# Boot Record - Windows Vista

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boot-record-windows-vista/644826>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 22, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boot-record-windows-vista/644826 "2012-12-22T12:36:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boot-record-windows-vista/644826/1 "2012-12-22T12:36:58Z")

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I am not sure, but I think that my wife’s laptop with Windows Vista has a boot record problem. Has problems booting. Where can I find the boot record and how can I reinstall it?

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**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boot-record-windows-vista/644826/2 "2012-12-22T13:30:51Z")

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Boot from your Vista CD and select “Repair your computer”. When you get a selection of recovery tools, select “Command prompt” and when that comes up, type “bootrec.exe” (without the quotes of course). This will reinstall the master boot record.

I think the chances of this fixing your problems is pretty small. You might want to post more details about exactly what the problem is.