Fix boot sector of FAT16/FAT32/NTFS partitions

The first sector of a partition is commonly referred to as the Boot Sector. Analogous to the Master Boot Record (MBR) for the entire drive, the Boot Sector is the initial sector of a specific partition. It holds critical information that the system requires to locate the resources necessary to initiate the operating system. A corrupted or missing Boot Sector is a significant issue; without it, the partition becomes inaccessible.

Possible (but not exhaustive) symptoms

Invalid media type reading drive
Abort, Retry, Fail?
The file system is shown as "RAW"
Windows may prompt to format the drive
File names contain "strange" or unusual characters
"Sector not found" errors appear

Recover Lost Files

If you need to recover files due to deletion, formatting, partition loss or damage, system crash, etc., especially on Windows Vista/2008/Windows 7, we recommend our free data recovery software - tools Data Recovery Wizard Free. It performs effectively with hardware RAID and hard drives, as well as SD and Memory Cards, etc.

Step 1. Select the drive where you lost your data and click "Scan".

Step 2. Use "Filter" or "Search" to locate the missing files once the scan is complete.

Step 3. Choose all the files you wish to recover and click "Recover". Next, navigate to a different secure location to save them.

修复引导扇区

1.If you cannot access the FAT16/NTFS partition and the partition is marked with "X", right click on the partition and select Fixboot. Partition Table Doctor will then automatically check and repair the Boot Sector of the partition.

2. If you cannot access the FAT32 partition and the partition is marked with an "X," right-click on the partition and select Fixboot. You will be given two options:

"Auto" mode: Partition Table Doctor will automatically check and repair the Boot Sector of the partition. We recommend you select this option.

If the "Auto" mode doesn't work, you can opt for the "Interactive" mode. You will need to input a Label for the partition or the file name (the file should be located in the Root Folder). If you're unsure about the file name to enter, simply follow the suggested file name provided.

Bootable Partition:
io.sys, msdos.sys, ntldr, bootlog.txt

Other partitions:
_restore, recycled

FileName does not support long name or wildcard character by DOS version of Partition Table Doctor.

3. Browse: In both modes, Partition Table Doctor will provide a preview of the folders and files in the root directory of this partition before the change takes effect. A dialog box will prompt you to select "Yes" to confirm the changes. If the preview appears identical to the original, it indicates that the issue has been fixed.

4. Save and restart your computer, and you'll find everything back to normal. Remember to back up your files!