TechTips - How to Fix Master Boot Record in Windows Vista with EasyBCD

I recently had a problem with my laptop not booting Vista properly; it wouldn't load all the way into Windows. I did some research and found that it had to do something with my MBR or Master Boot Record being corrupted. I did some research and found EasyBCD, a simple to use program that allows even basic users to modify the MBR.

First it's important to know what the MBR is and what it's used for. I could give you some in-depth explanation but that isn't necessary, it's boring. I will just tell you that the MBR is used for loading Windows and if it is corrupted or altered it can affect how and if Windows (or whatever OS you are trying to load) loads. Confused yet?

Well I was getting an error message that said Corrupt MBR in Vista and it wouldn't load into Windows. I was however able to boot into safe mode. Well this is where the EasyBCD comes into play. It has a one click option to re-write your MBR and various other tasks you can choose from to edit the MBR and hopefully fix it. It worked for me so if you are getting the error I had or a similar one that has to do with a problem with your MBR being corrupted then I suggest you try this.

First you will need to get EasyBCD, click here to get it directly. Once you have it downloaded install it on your computer, I used all the default options. You don't have to worry about EasyBCD slowing down your PC or doing anything malicious, it's certified by some of the top trusted download sites (such as softpedia.com) as spyware and virus free.

Once installed open the program, there is a list of buttons on the left hand side to choose from. We want to open the Manage Bootloader button. Now there are a few options in the window, first you will want to backup your current MBR, to do this in the Backup and restore Bootloader settings choose the directory where you want to save your MBR and then choose Backup Settings. It will give you a prompt saying that it was successfully backed up. Now you have a copy of your existing MBR just in case our next fix doesn't work you can get back to the state you were in.

Next you will want to choose the radio button labeled (Reinstall the Vista Bootloader) and then click on Write MBR. The same type of prompt will come up letting you know that the process has completed successfully. Now all you need to do is close the program, reboot and see if your MBR is fixed.

If your Master Boot Record is in fact fixed you should be able to boot back into Vista without any problems and now you won't see any of the MBR corrupt errors (or whatever MBR error you were getting before).