;

– when the installation program loads the installation files into RAM, a window for selecting a keyboard layout will appear (you can select Russian, or you can leave US), click Next;

– in the next window, select the operating system (if yourthere are 2 or more of them installed);

– set the switch Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows –> Next;

- in the window System Recovery Options (System Recovery Options) select Command Prompt;

The Windows 7 bootloader stops working for many reasons - if boot.ini is damaged or you try to install XP along with the “Seven”, after which the latter does not want to boot. This is due to the fact that XP rewrites the Windows 7 MBR boot record. Typically, restoring the Windows 7 boot loader is carried out using standard system tools. You can use another tool, for example, Bootice.

The easiest way to restore the bootloader

If pressing F8 does not open additional startup methods and a troubleshooter, you will need to use a Windows 7 recovery disk or flash drive. From this drive, you will need to boot your computer into the recovery environment by clicking on the system recovery link at the bottom of the OS installation window.

1. The computer will automatically try to find a solution to the problem, which will notify you in the window that opens.
2. If the recovery utility copes with the task, all that remains is to reboot.

If it was not possible to restore the Windows 7 bootloader after XP, use the startup recovery tool, which, along with others, is part of the installation disk or flash drive. Usually these simple methods can handle simple MBR startup problems.

Editing boot.ini

Boot.ini is responsible for starting the system by default. If one of the operating systems is installed incorrectly or uninstalled, its non-working entry will be stored in the same boot.ini. It is located at the root of the system partition, so to edit it you need to configure your computer to show hidden files.

Sometimes boot.ini can be corrupted by a virus or some program could have caused it, after which the OS does not start on its own.

The fix is ​​simple - boot from the LiveCD and edit boot.ini using regular notepad. There are only two sections - boot loader, which controls loading, and operating systems. There are several parameters to remember:

• timeout=10 — time in seconds during which the user can select an OS to start;
• multi(0) and disk(0) are parameters that must have zero values;
• rdisk(0) — number of the disk with the system partition (counting from zero).

In general, boot.ini with one OS should look like in the picture.

Using the command line to restore the MBR sector

You can get into command line mode from the same boot disk or flash drive by opening the system recovery tool and selecting the very last item “Command Prompt”.

1. Enter the command Bootrec and then press Enter, a full list of options will appear
2. Write down the MBR sector, for which there is the command Bootrec.exe /FixMbr;
3. After pressing Enter, the computer will notify the user about the successful completion of the operation in the next line;
4. Next, carry out the procedure for writing a new boot sector by entering Bootrec.exe /FixBoot;
5. All that remains is to enter Exit and try to restart the computer.

1. Log in to the command line from the installation disk or flash drive;
2. Enter Bootrec /ScanOs, after which the utility will scan the computer for the presence of an operating system;
3. Write the command Bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd in the next line, the program will prompt you to add all found versions of Windows, including XP, etc., to the start menu;
4. All you have to do is agree with this by pressing Y and Enter in sequence, after which when loading the system you will have a choice of which OS to load - XP or Seven.

You can also fix the problem with the MBR with one more command. To do this, enter bootsect /NT60 SYS at the command line, then Enter. Enter Exit to exit. This will update the main boot code and your systems will appear in the list at boot time.

In case of serious problems, it may not be possible to restore the MBR using the described methods, so it is worth trying to overwrite the files located in the download storage.

BOOTMGR is missing

The computer usually displays this message on a black screen when the MBR sector is damaged or deleted. The reason may not be related to the MBR, for example, if the BIOS settings on the Boot tab have been reset and the system is trying to boot from the wrong disk. But more often than not, it is the bootloader that is to blame, so we will describe how to restore Windows 7 boot.

The Windows 7 disk always has a small 100-megabyte reserved hidden partition for recording OS boot files, including the damaged BOOTMGR. You can simply copy BOOTMGR from the installation media and write it to this partition. For this:

1. Open a command prompt from your recovery drive.
2. Enter the diskpart and list volume commands in sequence, after which a list of your disks and the letters that the system has assigned to each of them will appear on the screen. We are interested in the 100 MB reserved partition and the optical drive - drives C and F, respectively, as in the picture.
3. To exit, type Exit and press Enter.

