MBRWizard Suite FAQ

Since a boot virus is stored in the Master Boot Record, we simply need to replace the infected code with the original MBR information. Using the MBRWizard Suite, the process is as simple as selecting the infected disk and pressing Repair to restore the original boot code. Note, this process will not change the partitions or disk signature on the drive. See example

MBRWizard provides an MBR repair option, which is designed to fix the boot code in your MBR back the factory default. Within MBRWizard, select the target disk, click on the Repair option, now click the desired version of MBR and click Repair. See example, or check out additional information on fixing MBR problems.

MBRWizard Suite provides the ability to store a copy of your MBR directly over the Internet to the Firesage Cloud. A copy of the MBR can be downloaded at anytime by visiting Firesage Cloud, which may prove invaluable if your MBR becomes corrupt or overwritten.

This error can be resolved by generating a new disk signature for the disk, which is located in the MBR. To do this start up MBRWizard, select the primary disk to fix, then click on Disk Signature to bring up the available options. Simply select Generate and apply changes, which will create and write a new disk signature to the disk. Reboot the machine to apply the changes to Windows.

It sounds like the Linux boot loader was installed to the MBR, so we simply need to replace it with the standard Windows version. From MBRWizard Suite select Repair, select the appropriate version of Windows and click Repair to apply the changes. Finally, select the Partition tab and delete any remaining Linux partitions. Just remember to reboot the computer in order for Windows to recognize the changes.

It is recommended to keep a current backup of the MBR in case of corruption or accidental deletion. The following examples detail the process for creating a backup of various sections of the disk with MBRWizard, including the MBR, Track 0, the GPT, volume boot sectors for supported partition types, and a range of sectors.
GUI version: After selecting the desired disk, click the Backup button to display available options. Now select MBR, enter a filename to store the MBR, and press Save to complete. See example
CLI version: Save the MBR from the first disk to a file named MyDisk1.mbw: mbrwiz.exe /disk=0 /save=mbr /filename=MyDisk1.mbw

GUI version: After selecting the desired target disk, click the Restore button, and browse to locate the backup to restore. Please confirm the proper disk is selected, and the contents of the file are valid before clicking Restore to complete the process. See example
CLI version, see the following examples:

• Restore the MBR to the first disk from the file d:\MyDisk1.mbw: mbrwiz.exe /disk=0 /restore=mbr /filename=d:\MyDisk1.mbw
• Restore the MBR to the second disk (disk 1) from the file d:\MyDisk2.mbw: mbrwiz.exe /disk=1 /restore=mbr /filename=d:\MyDisk2.mbw

GUI: Select the desired disk, click on Partitions, now locate and select/highlight the partition in the list with type DB (Dell).

1. Click the Change Type link, now select type 0C (32bit FAT) from the list and click Ok to accept the change..
2. With this partition still selected, check the Active (boot) checkbox to set it as bootable.

Make certain to click 'Apply Changes' to save the changes to disk

MBRWizard Suite includes the Firesage Boot Builder, which utilizes the Windows Automated Installation Kit to create a bootable Windows ISO containing the MBRWizard toolset. This ISO may be burned to CD/DVD and used to boot up the computer for offline troubleshooting and repair. See WinPE for more information.

The Repair option is designed to replace the boot loader on the disk with a standard Windows boot loader, and supports both Windows 7 and Windows XP formats.

• GUI version: After selecting the target disk, select the Repair option, click the desired version of MBR and click Repair. See example
• CLI version: Available parameters are xp or win7. The following example will repair a Windows 7 MBR on the first disk:

  mbrwiz.exe /disk=0 /repair=Win7

Most flash drives come from the manufacturer formatted as a Superfloppy rather than with an MBR. In order to make a flash drive bootable the disk should first be converted to MBR, which can be accomplished with the Repair function of MBRWizard. Once the MBR has been established, a standard NTFS or FAT partition can be created, formatted, and set as Active (bootable), leaving only the need to copy the operating system to the newly prepared disk.
There are a few different methods for creating a bootable flash disk, see the following instructions:

• After selecting the flash disk to use from the available disks, click the Partitions button, now click the Create button to open the partition creation Window. Leave the default sector alignment value at 128 (64k), and click Create partition. This will only take a moment, but the disk is now ready to be ejected, reinserted, and formatted.
• After selecting the flash disk from the list of available disks, click the Repair button, select the Windows 7 type of MBR and click Repair. Eject and reinsert the disk, once detected a bootable partition can be created and formatted using Windows disk management, or another similar utility. Make sure you come back to MBRWizard and make the partition active by highlighting the newly created partition and clicking Active (boot). Click Apply Changes to save.
  

If the flash disk is already formatted as an MBR type disk, see the section below entitled, "How do I select and set a partition as bootable?"

