Can I use fixboot/fixmbr on a Vista installation from an XP or W7 CD?

I

IcarusSC

Gawd
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Apr 19, 2006
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I'm fixing a friend's computer, and it's hitting a 'No bootable device' bluescreen when it starts up. This looks to me like a fixboot/fixmbr should do the trick, but I'm out of the country right now (she's here too) and all I have is an XP disc and a Win7 disc.

I would guess that the command would be the same across those three versions, but I want to make sure I don't screw something up! Can I use one of those discs to repair her Vista boot sector?

Thanks!
 
First thing I would do is do a chkdsk /f from command line (can be done in the XP Recovery Console).

If that doesn't work, I would pull the hard drive out and plug it into a system and run a partition recovery program on it. Then check the flags and make sure the primary parition is set as bootable (Active as Disk Management calls it). Do not create a new partition or else you'll wipe the data.

If that doesn't work and you need to reinstall, use Recuva and check the box to check for non-deleted files. Use folder structure output when pulling the files off the drive. Then reinstall.
 
Actually you'll want to use the chkdsk /r command so that it checks the hard disk for bad sectors. chkdsk /f only checks for file errors.
 
Maybe I'm not thinking straight, but it seems to me like I had this exact problem about five years ago and fixed it by running fixboot and fixmbr. Am I remembering wrong?
 
Do not use XP's recovery console to fix boot issues on Vista, the Win7 should work, but is not advised, you should always use matching versions...

The above post is my personal views and opinions, not that of my employer.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 
If it is a Vista or 7 machine, boot to the installation DVD and run command prompt. From there run bootrec /fixboot and bootrec /fixmbr.
 
Well, for those who are interested, it wasn't necessary. I couldn't boot into Windows Recovery Console, so, on a whim, I went into the BIOS and changed the HDD type from AHCI to ATA. Recovery console booted just fine after that and I ran a chkdsk /r and changed it back. All done!

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
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