MBR and Image

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by chemaster, May 28, 2007.

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  1. chemaster

    chemaster Registered Member

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    I have a desktop with MBR, drive C and drive D particians. The MBR only contains my factory installed software and boot sector so to save time I only completed a image of drives C (Active Drive) and D.

    I've been getting a lot of blue screens, popups and odd behaviour and Norton indicated that my boot sector may have a virus. ( the one I didn't backup )

    I completed a C and D restore of a know good image and it seems my issue is with MBR.

    I have obtained my hard-drive's utility disk which can zero-fill my entire hard drive including MBR, C and D. I believe this will automatically bring my system back to ONE large C drive.

    1. Will I be able to just restore my C image?
    2. I know I have lost my OEM factory recovery software on MBR but this does not bother me if my C and be restored.
    3. Will I be able to run without the original MBR part?
     
  2. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    chemaster,

    Why do you say this? What problems are you seeing now?

    I recall this could be a false positive with NAV.

    Do you have a floppy drive?
     
  3. chemaster

    chemaster Registered Member

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    IE 7 is freezing a lot and this was not happening on my c: image restore last month. Also, other program are slow and freezing. When running a Norton scan it indicates that I may have a virus or currupt boot sector. Check disk is ok

    This is the image image C: that I restored 2 months ago that worked perfect until recently and now when I restored C: these issues occur right-away.

    No floppy (true technological advance, I know)

    I can zero-all of MBR but this will delete all parts except ONE c:

    If I can restore C: I would be happy but can I do this after zero-fill of my entire drive?
     
  4. K0LO

    K0LO Registered Member

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    chemaster:

    You will probably get some good advice from others on here, but I would not resort to "zeroing the MBR" of your disk just yet. I assume that you are talking about a utility that will zero the first sector of the drive, thus wiping out the master boot record and the partition table. If you do this you will lose the existing partitions on the disk and will have to either re-create them or else restore them from TrueImage if you have good image backups.

    If you are really suspicious that you have a boot sector virus, before zeroing the first sector I would instead boot from a Windows XP disk and enter the recovery console. Then log into your existing installation of Windows and issue the fixmbr command. This command will replace the master boot code in the first sector without affecting the partition table.

    However, I suspect that your problem is something else.
     
  5. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I agree with Mark. Your problem has nothing to do with the MBR.

    If you are using a good image and still seeing problems then it may be a hardware issue. I'd start by testing your RAM.
     
  6. chemaster

    chemaster Registered Member

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    I have used several RAM utilities and all indicate that the ram is ok.

    Norton, specifically points to boot sector issues.

    I do have a good image of C which I installed several months a go. Also, the zero-fill utility will insert zeros into the MBR and the entire disk thus 100% ensuring getting rid of these new problems.

    I am not concerned if I am left with ONE partition just as long as a C: restore works without my original MBR partition.

    Any thoughts?
     
  7. K0LO

    K0LO Registered Member

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    Are there any errors in your Event Log?
     
  8. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    If you want to zero your HD and restore the image to unallocated space, that's fine. But don't tick Copy MBR and Track 0 when you restore the C: drive image. A generic MBR will be created.
     
  9. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    No, this will give you a blank HD. Just like it is when you buy it from the shop. Just regard it as a new HD.
     
  10. jonyjoe81

    jonyjoe81 Registered Member

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    From my understanding the MBR only keeps track of your hard drive partitions and is the first place the computer looks to start your computer, the MBR does not store data in it. If you had a virus in it, your computer wouldn't start. A virus would corrupt your MBR and prevent it from loading up. If you can start your computer than you have a good MBR. If you zero out you MBR, more than likely you will have an unbootable computer. If you are going to zero out your MBR make sure you have a good image of your c: drive, (that's all you need no full disk back up or clone), afterwards you can just repartition your hard drive, make a new c: partition (make sure it's active primary) and reload your image there. Some computers do have a special partition on the hard drive with recovery tools that might be what you are refering to, but it's not located on the MBR. I would stay away from the MBR unless it's not booting up your computer. Once your computer starts the MBR is out of the equation, It wont be causing any slow downs on your windows environment. IE7 freezing alot (and popups) is probably cause by spyware or adware that was installed on your computer without your knowlege. Norton antivirus will not find these spyware.You will need antispyware to get rid of these.
     
  11. RTShaw

    RTShaw Registered Member

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    lost most control of my fingers so pleaqe bear with me, it hurts like hell 2 type.

    i have a question. i notice i get a MBR 3 error But never gotthis error until using Acronis TI's Startup recovery mgr TI8 (so it seems). Anyone familiar with this at all any any ideas on how2 correct? i was going 2 do a fixmbr but intil i am well enough to re-study it i'm holding off (been pretty ill the past few yrs actually) - mind altering substances ain't fun, before them i was a very capeable nasa engineer, now i'm worried when i wan't to install a sound card - pretty damn sad but i'm not giving up.

    When booting right after I see that MBR 3 error i notice it seems like my system fumbles for 2-4 secs before finally booting into winbloze. First i thought it was my 2 36gig raptors booting in a Raid0 config but i doubt it at least that was unconfirmed when booting in a non raid atmosphere using the same image- damn hope that made sense..

    thank u
     
  12. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello chemaster,

    Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

    Please notice that Brian K is correct. It is fine to do a restore of a system partition to a blanked hard drive. When you restore only the partition itself, without the saved MBR and track 0, a generic MBR will be created, which is better in your case.

    You can find the detailed instructions on how to use Acronis True Image in the respective User's Guide.

    Thank you.
    --
    Marat Setdikov
     
  13. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello RTShaw,

    Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

    Please clarify, when exactly are you getting the MBR 3 error? Does the error message contain any other information? Does it affect the functionality of the system?

    Thank you.
    --
    Marat Setdikov
     
  14. RTShaw

    RTShaw Registered Member

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    I was not trying 2 step on Chemaster's message. The MBR 3 Error msg never appears until after the 1st time i setup TI's Startup recovery mgr (Ti 8 & 10- i skipped Ti 9). The message is only displayed for an instant (2-4 secs). No other msgs or info. Seems like after that the system seems 2 fumble before booting sometimes up to 8 secs then boots (u can watch the hd led blink once in a while thruout the 5-8 secs then finally seems the system finds the correct boot partition and boots.
    Thats about it, been happening since Ti 8 but was unsure it was caused by Ti until I ran Ti 10.
     
  15. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello RTShaw,

    We are sorry for the delayed response.

    Please repair the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the hard disk using one of the following methods:

    – boot from Windows Installation Disc into Recovery Console and run "fixmbr" command.

    - fix the MBR as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

    Thank you.
    --
    Marat Setdikov
     
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