BIOS / Boot Up Problems

	BIOS Display Error		Master Boot Record Corruption		Windows Blue Screen Dump
	Blank Screen At Start Up		Unmountable Boot Volume		Windows Failed To Load Due To Missing Files
	CMOS Checksum Error		Missing NTLDR		Invalid Partition Table
	Invalid Boot.ini or HAL.dll		Windows Boot Up Errors

Related Topics

Hard Disk / Chkdsk Problems

Windows Problems

 

Master Boot Record Corruption

 

Observations

You power up your computer and the receive a blank screen right after P.O.S.T (Power On Self Test) completes. You may also receive the following messages:

• Missing Operating System
• Error Loading Operating System

 

Possible Causes

The master boot record could be corrupted. The master boot record is stored in the first sector of your hard disk. It is an important data structure that contains the code instructions to the the system on how to boot up to an operable system. In this case, when you power up your computer, the BIOS identifies the boot device and detects invalid information in the master boot record. Some viruses also like to attack this record causing the computer to malfunction during boot up. Hence, your system halts and displays a blank screen.

 

Resolution

You can repair the MBR using Microsoft's standard utility - fixmbr or fdisk /mbr. Both methods rewrite the master boot code and leave the partition table intact.

For Windows XP/2000 users, follow these steps:

• Boot up with Windows Installation Disc as the bootup device.
• Enter Windows Recovery Console
• At the command prompt, type in: fixmbr

For Windows 98/ME users, follow these steps:

• Boot the computer with a Windows 98 boot floppy disk
• At the command prompt, type in: fdisk /mbr