master boot record error

orbit999 · 07-29-2008, 09:46 AM

Hey, i have a compaq presario sr220nx. Its 3 years old and the warranty ran out.
So i start it up and after the compaq logo, it says "master boot record error". then it says "disk boot failure, please insert system disk".
so i try puting in the compaq system recovery cds that i made from the desktop awhile back. but nothing still happens. I can't get in through safe mode either.
under the compaq logo it says esc=something, f1=bios,f10= system restore. the "esc" and "f1" button work but the "f10" system restore button won't work. so i put in the pc doctor cd that the computer made me make when i first bought it. it did the scans but it always ended up saying there were errors found, but didn't do anything to fix it.
is there anyway to fix this problem.
thanks

orbit999 · 07-29-2008, 09:48 AM

i also tried opening it up and plugged the hard drive into another port in the motherboard. but its still the same problem.

~~wiseleo~~ · 07-29-2008, 03:42 PM

Potentially HDD failure.

This is actually fixable with the Fixmbr and fixboot commands from XP recovery console. I suspect that it's not just MBR. Recommend cloning the drive first. Wouldn't work without a backup.

orbit999 · 07-29-2008, 06:19 PM

if i were to install a brand new xp system would the hard drive be OK or would it fail again.

07-29-2008, 09:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
orbit999 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	master boot record error Hey, i have a compaq presario sr220nx. Its 3 years old and the warranty ran out. So i start it up and after the compaq logo, it says "master boot record error". then it says "disk boot failure, please insert system disk". so i try puting in the compaq system recovery cds that i made from the desktop awhile back. but nothing still happens. I can't get in through safe mode either. under the compaq logo it says esc=something, f1=bios,f10= system restore. the "esc" and "f1" button work but the "f10" system restore button won't work. so i put in the pc doctor cd that the computer made me make when i first bought it. it did the scans but it always ended up saying there were errors found, but didn't do anything to fix it. is there anyway to fix this problem. thanks

07-29-2008, 09:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
orbit999 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	Re: master boot record error i also tried opening it up and plugged the hard drive into another port in the motherboard. but its still the same problem.

07-29-2008, 03:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: master boot record error Potentially HDD failure. This is actually fixable with the Fixmbr and fixboot commands from XP recovery console. I suspect that it's not just MBR. Recommend cloning the drive first. Wouldn't work without a backup.

07-29-2008, 06:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
orbit999 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	Re: master boot record error if i were to install a brand new xp system would the hard drive be OK or would it fail again.