Enter the installation drive letter followed by a colon and the command to copy the bootmrg bootloader to the reserved partition. It will look like this:

• F: and then Enter;
• copy bootmgr C:\ and press Enter;
• Exit, the utility will exit.

If copying to a hidden partition fails, the boot store can be completely overwritten. Restoring the Windows 7 boot loader is performed with the command bcdboot.exe N:\Windows, where N is the drive letter of the OS. After you are informed that the files were created successfully, you can exit the tool with the Exit command and restart your computer.

• write down the line diskpart in the command line, which calls the utility;
• to display all available physical disks, write list disk;
• select the desired disk with the command sel disk 0, where 0 is the number of the only installed HDD;
• to display all hard drive partitions, enter list partition;
• to select a reserved partition, write the command sel part 1, where 1 is the partition number;
• make it active by typing active;
• exit the application by typing exit.

As a last resort, you can completely manually delete and format the system partition by starting from some LiveCD, and then use the bcdboot.exe command to create the sector again.

Using Bootice

If Windows XP was installed after "Seven", due to the overwritten MBR sector, only XP starts and you do not have the ability to select a system after you turn on the computer. At the same time, both systems are fully functional, and you can return the startup menu very easily, for which you use the Bootice utility:

In the new Bootice window on the left you will see the OS boot list, to which you will need to add the missing “Seven” to Windows XP:

• click "Add";
• in the list that opens, select the line for the new Windows 7 entry;
• on the right side in the upper input field, select the hard drive;
• in the field below, indicate the section with “Seven”;
• click on save basic settings.

The program will notify you that this element has been successfully changed in Boot and you can exit Bootice. The next time you turn on your computer, you can choose which OS to boot from your hard drive - Windows 7 or XP.

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– from a simple operation to restore boot files to a serious procedure to re-create the boot partition, when you have to delete the “System Reserved” partition and create it again. In this publication, I decided to put together various methods for restoring the Windows MBR bootloader and offer them to you in the format of another article, revealing the potential of a resuscitation LiveDisk for system specialists from Sergei Strelets, to whom we have dedicated this website. This LiveDisk has automated Windows boot repair tools on board, so we'll go from simple to complex.

Restoring the Windows MBR bootloader using a Live disk by Sergei Strelec

Note: friends, if you have a computer with an active UEFI BIOS, and you have Windows installed on a disk with a GPT partition style, then the site has a similar article with a selection of ways to resuscitate the bootloader on disks with this partition style -. Well, let's get back to solving problems with the MBR bootloader. So, the Windows bootloader is damaged, what should I do?

First of all, we prepare the resuscitation LiveDisk.

1. LiveDisk by Sergei Strelec

Live disk from Sergey Strelets is a functional resuscitation “live disk” based on WinPE for restoring Windows after a critical failure. This is not only a collection of tools for system recovery, it is a collection with more than a hundred suitable programs for performing various operations. To download the LiveDisk ISO image, go to the site:

http://sergeistrelec.ru

***

If the damage to the bootloader is not serious, i.e. The bootloader partition is intact, its files are not damaged, and problems arose only with the boot storage (BCD file) in terms of its configuration, or some Windows have disappeared from the boot menu, if several of them are installed on the computer, you can try to cope with the problem using Windows MBR boot recovery functions included in disk managers and the specialized BCD editing program - EasyBCD.

2. Recovering the MBR bootloader using AOMEI Partition Assistant

The automatic bootloader recovery function is included in the AOMEI Partition Assistant disk manager. You can run the program in the Start menu of LiveDisk along the path:

How bootloader auto-recovery works is very simple: in the program window, click on the hard drive where the bootloader is located, and on the left-hand side of the action panel, click “MBR Recovery.”

Select the MBR bootloader for Windows 7, 8.1, 10.

We apply the operation.

3. Restoring the MBR bootloader using Paragon Hard Disk Manager

Another functional disk manager, the Hard Disk Manager program, can restore the MBR bootloader; there is its 15th version on board the Sagittarius LiveDisk. Launch it in the Start menu of LiveDisk along the path:

• WinPE programs – Hard disk

Select the “Utilities” section and click “Boot Recovery Wizard” on the right side of the window.

Select one of the MBR bootloader recovery types and follow the step-by-step wizard.

