Error Fixing Vistas Mbr

[QuiddyBiddy]

When i boot up i get the "Missing Operating System".

I thought this was just a corrupt MBR, so i went into the command prompt of the Vista DVD and used the 'Bootrec.exe /FixMbr'.

Rebooted, but this didn't work. So i restarted and loaded up - oh so slowly - from the DVD and tried the 'Bootrec.exe /FixBoot' only to get the 'Element not found' reply.

What on earth is going on?

Also, in the command prompt it's X:\ and not C:\.

Any ideas?

[JSKY]

Did you first try to run the Repair option on the disk, letting it run automatically.

Do you have Vista installed somewhere besides Drive C (dual boot).

[QuiddyBiddy]

No dual boot.

And yes, tried to run the automatic repair and it could not complete.

This what it spat out.

Problem event name: Startup Repair V2

Problem Signature 01: External Media

Problem Signature 02: 6.0.6000.16386.0.0.0.0

Problem Signature 03: 4

Problem Signature 04: 63337

Problem Signature 05: unknown

Problem Signature 06: CorruptMbr

Problem Signature 07: O

Problem Signature 08: I

Problem Signature 09: FixMbr

Problem Signature 010:1168

OS Version 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1

Locate ID: 1033

[shanenin]

Maybe a bad hardrive.

[JSKY]

Try using your Vista CD and Do a "System Restore" to a time before you started having this problem.

Can you boot into safe mode, or are you just getting past the BIOs screen.

I have been running through the TechNet and MSDN site, along with the web looking for this problem.

This what it spat out.

Problem event name: Startup Repair V2

Problem Signature 01: External Media

Problem Signature 02: 6.0.6000.16386.0.0.0.0

Problem Signature 03: 4

Problem Signature 04: 63337

Problem Signature 05: unknown

Problem Signature 06: CorruptMbr

Problem Signature 07: O

Problem Signature 08: I

Problem Signature 09: FixMbr

Problem Signature 010:1168

OS Version 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1

Locate ID: 1033

So far there are people having this problem. I'm running through all the different fixes I have come across. There are not many. And reinstalling is the last option. M$ really doesn't have much covering this. Seems a strange glitch. but mostly adding XP after Vista in a dual boot setup. But there are a couple with the same problems of a single OS. I would love to get this one.

But ruling out a bad Hard Drive is an option... How old is the Drive? Is it making any noises it shouldn't?

[QuiddyBiddy]

Yeah well the HDD is only a couple o months old.

[shanenin]

It is probably not the hardrive, but it is worth testing, just to rule it out. Hardrives can fail within the first year often.

[QuiddyBiddy]

Great, i'll try it. Any ideas of what tools i can use?

[QuiddyBiddy]

Addition:

Tried running MemTest, but it doesn't seem to see anything, and the VISTA memory test came up with an error saying there was something stopping it from working. Tried swapping out each stick, and also into different slots, but it never changed anything.

System Restore also popped up with an error, and couldn't go any further.

Does it sound like there could be a problem with the mobo?

Edited October 21, 2007 by QuiddyBiddy

[shanenin]

that is a tough one. It could be a bad chipset on the mobo. As to testing the hardrive, most of the manufactures have utilities that will run from a cd. Take a look at your hardrive and then goto the manufactures website and download their testing utility.

[mikex]

I don't have a fix, but maybe some encouraging words for someone.

I came across a laptop with a registry error. After going to the MS KB I popped the Vista cd in and ran the memory test. All ok. Rebooted and ran the restore, not expecting much as this was my first experience with Vista restore. Well it ran, rebooted and now my boss has her laptop back with no missing files.

If the machine is a "Brand" machine like Dell or HP the tools to test the drive are usually on their recovery partition. But the website will have them as well.

Take one stick of ram out. Remove everything that is not needed to run the computer. then try the memory test again, with each stick. Unplug cd rom and floppy if you are not using them to run test from.

M

[JSKY]

Found this out. It's a complicated set of instructions.

How Windows Starts Up

Seems like the error could be coming from the boot loader. The following clipping is from the above link. It can be corrected, but one would have to read the instructions close and have some knowledge to what it pertains.

So, now that we have an understanding of what is contained within the structures on the disk, let’s look at the sequence of events that occur. Remember, this is just after POST has successfully completed.

1. The motherboard ROM BIOS attempts to access the first boot device specified in the BIOS. (This is typically user configurable and can be edited using the BIOS configuration utility.)

2. The ROM BIOS reads Cylinder 0, Head 0, and Sector 1 of the first boot device.

3. The ROM BIOS loads that sector into memory and tests it.

a. For a floppy drive, the first sector is a FAT Boot Sector.

b. For a hard drive, the first sector is the Master Boot Record (MBR).

