MBR option

I just wonder when should I check the option for restore MBR? What is that for and did TI backup the MBR once I made the backup? Thanks

 

Hi,

You should restore MBR if your MBR is not working anymore OR if you restore your image to another disk than original.

It makes sure your drive is considered bootable and where to find boot sector.

made short :

restore system boot working : no use

restore to new disk, restore after boot problem on same disk : use MBR restore

Hope it is clear and not too wrong

 

thanks for your clear explaination Just want to ask one more question. Will this option also helps on more than 1 OS? Should I choose this option in this case?

 

Same case, if it doesnt work, restore, else no need...

 

Dont Tick MBR if you dont know it works.

 

Dont Tick MBR if you dont know how it works.

Correct me if im wrong someone.

MBR will put new mbr on your HD plus the same number of partitions that were on the HD that made the original image and delete all the data.

 

You are correct. If you restore the MBR from a 120GB hard drive to a 300gb hard drive, the 300gb hard drive will think it's a 120gb hard drive.

Each MBR is specific to each hard drive, it's best to restore it only to the same hard drive that it came from.

I never backup or restore the MBR, to me the MBR is a non-issue. If you backup the system partition, that backup will be automatically bootable when restored on a different hard drive (whether the MBR was backup or not).

If you have a MBR problem, that is easy to fix, all windows installation cds have the tools to "fixmbr".

 

TI doesn't restore the partition table portion of the MBR when you do a normal MBR and Track 0 or Partition Image restore. If you do an Entire Disk Image restore, then everything will be restored.

See this thread (post #16 by K0lo outlines the differences): MBR Backup

 

MudCrab,

Could you clarify whether TI restores the partition table when you do an Entire Disk Image restore. You say, "yes" and Mark says, "no" in post #16. Have I misread the posts?

 

I am amused by this MBR controversy.
Prior to version 9 there was no option when the System drive was imaged and restored. The MBR was and still is included in the image. Upon restoring this image the MBR was automatically included.
This makes good logical sense because whatever boot records that kept the original drive working would be exactly reproduced when its image was restored.

I believe that there was a Wish List request long ago that it should be possible to exclude the MBR.
This option was made available in Versio 9 and onwards.
I never got to understand how this option is a "good thing".
I have made thousands of restores to different old and new hard drives. In every case I have restored the whole disk including the MBR.
It is possible to construct a scenario where a disk will not boot because the MBR is corrupt it would then be sensible to include the MBR in the restoration.
So when I run a restore from a good image I will refresh the whole drive as a matter of course.

Xpilot

 

Thanks fellows, hate to see Gigogo loose his data.

 

I haven't done any specific testing on this. I'm assuming that an Entire Disk Image restore does change the partition table because you are restoring an entire disk and all partitions in that image. It has to match otherwise there would be problems. In other words, the partition table can't be left as original after the restore or it wouldn't point to the restored partitions. Also, Vista 2048 offset partitions will be restored correctly and not moved to 63. To me, this means that TI is putting everything back like it was and not like it does during a non-Entire Disk Image restore.

When you select to just restore the MBR, TI just writes the MBR code and leaves the partition table alone. This only affects booting and doesn't change any partition structures/layouts because that partition table portion of the MBR isn't changed.

As far as I can tell from Mark's post, he's referring to just restoring the MBR or just restoring one or more partitions. In those cases, TI will only modify the partition table as necessary for the restored partition(s) and leave the rest alone.

 

You guys are so professional So, will virus destroy MBR? What is the relationship between MBR and partition table? In additions, if I can do fixmbr under DOS command, why should we need this option in TI? Does it mean this option is useless? Can you guys explain in simply english because I am still not too understand what you guys are talking as I am not very good in english Thanks

 

The MBR contains the boot code and the partition table. The boot code can be changed by restoring the MBR using TI or by using the fixmbr command in the Recovery Console, for example. If you restore the entire MBR sector, then the partition table will also be restored.

One difference between using fixmbr and restoring with TI is that TI will restore whatever MBR code was saved in the image file. This code may or may not be the same as the code written by the fixmbr command. For example: If you have GRUB installed and have a TI backup that includes GRUB in the MBR, a restore of that using TI will restore GRUB to the MBR. If you use the fixmbr command, you'll end up with a normal Windows-type MBR and GRUB won't boot.

 

MudCrab,

Thanks. I misread Mark's post.

 

thanks a lot I am much clear now