How to rebuild the Master Boot Record (MBR) and Boot Configuration Data (BCD) for Windows Vista/7/2008 when a system fails to boot after a Veritas System Recovery restore

Problem

After performing a Veritas System Recovery (SSR) 2010/2011/2012 restore of a Windows vista/7/2008 system, the system fails to boot and a BIOS level text error message is displayed.

Error Message

The error differ with each hardware system:

• Operating System Not Found
• Missing Operating System
• Non-System Disk or Disk Error
• BOOTMGR is missing

Cause

The Master Boot Record (MBR) and/or Boot Configuration Data (BCD) information is missing or corrupt on the restored disk.

Solution

The MBR and BCD will need to be manually rebuilt.

To rebuild the MBR and BCD do one of the following methods:

METHOD 1: Rebuilding the MBR only (Windows XP/2003/VISTA/7/2008)
METHOD 2: Rebuilding the MBR & BCD (Windows VISTA/7/2008)
METHOD 3: If the "boot" folder is not on the system C: drive (Windows VISTA/7/2008)
METHOD 4: If rebuilding the mbr and bcd still dose not work (Windows VISTA/7/2008)

METHOD 1: Rebuilding the MBR only (Windows XP/2003/VISTA/7/2008)

1. Boot the recovered system using the Veritas System Recovery disk (SRD) once again.

2. Click Analyze, then click Explore My Computer and identify the drive letter use by the SRD then close this window.

3. Click Analyze, then click Open Command Shell Window. Navigate to the drive letter for CD-ROM drive as discovered from step 2 by typing the drive letter and a colon and pressing Enter (example: D: ).

4. Type CD MANAGER to get into the manager directory (example: D:\MANAGER).

5. Do one of the following:

•         If system is Windows Vista or later, type BOOTSECT /NT60 c: /MBR (ensure that c:\ is the system volume. If not, adjust drive letter accordingly).
•         If system is Windows XP/2003, type BOOTSECT /NT52 c: /MBR (ensure that c:\ is the system volume. If not, adjust drive letter accordingly).

6. Remove the recovery disk, reboot the system.

METHOD 2: Rebuilding the MBR & BCD (Windows VISTA/7/2008)

1. Insert the Windows Vista/7/2008 installation CD/DVD into the recovered system's DVD-ROM and restart the system.

2. Select to boot from the Windows installation CD/DVD when prompted.

3. From the menu options displayed, choose the repair option and then open a command prompt option.

4. At the command prompt, type the following commands pressing the Enter key after each line:

c:
cd boot
bootsect /nt60 c: /force /mbr
bootrec /rebuildbcd

NOTE: After using the "bootrec /rebuldbcd" command, you will be prompted to accept a Windows installation. Accept the installation, then wait for the process to finish. Once it's done, reboot your computer and you should have a boot loader ready to go.

METHOD 3: If the "boot" folder is not on the system C: drive (Windows VISTA/7/2008)

1. Do the following to copy the "boot" folder form the Windows installation CD to the C: drive.

2. Insert the Windows Vista/7/2008 installation CD/DVD into the recovered system's DVD-ROM and restart the system.

3. Select to boot from the Windows installation CD/DVD when prompted.

4. From the menu options displayed, choose the repair option and then open a command prompt option.

5. At the command prompt, type the following commands pressing the Enter key after each line:

NOTE: Commands below which assumes E: is the DVD-ROM that the Windows installation is in; change the drive letter to fit the assigned letter for this CD/DVD-ROM if it differs.

mkdir c:\boot
copy e:\boot\* c:\boot\
c:
cd boot
bootsect /nt60 c: /force /mbr
bootrec /rebuildbcd
 

METHOD 4: If rebuilding the mbr and bcd still dose not work (Windows VISTA/7/2008)

A startup repair is likely needs to be done. Follow the steps below to perform a startup repair.

1. Insert the Windows Vista/7/2008 installation CD/DVD into the recovered system's DVD-ROM and restart the system.

2. Select to boot from the Windows installation CD/DVD when prompted.

3. From the menu options displayed, choose the repair option and then open a command prompt option.

4. At the command prompt, type the following commands pressing the Enter key after each line:

cd recovery
run startrep.exe

Windows Vista / 7/ 2008