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5.140 bytes |
Service Hints & Tips |
Document ID: DETR-3UEN5U |
Aptiva-PS/1 - Fixing boot records with FDISK
Applicable to: United States
Certain conditions can cause the hard drive on the system to be unbootable, primarily by corruption or overwriting of the master boot record. The typical symptom is that the system will hang during a bootup from the hard drive, requiring a boot diskette to be able to operate the system. The data files on the drive will not be lost, but the drive will not be able to reboot.
The conditions that can cause this vary. In some cases, it may be due to a sudden power drop while the system is writing data to the hard drive, or a program may have an error that causes it to access the hard drive incorrectly, thus destroying the boot record. A favorite target of computer viruses is the boot record, since a corrupted boot record can create a great deal of havoc in the system, as well as allow the virus to spread.
If you encounter a problem like this, you can use the FDISK command with the parameter /MBR to create a new boot record for the drive. Boot up the system with a bootable diskette to get to an A:\> prompt, then enter the command:
FDISK /MBR
so that the master boot record is rebuilt. Note that the use of FDISK in this way will result in the command being executed without presenting any menus, and the other data files on the drive will not be affected.
/MBR is an undocumented parameter for FDISK, but it is effective in allowing the hard drive to work again as a bootable drive. The command normally takes just a few seconds to run, and it will normally run with no messages. After running the command, rebooting the system from that drive should result in normal expected operation.
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Search Keywords |
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Hint Category |
DOS/Windows 3.x, Utility Software, Hard Drives | |
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Date Created |
23-04-96 | |
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Last Updated |
25-01-99 | |
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Revision Date |
07-12-99 | |
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Brand |
IBM Aptiva | |
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Product Family |
Aptiva, Laptop L40, Notebook N33, Notebook N45, Notebook N51, PC Server 300, PC Server 500, PS/1, PS/2, PS/Note, ThinkPad 300, ThinkPad 340, ThinkPad 500, ThinkPad 700, ThinkPad 701, ValuePoint | |
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Machine Type |
2011, 2121, 2123, 2133, 2155, 2168, 2134, 2176, 2144 | |
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Model |
C01; C34; M01; NEA; T35; U35; A62; A82; A94; B82; C42; C92; G42; M82; S92; 081; 087; 131; 137; K37; N31; N81; 11E; 13T; 14C; 16E; 17A; 18A; 18T; 19C; 21C; 23C; 28A; 46M; 51D; D50; G11; G13; G43; G46; G49; G50; G53; M40; M46; P11; P13; P43; P50; P53; R04; R05; R06; R09; R38; R42; R43; R44; R84; R86; R87; RO3; S11; S13; S43; S45; S47; S48; S50; S53; W11; W13; W42; W43; W45; W50; W53; 20E; 22T; 24C; 24M; 28V; 39E; 41T; 43C; 45V; 48E; 50T; 52C; 55V; 72E; 74T; 76C; 78C; 79C; 81A; 82E; 84T; 86C; 87C; CC1; D53; G14; G44; G52; G54; G72; G76; G78; G82; NM1; P14; P44; P57; P71; P74; P76; P78; P84; R14; R15; R16; R17; R18; R51; R52; R57; R58; R62; R63; R67; R71; R89; R93; R96; R97; S14; S44; S54; S70; S75; S76; S78; S80; W14; W44; W48; W54; W67; W76; W77; W78; Z33; 31E; 33T; 37C; 38C; 51E; 54T; 56C; 57C; 88V; BB1; G57; G87; OR1; OR3; OR4; OR5; P89; R28; R29; R31; R74; R78; R82; R98; S55; S85; SR1; US1; W52; W82; 6R6; 6R7; C21; C32; 6R9; C31; C54; C5D; F31; 6R8; 7R1; 7R2; 7R3; 7R4; 7R5; 7R6; 7R7; 7R8; 7R9; 7RO; 8R1; 8R2; 8R3; 8RO; C23; C33; C35; C53; C55; C57; C5H; C65; C66; C67; C69; C73; C75; C77; C79; C7H; F23; F35; F57; F69; F79; 5R5; M91; 2R5; 2R7; 2R8; M30; M35; M50; 2R6; 4R7; 4R8; M54; M58; 3R0; 3R8; M60; M70; 3R4; 3R6; 4R1; 4R9; M31; M51; M52; M63; 2R9; 3R1; 3R3; 3R5; 3R7; 3R9; 4R0; 4R2; 4R3; M41; M53; M55; M56; M57; M61; M62; M71; M72; 5R1; 6R3; A10; A12; A14; 5R2; 5R3; 5R6; 5R8; 5R9; 6R0; 6R4; 6R5; A15; A40; A44; A45; A50; A51; A52; A90; A92; 1R2; 66P; 67P; 86P; OR8; 1R1; 1R3; 1R5; 22P; 24P; 25P; 27P; 29P; 63P; 82P; 83P; OR6; OR7; OR9; 1R0; 26P; 62P; 2R0; P30; 2R3; S15 | |
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