So, recently, I unzipped an archive of files on my WinXP machine, and PKUnzip decided that I wanted them all in C:\ (root). Unfortunately, if you write too many small files to your root directory under WinXP, it overwrites your master boot record. You will not be aware that this damage has been done until you reboot, at which point it is far too late to try something like this. So now whenever I boot, I get
NTLDR.EXE missing. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to reboot.
And that’s it. A few quick Googles analyzed my problem, but now I’m looking for the solution. Some sites are telling me that fixmbr.exe, provided by Microsoft, will probably work. Some sites are telling me that I should use any number of third-party utilities which probably do the same thing. Most of these are found on the Ultimate Boot CD which I have now made a copy of.
“So Jurph,” you say, “what’s holding your ass up? Why haven’t you fixed the machine yet?” And I say, “I’m scared as hell.”
Computer dopers – and hopefully the esteemed Q.E.D. – what experience do you have in repairing MBRs? What are the odds that I can recover my current installation and directory structure? Is there a cascade of increasingly-risky options, so that I can start with the method most likely to succeed and work from there on to “hopeless desperation”?
I’ve got lots of MP3s I don’t want to have to rip again; I’ve got some Diablo characters (and items) that would take literally months to recover if lost. I have irreplaceable data by the truckload. And I was a bad boy and have not backed up this data. What should I do?