Free MBR Repair Tool: How to Fix MBR on Internal/External Hard Drive

Quick navigation to MBR Repair:

1. Solution 1. Fix corrupted MBR with an MBR repair tool
2. Solution 2. Repair MBR via Command Prompt
3. Solution 3. Seek assistance from professionals

Overview - MBR Repair Tool for Windows 10/8.1/8/7

MBR stands for Master Boot Record. It plays a crucial role in booting up your computer system and also houses the Partition Table that manages and checks the partitions on a hard drive. The MBR is created when you first install Windows and make your first partition. If the MBR of your Windows OS hard drive or external hard drive becomes corrupted, you won't be able to boot into Windows.

All Windows versions – XP, Vista, 7, or 8 – use MBR, and if it's corrupted, you won't be able to boot. You can find the best MBR repair tool that allows you to fix corrupted MBR efficiently and effectively. If you're comfortable with CMD, you can also repair MBR via Command Prompt. Applying the best Windows 10/8.1/8/7 MBR repair tool and Windows boot repair tool can quickly fix corrupted MBR on any device.

How to Determine if a Hard Drive's MBR is Damaged or Corrupted

What are the signs of a damaged MBR? Aside from error messages that explicitly say the Master Boot Record is corrupted, there are other clues that can tell you if your MBR is damaged and needs immediate repair! For example, MBR Error 1, MBR Error 2, MBR Error 3…

The issue with a corrupted MBR on a hard drive or external device is that Windows won't work properly, as it won't be able to find and load the operating system, since the MBR is a crucial part of how a computer boots up. Typically, the following are the most common reasons for MBR errors:

• Virus infection
• Hard drive failure
• Invalid partition table
• Missing operating system
• Operating system not found
• Non-system disk or disk error

If you come across corrupted MBR, don't worry. As shown below, two effective methods are provided here for you to fix it.

Solution 1: Repair the corrupted MBR with an MBR repair tool Solution 1: Fix the damaged Master Boot Record with an MBR repair utility

MBR Repair tool can help you easily fix MBR issues on hard drive, external hard drive, and USB flash drive without troublesome operations in Windows operating system and Windows server operating system. You just need to download the partition software on a normal computer and then automatically repair MBR with several simple clicks.

How to Repair the MBR in Windows 10/8.1/8/7

Step 1: Create a Windows PE boot disc

• Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and click “Create Bootable Media” on the toolbar. Then click “Next” to finish the operation.

Create a bootable disk

Step 2. Boot into Partition Master Live USB

1. Connect the bootable USB or CD/DVD to the computer. 2. Restart your computer and press F2 or Del to enter BIOS. Set it to boot from "Removable Devices" or "CD-ROM Drive". The Partition Master tool will then run automatically.

Step 3: Rebuild the MBR

Click on "Toolbox" and select "Rebuild MBR".

Select the disk and MBR type, then click “Rebuild”.

Then you'll see “The MBR for Disk X has been successfully rebuilt.”

Solution 2: Repair the MBR for Free via Command Prompt

If you're comfortable with the Command Prompt, you can fix a corrupted MBR manually using CMD. If you can't boot into Windows, you'll need to start your computer from a Windows 10/8/7 installation DVD. If you don't have one, you'll need to create one using the Windows Media Creation Tool. Here's an example of how to fix the MBR in Windows 10 using CMD.

Step 1: Boot from the original install DVD (or recovery USB device)

Step 2: On the Welcome screen, click on the bottom-left corner, “Repair your computer.”

Step 3: Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

Step 4. When the command prompt loads, type each of the following commands one at a time and press Enter after each:

• Bootrec.exe/fixmbr
• Bootrec.exe/fixboot
• Bootrec.exe/rebuildbcd

5. When it's done, close the Command Prompt window, remove the installation DVD, and reboot your computer.

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Solution 3: Seek help from professionals for MBR repair

If you find manually fixing and recovering MBR too difficult, you can seek professional one-on-one remote assistance.

Top 5 Free MBR Repair Tools for Windows 10/8.1/8/7

There are many free MBR repair tools that claim to fix the MBR. Here, I've listed five of the most effective ones for you.

• 1. Partition Master
• 2. MBRWizard
• 3. Bootrec.exe
• 4. BOOTICE
• 5. MBRtool

Top Tool #1: Partition Master (Free Edition)

As I mentioned earlier, the Partition Master tool is a very powerful utility that can help you deal with MBR issues and disk management scenarios. You can use it to rebuild the MBR even if you don't have much technical knowledge.

My favorite

• You can create bootable media even if your computer fails to start.
• If you have lost partitions, the software can recover deleted or lost partitions.
• It is compatible with Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP.
• You can freely rebuild and repair MBR.

<dislike>

Some features are only available to paying customers.

Top 2. MBRWizard

If you use an x86 or x86-64 computer, MBRWizard is a good choice. It's a Master Boot Record (MBR) tool aimed at fixing issues left behind by third-party software. This Windows boot repair utility also comes with several key features.

My favorite

• MBRWizard provides features to help solve most MBR booting issues.
• It can fix problems caused by disk imaging software.
• You can recover and protect the MBR on your computer.

<dislike>

• You need to purchase a license for MBRWizard Suite.

Top 3: Bootrec.exe

Bootrec.exe is a command-line utility that helps update the Master Boot Record (MBR) code, Partition Boot Sector code, and the BCD (Boot Configuration Data). It's provided by Microsoft within the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

I like it.

• No additional software to install
• Completely free, since you're just using command-line tools

"I Don't Like It"

• You need to have a Windows 10/8/7 installation DVD to boot the computer.

Top 4. BOOTICE

BOOTICE is a boot related maintenance tool which can be used to install, repair, backup and restore the MBR or Partition Boot Record of your disks. Whenever you have problems with your MBR, give BOOTICE a try.

My likes

• It can edit the Windows boot configuration file, BCD.
• The software can manage UEFI boot entries.

"I Don't Like It"

• Applies only to 64-bit operating systems

5. MBRtool

MBRtool is completely free. However, it's a DOS-based utility. If you suspect that your MBR sector is damaged, I recommend this tool.

My likes

It includes a bootable media builder. It offers backup and restore features for users.

<Things I Don't Like>

• Last updated a long time ago

What is the best MBR repair tool?

There are plenty of free ways to fix and repair a corrupted MBR on any storage device in Windows, and one of the most widely used methods to fix MBR is by using the Command Prompt and running the bootrec.exe /fixmbr command. Even so, this isn't a clever choice either, as they need to look for more tutorials on how to create a System Repair Disk to get into the Windows Automatic Repair mode.

Or, when you are familiar with the MBR repair tool, things will be much easier! The Partition Master comes with a feature called “Rebuild MBR”. This unique and powerful feature makes it one of the most popular free MBR repair tools to fix a corrupted MBR on your hard drive. Here is a comparison table so that you can see which is the best free MBR repair tool.

Additional Tip: How to Backup Data Without an Operating System

It's recommended to backup files in advance before repairing MBR. If the corrupted MBR is on the system disk, you can't boot into Windows 10/8/7. It's better to backup data or system without booting into OS. With backups, you can easily restore required data and system. I suggest using professional backup and recovery software. Todo Backup is a reliable data backup software that can quickly backup and restore files on Windows-based computers.

In summary,

The "Master Boot Record is corrupted" error is a common one, but you can solve it quickly with the methods above. By the way, a MBR repair tool can not only rebuild the MBR, but also check for hard drive errors. It will scan for bad sectors on the partition and perform a surface test on the disk. You can use this tool if you have other disk errors, too.