Restore MBR

* If you do not have a password or Windows XP
normally starts without asking for one, simply press
Enter.
The Recovery Console is now fully loaded and the
cursor should be sitting at the prompt.

7. To restore mbr, type "fixmbr" without quotations
and then press Enter.

The fixmbr utility will write a master boot record to
the hard drive that you're currently using to boot into
Windows XP. This will repair any corruption or
damage that the master boot record may have.

8. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then
press Enter to restart your PC.

Assuming that a corrupt master boot record was
your only issue, Windows XP should now start
normally.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 have built in
versions not requiring an installation CD to restore
MBR.

4. When the Windows XP
Professional/Home Setup screen
appears, press R to enter Recovery
Console.

5. The Recovery Console is now
loading but needs to know which
Windows installation to access.
Unless you are running more than one
version of Windows XP, then on the
which Windows installation would you
like to log onto question, press 1 and
then Enter

6. To the Type the Administrator
password request, enter the password
and press Enter.

To restore MBR you need to enter Recovery Console
in Windows XP, you will need to boot from the
Windows XP CD.

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into the CD tray and restart your computer.

2. Watch the screen for a Press any key to boot from CD.

3. Press a key to start the computer booting from the Windows CD. If this is not done, your computer
will continue to boot to Windows XP. If this happens, reboot and try to boot to the Windows XP CD
again.
Windows XP will now preload a number of files in preparation for either a reinstallation of Windows XP
or for use of the Recovery Console.

* Do not press a function key if asked to do so during this process. This is only necessary when
installing Windows XP or reinstalling Windows XP.

If you ever get "MBR corrupt" or Error loading
operating system" error messages on your
computer, it is telling you that BIOS cannot
locate the Master Boot Record on the first sector
(the boot sector) of your hard drive.
This is when you will have to restore MBR.
The MBR tells BIOS which partition on the hard
drive contains your operating system and then
loads it into memory from there.
With a damaged or corrupt MBR, BIOS cannot
locate and start the operating system.