mbr help please

[muert0]

You might try Bart PE:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

You DO need an XP or Win2003 cd to compile one yourself, but
there's plenty of PE iso's for the downloading via torrents that
would certainly do the job.

Also found this tonight surfin' Slax's site:

http://www.slax.org/doc_troubleshoot.php#fixmbr

Yeah. That will fix the MBR if you have LILO installed but I have GRUB.
GRUB doesn't save a back up of the old MBR.

Good luck with it.

I'm planning on keeping the windows hdd as master and using it's bootloader so I'm going to store the BSD pbr on the C: drive and NTLDR will follow the path to it and boot BSD. THat's the way it seems like it's going to work and I'll just use NTLDR to boot any OS I decide to run later that way I don't run into the same problem again.

[brokencrow]

Try scroungin' up one of the PE iso's via torrentreactor.net and
see what you find. There's one called Tech182 that'll fix any MBR.

[muert0]

Well, I installed it and got back into windows. Now all I have to do is go into BIOS and boot from second hdd to get the pbr. THanks for the help guys and thanks to IKnowNot especially for the WIN 2K info.

[TheX1le]

im not quite sure if i am allowed to post this as a suggestion but there exists a 9in1 windows xp disk. Uses a normal cdr and via cab file sharing will do XP PRO, Corp, Box, Home oem, box and upgrade and has media center. Has a few other tools as well and can make stand alone isos for each. I use it alot when rebuilding pcs for customers... They have a legit key i just have to call MS. Take a look on the torrent sites.

[nihil]

Hmmmm,

Those downloads are warez and mostly contain cracks, so they are illegal. Anyway who would trust software with that sort of origin? you never know "what else" you might get

I guess it depends on where you live as to what the exact legal situation is. I have no qualms in using a legitimate MS CD to reinstall or repair a legitimately owned and licenced installation of Windows, as it is the use of the software that is licensed, not the media on which it comes.

When you start using warez you cross the line of legality. It would be OK (in the UK) to use legitimate copies to build such a DVD, provided that the target machines had a licence as well. But if you have the CDs..........why bother?

Microsoft have always been very helpful to me in recovering systems, and I don't think that they really care where you got the CD, provided it is legitimate and the target PC is licenced to have that version of Windows installed.

All you have to do is read the EULA and comply with it?

Just my thoughts?

[brokencrow]

Bart PE's perfectly legal if you've got a licensed copy of XP or 2003:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/licensing/

I doubt Microsoft would support you in using it though it'll run circles
around MS's PE. Irongeek's got a nice tut on Bart PE. I prefer to
compile my own images, but, hey, we go to war with what we got.

[nihil]

There is nothing wrong with Bart's or any other Live CD for that matter.

You are right that Microsoft will not support you, but by that stage you are probably well beyond their support anyway?

If you look at the EULA for the OEM versions it specifically states that you have to go to the Equipment Manufacturer for support. The retail version does supply some after sales support and the corporate bulk licences depend on your contract with MS.

[brokencrow]

You are right that Microsoft will not support you, but by that stage you are probably well beyond their support anyway?

I don't know about that. Windows, and the accompanying hardware, is
often repairable in one way or another. It's amazing what a good tech
can pull off sometimes. The problem for MS is it just doesn't pay. And
that's their prerogative, just as it is for OEM's to distribute Windows w/o
a CD, which limits the consumer's options for repairing their own systems.

In the last 20 years we've seen IP rights turned into a sacred cow, thanks
in large part to MS. I've got a friend who's worked on Harleys for 40 years
and now he is unable to buy repair manuals unless he is a certified H-D
mechanic ($1000's). A far cry from yesteryear. What happened?

[nihil]

You are right there. For MS, supporting home and SOHO customers is an overhead and drain on profits that they would rather avoid. I guess they make money out of commercial agreements because generally the first and second level support is provided by the customers' IT staff.

The brand name OEMs also make it difficult for independents to fix their systems so that they can charge extortionate prices for their service. I guess that is a bit like your Harley friend?