PC Hacks

Hack #49. Fix the Partition Boot Sector on NTFS Partitions

Use FIXBOOT to restore the ability to boot from your NTFS hard drive.

Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 users having problems accessing or booting from an NTFS disk can use the FIXBOOT program to rewrite a new Master Boot Record on the hard drive.

FIXBOOT 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. FIXBOOT has one function, similar to DOS's SYS: to write fresh boot information on the disk drive.

Warning

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.

To use FIXBOOT, follow these steps:

1. Boot using your Recovery diskettes or setup CD and select the Recovery Console option.

2. Once booted, you will be prompted to log on to the drive/partition you wish to repair, typically indicated as 1 for C:\WINNT.

3. At the command prompt, issue the FIXBOOT command followed by the name of the disk partition to be "fixed." For example (press Enter after you've typed the command):

                     fixboot 
                     C

4. Type exit to leave the Recovery Console and restart the system.

If you do not supply a drive letter, FIXBOOT will write a new partition boot sector to the current partition you logged on to. ...