MBR error

[Bob Brown]

Hi all, I have a question someone might have an answer to. I have a Compaq
desktop (4yrs old) running XP sp2 (has now been updated to SP3). At boot up a
couple of days ago I got the message "Master Boot Record Error". I hit
"enter" and booted up as normal, there were no obvious problems, everything
worked ok as it normally does.

After looking through the comments on this site and trying some of the
suggestions therein, I decide to do a new install. I've found in the past
it's good to get rid of all the crap and re-install. After the re-install I
got exactly the same message. So I thought I'd try another drive, well I did
and got exactly the same error.

Not being one to be beat, I had a look at the BIOS, "well paint me black and
call me nona". My first boot device was set to my external USB drive where I
keep all my digital photos, I never chanaged this, why the hell would you?

Has anyone got any ideas how this happened, did a virus change it or what, I
look forward to your replies.

 

[VanguardLH]

Re: MBR error

Bob Brown wrote:

> Hi all, I have a question someone might have an answer to. I have a Compaq
> desktop (4yrs old) running XP sp2 (has now been updated to SP3). At boot up a
> couple of days ago I got the message "Master Boot Record Error". I hit
> "enter" and booted up as normal, there were no obvious problems, everything
> worked ok as it normally does.
>
> After looking through the comments on this site and trying some of the
> suggestions therein, I decide to do a new install. I've found in the past
> it's good to get rid of all the crap and re-install. After the re-install I
> got exactly the same message. So I thought I'd try another drive, well I did
> and got exactly the same error.
>
> Not being one to be beat, I had a look at the BIOS, "well paint me black and
> call me nona". My first boot device was set to my external USB drive where I
> keep all my digital photos, I never chanaged this, why the hell would you?
>
> Has anyone got any ideas how this happened, did a virus change it or what, I
> look forward to your replies.

Time to replace the CMOS battery. The BIOS settings are fixed in EEPROM
(they can be change electrically but they are not used from there).
They get copied into CMOS and that's where they get read from. If the
battery is bad, values can be lost or corrupted. Your host is old
enough to warrant replacing the CMOS battery.

Write down the current settings. Note any that differ from the factory
defaults. Replace the battery. In the BIOS, reset to factory defaults.
Then enter your customized settings that you noted before.

 

[Bob Brown]

Re: MBR error

Thank's very much, I'll change the battery

"VanguardLH" wrote:

> Bob Brown wrote:
>
> > Hi all, I have a question someone might have an answer to. I have a Compaq
> > desktop (4yrs old) running XP sp2 (has now been updated to SP3). At boot up a
> > couple of days ago I got the message "Master Boot Record Error". I hit
> > "enter" and booted up as normal, there were no obvious problems, everything
> > worked ok as it normally does.
> >
> > After looking through the comments on this site and trying some of the
> > suggestions therein, I decide to do a new install. I've found in the past
> > it's good to get rid of all the crap and re-install. After the re-install I
> > got exactly the same message. So I thought I'd try another drive, well I did
> > and got exactly the same error.
> >
> > Not being one to be beat, I had a look at the BIOS, "well paint me black and
> > call me nona". My first boot device was set to my external USB drive where I
> > keep all my digital photos, I never chanaged this, why the hell would you?
> >
> > Has anyone got any ideas how this happened, did a virus change it or what, I
> > look forward to your replies.
>
> Time to replace the CMOS battery. The BIOS settings are fixed in EEPROM
> (they can be change electrically but they are not used from there).
> They get copied into CMOS and that's where they get read from. If the
> battery is bad, values can be lost or corrupted. Your host is old
> enough to warrant replacing the CMOS battery.
>
> Write down the current settings. Note any that differ from the factory
> defaults. Replace the battery. In the BIOS, reset to factory defaults.
> Then enter your customized settings that you noted before.
>

 

[Bob Brown]

Re: MBR error

Hi again, yes the CMOS battery was flat, I could only get 10ma from it,
thanks again..

"VanguardLH" wrote:

> Bob Brown wrote:
>
> > Hi all, I have a question someone might have an answer to. I have a Compaq
> > desktop (4yrs old) running XP sp2 (has now been updated to SP3). At boot up a
> > couple of days ago I got the message "Master Boot Record Error". I hit
> > "enter" and booted up as normal, there were no obvious problems, everything
> > worked ok as it normally does.
> >
> > After looking through the comments on this site and trying some of the
> > suggestions therein, I decide to do a new install. I've found in the past
> > it's good to get rid of all the crap and re-install. After the re-install I
> > got exactly the same message. So I thought I'd try another drive, well I did
> > and got exactly the same error.
> >
> > Not being one to be beat, I had a look at the BIOS, "well paint me black and
> > call me nona". My first boot device was set to my external USB drive where I
> > keep all my digital photos, I never chanaged this, why the hell would you?
> >
> > Has anyone got any ideas how this happened, did a virus change it or what, I
> > look forward to your replies.
>
> Time to replace the CMOS battery. The BIOS settings are fixed in EEPROM
> (they can be change electrically but they are not used from there).
> They get copied into CMOS and that's where they get read from. If the
> battery is bad, values can be lost or corrupted. Your host is old
> enough to warrant replacing the CMOS battery.
>
> Write down the current settings. Note any that differ from the factory
> defaults. Replace the battery. In the BIOS, reset to factory defaults.
> Then enter your customized settings that you noted before.
>

 

[VanguardLH]

Re: MBR error

Bob Brown wrote:

> Hi again, yes the CMOS battery was flat, I could only get 10ma from it,

Current is not that important. CMOS is more interested in voltage than
current. However, it is possible to still measure good voltage levels
when impedance is high, like for voltmeters with 10M ohm impedance, or
higher. Under load, the voltage might drop severely so you need to
measure voltage when the battery is in circuit. However, the cost of
the battery is cheap so there isn't much point in wasting the time to
test it, especially when its several years old.

 

[Bob Brown]

Re: MBR error

Thanks for the info

"VanguardLH" wrote:

> Bob Brown wrote:
>
> > Hi again, yes the CMOS battery was flat, I could only get 10ma from it,
>
> Current is not that important. CMOS is more interested in voltage than
> current. However, it is possible to still measure good voltage levels
> when impedance is high, like for voltmeters with 10M ohm impedance, or
> higher. Under load, the voltage might drop severely so you need to
> measure voltage when the battery is in circuit. However, the cost of
> the battery is cheap so there isn't much point in wasting the time to
> test it, especially when its several years old.
>