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Fixmbr type thing for Vista ?


sinqe

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So, I have XP on hdd0 and I installed Vista [Home Premium Upgrade] to hdd1 and after I did that my plan was to move my important files onto hdd1 than format hdd0 and ghosh the drive with Vista onto the newly formatted so Vista would be on the primary drive.

One problem, the boot details are on hdd0 so if I format it/remove it Vista won't be able to boot ("NTLDR MISSING"), so, I was wondering if there is a similar command to fixmbr (Fix Master Boot Record) I could use to create the boot info on the Vista hard drive which will utilise the new bootloader Vista installs.

Thank you, a lot. If someone can answer this it will save me a lot of trouble. :unsure:

- Sorry if this has been answered. D:

Edited by sinqe
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I've been messing around with that app but can't quite figure out how to make it do what I want in this particular instance. D:

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Well, since it seems like I'll have to reinstall would be the best approach ? Since no matter how I plug the drives in I'll still be installing from within XP so the bootloader will be installed on that drive I'll have to do it another way.

Is the method for doing a clean install (With no product key) than upgrading that install from within (With a product key) still viable ? If so, I'll do that but the bootloader problem will still be there.

Maybe I could:

1) Plug in only the hdd where I'll install and have it as hdd0

2) Do the clean install/upgrade trick

3) Plug in the hdd (Which will be hdd1) with XP

^ Any major problems with that plan ? All I can think of is that I will need to wipe any boot info from that hdd and I will need to add Windows XP to the boot list for the Vista bootloader (Via BCDEdit or VistaBootPro) which should be easy enough.

Edited by sinqe
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How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392/en-us

To run the Bootrec.exe tool, you must start the Windows RE. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.

2. Press a key when you are prompted.

3. Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then click Next.

4. Click Repair your computer.

5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.

6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.

7. Type Bootrec /FixMbr, and then press ENTER

8. Type Bootrec /FixBoot, and then press ENTER.

9. Type Bootrec /ScanOs, and then press ENTER.

10.Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd, and then press ENTER.

11.Restart your computer.

Now use Startup Repair in Windows RE. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.

2. Press a key when you are prompted.

3. Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then click Next.

4. Click Repair your computer.

5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.

6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Startup Repair.

7. After it has performed, click on View diagnostic and repair details to see what was fixed.

8. Restart your computer.

Edited by vistaviewer
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BOOTSECT.EXE is a tool available in the OPK/WAIK which does the FIXMBR thingy.

MS made it to enable switching between NT5 boot sector and NT6.

It's attached.

bootsect {/help|/nt60|/nt52} {SYS|ALL|<DriveLetter>:} [/force]

Boot sector restoration tool

Bootsect.exe updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions in order to

switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR. You can use this tool to restore the boot

sector on your computer.

/help Displays these usage instructions.

/nt52 Applies the master boot code that is compatible with NTLDR to SYS,

ALL, or <DriveLetter>. The operating system installed on SYS, ALL, or

<DriveLetter> must be older than Windows Vista.

/nt60 Applies the master boot code that is compatible with BOOTMGR to SYS,

ALL, or <DriveLetter>. The operating system installed on SYS, ALL, or

<DriveLetter> must be Windows Vista or WindowsServer "Longhorn".

SYS Updates the master boot code on the system partition used to boot

Windows.

ALL Updates the master boot code on all partitions. ALL does not

necessarily update the boot code for each volume. Instead, this

option updates the boot code on volumes that could be used as Windows

boot volumes, which excludes any dynamic volumes that are not

connected with an underlying disk partition. This restriction is

present because boot code must be located at the beginning of a disk

partition.

<DriveLetter> Updates the master boot code on the volume associated with this

drive letter. Boot code will not be updated if either 1)

<DriveLetter> is not associated with a volume or 2) <DriveLetter> is

associated with a volume not connected to an underlying disk

partition.

/force Forcibly dismounts the volume(s) during the boot code update. You

should use this option with caution.

If Bootsect.exe cannot gain exclusive volume access then the file

system may overwrite the boot code before the next reboot.

Bootsect.exe always attempts to lock and dismount the volume before

each update. When /force is specified, a forced dismount is attempted

if the initial lock attempt fails. A lock can fail, for example, if

files on the target volume are currently opened by other programs.

When successful, a forced dismount allows exclusive volume access and

a reliable boot code update even though the initial lock failed. At

the same time, a forced dismount invalidates all open handles to files

on the target volume. This could result in unexpected behavior from

the programs that opened these files. Therefore, you should use this

option with caution.

Example:

To apply the master boot code that is compatible with NTLDR to the volume

labeled E:, use the following command:

bootsect /nt52 E:

BOOTSECT.zip

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