# Repairing Master Boot Record in WinXP

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-master-boot-record-in-winxp/253793>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 6, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-master-boot-record-in-winxp/253793 "2004-07-06T15:57:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-master-boot-record-in-winxp/253793/1 "2004-07-06T15:57:48Z")

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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](http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) 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?

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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:** [July 6, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-master-boot-record-in-winxp/253793/2 "2004-07-06T19:59:17Z")

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Try FDISK /MBR. See this article: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 69013