GUI version: Select disk 0 from the list of available disks, now click Disk Signature to view the available signature options. Simply enter the new 8 digit hexadecimal value of AD69AD69 in the available field and click Save.
CLI version: Using the /signature=write command, the following will save the new disk signature to disk 0:

• mbrwiz.exe /signature=write /value=AD69AD69 /disk=0

GUI version: Select the disk containing the partition you want to set active, click on Partition to view the available partitions. Now click on the desired partition, check the Active box, and click Apply changes to set the partition as bootable. See example
CLI version, see the following example:

• Set the first partition on the first disk bootable: mbrwiz.exe /active /disk=0 /part=1

*Note, only a single partition may be bootable at a time.  The process of setting a partition active will set all other primary partitions as inactive.

GUI version: Once the desired disk has been selected, a Disk Details button will be displayed, which shows the details of the MBR, disk, and specific partition information. The complete disk and partition information may also be printed for emergency situations by clicking the Print button. See example
CLI version: Use the /list command to display details, ie. mbrwiz.exe /list

Deleting a partition removes all references from the MBR, and effectively deletes all data contained on the partition.
GUI version: After selecting the desired disk, click the partition button to list available partitions. Select the partition to delete, now check the Delete box and press Apply changes to delete. See example
CLI version, see the following examples:

• Delete the first partition on the first disk: mbrwiz.exe /disk=0 /part=1 /del
• Delete the third partition on the second disk: mbrwiz.exe /disk=1 /part=3 /del

GUI version: After selecting the desired target disk, click the Restore button and select the backup file, under which the the file contents will be displayed. See example
CLI version: use the /show=file command, ie. mbrwiz.exe /show=file /filename=d:\MyDisk1MBR.mbw

GUI version: After selecting the desired disk, select Partitions and click on Sort Entries.
CLI version: Use the /sort command to sort the partition entries by physical location on the disk. ie. mbrwiz.exe /disk=0 /sort

In some circumstances the partition type identifier located in the MBR may get modified. The following describes how to modify the partition type identifier (Note, this will NOT convert the file system, only change the identifier in the partition table).
GUI version: After selecting the desired disk, click on Partitions, select the partition to change, then click on Change Type. Select the desired type from the list, click Ok, and finish by Applying changes.
CLI version: The following will change partition one (1) to type NTFS (7): mbrwiz.exe /part=1 /type=7

Wiping the MBR can be used in situations where you want to completely remove the MBR, or perhaps all data and partitions from the disk. In addition to the MBR, MBRWizard also supports wiping the first Track, the GPT, and the entire disk.
GUI version: After selecting the desired disk click on Wipe, select MBR (or another option), then click on Wipe.
CLI version: See the following examples:

• Wipe the MBR on the first disk: mbrwiz.exe /wipe=mbr /disk=0
• Wipe the entire first head on the second disk: mbrwiz.exe /wipe=track0 /disk=1
• Wipe sectors 2 through 12 on the third disk: mbrwiz.exe /wipe=2-11 /disk=2

If installed as part of the MBRWizard Suite, simply select MBRWizard CLI from the Start menu and a command prompt window will be automatically created and ready to run. Simply type mbrwiz /? to get started.
For direct downloads of the CLI version, uncompress the zip file and copy the contents to a location on your hard disk, for example C:\Windows\System32. Now, click on Start->Run, Type 'CMD' and press 'Ok', this will bring you to a command prompt. You can start MBRWizard CLI by typing 'mbrwiz.exe, make sure you check out the available options from the CLI Reference page for specific functionality.

A SATA disk frequently shows up under Windows as a SCSI device when running in AHCI mode, or when connected via certain storage controllers manufactured by Silicon Image, JMicron, and NVIDIA nForce. This is normal even though this isn't a SCSI disk, and does not affect drive performance.

The MBR actually contains the following multiple components:

• Boot record- the code required to bootstrap the computer
• Partition table- contains the location, size, type, and other information about the partitions on the disk
• Disk signature- A unique value which assists Windows in identifying the disk, used mainly for reassigning drive letters

The Repair process returns the boot code to a default state provided by the specific version of operating system, but would leave the partition table untouched. A loss or corruption of the partition table would effectively remove the partitions on the disk, including all information such as documents and pictures. Capturing a quick backup of the MBR each time a partition is resized, deleted, or added will make sure the partition table can be restored.

MBR Error 3 typically indicates some corruption in the Master Boot Record, which is quickly resolved using MBRWizard. From the MBRWizard GUI simply select the hard disk on which the problem is happening, then click on Repair, select the Windows 7 MBR format, then apply changes. The machine should now boot without the error message. See example

Error 2755 is actually a Windows installer error, and is caused when the .msi install file is located on an encrypted disk or folder. Simply copy this file to a non-encrypted location, such as USB flash drive, and install from this new location.

Error 506 indicates a failure attempting to read a given sector from the selected disk, typically due to a bad sector or failed disk. Make sure you immediately backup all critical data from this drive if you see this message. Once the contents are backed up, try running the disk utilities from the drive manufacturer (SeaTools for Seagate, Drive Fitness Testfor Hitachi, Data Lifeguard for Western Digital, etc) in order to identify any potential drive problems.