4. When booting to the hard drive, the ROM BIOS looks at the last two signature bytes of Sector 1 and verifies they are equal to 55AA.

a. If the signature bytes do not equal 55AA the system assumes that the MBR is corrupt or the hard drive has never been partitioned. This invokes BIOS Interrupt 18, which displays an error that is BIOS-vendor specific such as “Operating System not foundâ€.

b. If the BIOS finds that the last two bytes are 55AA, the MBR program executes.

5. The MBR searches the partition table for a boot indicator byte 0x80 indicating an active partition.

a. If no active partition is found, BIOS Interrupt 18 is invoked and a BIOS error is displayed such as “Operating System not foundâ€.

b. If any boot indicator in the MBR has a value other than 0x80 or 0x00, or if more than one boot indicator indicates an active partition (0x80), the system stops and displays “Invalid partition tableâ€.

c. If an active partition is found, that partition’s Boot Sector is loaded and tested.

6. The MBR loads the active partition’s Boot Sector and tests it for 55AA.

a. If the Boot Sector cannot be read after five retries, the system halts and displays “Error loading operating systemâ€.

b. If the Boot Sector can be read but is missing its 55AA marker, “Missing operating system†is displayed and the system halts.

c. The bootstrap area is made up of a total of 16 sectors (0-15). If sector 0 for the bootstrap code is valid, but there is corruption in sectors 1-15, you may get a black screen with no error. In this case, it may be possible to transplant sectors 1-15 (not Sector 0) from another NTFS partition using DskProbe.

d. If the Boot Sector is loaded and it passes the 55AA test, the MBR passes control over to the active partition’s Boot Sector.

7. The active partition’s Boot Sector begins executing and looks for NTLDR. The contents of the Boot Sector are entirely dependent on the format of the partition. For example, if the boot partition is a FAT partition, Windows writes code to the Boot Sector that understands the FAT file system. However, if the partition is NTFS, Windows writes NTFS-capable code. The role of the Boot Sector code is to give Windows just enough information about the structure and format of a logical drive to enable it to read the NTLDR file from the root directory. The errors at this point of the boot process are file system specific. The following are possible errors with FAT and NTFS Boot Sectors.

a. FAT: In all cases it displays “press any key to restart†after either of the following errors.

(1) If NTLDR is not found “NTLDR is missing†is displayed

(2) If NTLDR is on a bad sector, “Disk Error†displays.

b. NTFS: In all cases it displays “Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart†after any of the following errors.

(1) If NTLDR is on a bad sector, “A disk read error occurred†is displayed. This message may also be displayed on Windows 2000 or higher systems if Extended Int13 calls are required, but have been disabled in the CMOS or SCSI BIOS. This behavior may also be seen if an FRS (File Record Segment) cannot be loaded or if any NTFS Metadata information is corrupt.

(2) If NTLDR is not found, “NTLDR is missing†displays.

(3) If NTLDR is compressed, “NTLDR is compressed†displays.

8. Once NTLDR is found, it is loaded into memory and executed. At this point the Boot Loader phase begins.

I have found out this is a small problem for some people running Vista by doing searcher. It's not a big problem yet. But so far I haven't come across a easy fix. (No fixes found on any forums I came across on the subject).

[QuiddyBiddy]

With mixed feelings - elated for the fact it is fixed, but dissapointed for the fact all that great research went to small use - I would like to inform you that it was a simple tweak in the BIOS.

Under the HDD settings somehow it had been set from RAID back to IDE.

Because i am running RAID 0 is was the BIOS unable to retrieve a complete MBR because it was striped over two disks and could only see one?

I also apologise for not putting up a detailed configuration of the system (the first thing i should've posted - an oversight i am well aware of), and more importantly that i was running RAID. This probably would have let some of you solve the problem sooner.

Thanks again for all your help.

back to bioshock

[shanenin]

Thanks for the update, Glad you got it figured out. I think your correct, since your settings got changed to ide mode, their is know way to read striped harddrives. That was a tough one to figure out, who would have thought your bios settings would have reverted to ide mode, that is odd.

Just curious was this a custom build? I also am running vista on two striped drives. It needs all the help it can get :-)

[JSKY]

What an turn of events. I wonder how many post I have went through that might have the same problem. I'll keep this in mind for future issues.

Thanks for letting us know your fix to this.

[mikex]

With mixed feelings - elated for the fact it is fixed, but dissapointed for the fact all that great research went to small use - I would like to inform you that it was a simple tweak in the BIOS.

Under the HDD settings somehow it had been set from RAID back to IDE.

Because i am running RAID 0 is was the BIOS unable to retrieve a complete MBR because it was striped over two disks and could only see one?

I also apologise for not putting up a detailed configuration of the system (the first thing i should've posted - an oversight i am well aware of), and more importantly that i was running RAID. This probably would have let some of you solve the problem sooner.

Thanks again for all your help.

back to bioshock

I think all of has a story like this. For most of us it would be changing a setting and not making a note of it. The machine starts acting flakey and we are off to figure it out.

I would bet if something like this ever happened to you are some one you know you will point them to check that setting in the process to figure out the issue.