If the question is to restore a boot record that has disappeared from the Windows bootloader menu, select the “Windows OS for correction” operation. The program will search for Windows systems on the computer and add them to the bootloader menu. Just click “Next”.

And we apply the changes.

Then click “Done”.

If Windows is one system installed on the computer, and you just need to restore its boot, first try the “Correct boot parameters” operation. Next, as in the previous case, when asked if we want to apply the changes, we answer “Yes”. Click “Next”, then “Finish”.

If the operation of correcting boot parameters did not help, try the “Fix Master Boot record (MBR)” operation. It overwrites the MBR code. We indicate the desired hard drive with a bootloader, in our case there is only one drive. Click “Next”.

And, as in the first operation, in the window asking to apply changes, answer “Yes”. Finally, click “Done”.

4. Restoring the MBR bootloader with EasyBCD

Another program on board Sergei Strelets’ LiveDisk that can be used to repair the MBR bootloader is EasyBCD. It is noteworthy primarily for those who have several Windows on their computer. EasyBCD is a convenient GUI interface for adding multiple Windows boot menus and editing the parameters of this menu. Launch EasyBCD in the Start menu of LiveDisk along the path:

• WinPE Programs – BCD Editors

To add Windows to the boot menu, in the “Add entry” section of the program, in the “Disk” column, indicate the path to the desired operating system. In the “Name” column we give it a name that is convenient for us. And click the green plus button to add a download record.

If necessary, adjust the bootloader menu in the “Edit boot menu” section.

Using EasyBCD you can also try to repair a damaged Windows bootloader. Go to the “Archiving/Recovery” section of the program. And we try the BCD settings - resetting the BCD configuration and updating the boot files. We try these parameters one by one, using them with the “Run” button.

5. Restoring the Windows bootloader using Dism++

Friends, the simplest usable way to restore an MBR bootloader can be offered by the Dism++ program, which is included in the LiveDisk by Sergei Strelec arsenal. With its help, you can select the Windows “home” drive - i.e. hard drive, if there are several of them, and each of them has its own MBR bootloader. Read a separate article on this program .

***

These are the automated software tools on board LiveDisk by Sergei Strelec that can be used to try to restore the Windows boot loader on a disk with the MBR partitioning style, without resorting to the procedure of re-creating it. But, alas, they will not help if serious problems have arisen with the MBR bootloader - some of its files are missing, its partition is damaged or its partition itself has been deleted. For example, when we see messages like:

• "BOOTMGR is missing" or
• "An operating system wasn"t found. Try disconnecting any drives that don’t contain an operating system.» .

In this case, the bootloader only needs to be recreated.

6. Re-creating the bootloader

Re-creating the MBR boot loader means re-creating its partition and re-creating the boot loader files. In some cases, only the last operation will be sufficient. But we will look at the situation universally, taking into account those cases when the bootloader partition is damaged. We will perform the first stage of the procedure using the AOMEI Partition Assistant program. At the second stage, we use the command line of WinPE LiveDisk’s Sagittarius. Go…

Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant in the Start menu of LiveDisk along the path:

• WinPE programs – Hard disk

In the program window, look at the disk map and find the bootloader partition. This is necessarily a partition with the status “Active”, usually this is the first partition of an MBR disk, it is called “System Reserved”. Its volume can be different - 100, 350, 500 MB. Click this section and delete it.

In the section creation form, click the “Advanced” button. And in the “How to create” column, select “Primary partition”. Click “Ok”.

Click on the newly created section and run the “Activate Section” operation.

Confirm that the partition is set as active. As a result, click the “Apply” button to launch all the operations that we have just assigned to execution.

8. Reinstall Windows

Using Sagittarius LiveDisk to boot Windows is a temporary solution, although it can last indefinitely, in fact, until we need a flash drive for other needs. However, sooner or later it is necessary to resolve the issue with the bootloader, and if this cannot be done even by re-creating it, the last option remains - reinstalling Windows. If there is nothing important in the old system, this can be done, as they say, without leaving the cash register, right in the LiveDisk environment of Sagittarius. Using the browser present on board, we can go to the Internet and download the distribution kit of any version, edition and build of Windows we need. And install the system using the 78Setup utility, which is, in fact, a native system installation process. Read more about this in the article.