QUERY: restore HDD image, boot device not found

**andwan0** · March 3, 2015

I restored a HDD image (using DriveXML), and now it says "cannot find boot device" or something similar.

What can I do to get C:\ booting again?

**submix8c** · March 3, 2015

You mean this -

Maybe because it doesn't backup/restore Master Boot Record, only individual Partitions?

You're going to have to "generate" an MBR with a tool appropriate for the OS you're restoring.

Here... do a little "light reading" -

1 - BIOS points to ("calls") HDD's MBR where

2 - MBR is which points to ("calls")

3 - Boot Partition's PBR which points to ("calls")

4 - Bootstrap Program (e.g. NTLDR, in case of NT/2K/XP/2K3)

You didn't restore the MBR, so it has nowhere to go from there.

Full stop between #1 and #2.

Edited March 3, 2015 by submix8c

**andwan0** · March 4, 2015

I tried fixmbr, fixboot, bootcfg

none of them worked.

Maybe it was a bad backup image.....

**jaclaz** · March 4, 2015

I tried fixmbr, fixboot, bootcfg
none of them worked.

Maybe it was a bad backup image.....

Sure they won't work.

It is not like you run any tool that you find without having understood the basics and hope that by sheer luck they will fix your problem.

Read this:

Once you will have digested the contents, you may want to read this one:

(a DriveImageXML backup, besides more generally the bootsector of a volume image, holds enough info to rebuild the MBR DATA)

jaclaz

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