Q: If there's an error with the Master Boot Record (MBR) or boot code on my hard drive, can Windows 7 still load in some cases?
The reason I ask:
I successfully cloned my original hard drive to a new hard drive. Not long after, something went wrong with my original hard drive (I accidentally marked the wrong partition as "active" and could no longer boot) and I decided to fix it by cloning the NEW hard drive back to the original (assuming the new hard drive had the same exact data, including MBR and boot loader). When I did this, I had to edit the MBR with EasyBCD to add the new hard drive as a boot option at the boot menu at startup. Note that I can successfully boot from either hard drive and all appears to work properly. However, is it possible that my cloning procedure created something like a "partially" corrupt MBR on the original hard drive that may lead to problems down the road? Should I run the Windows 7 Repair Disc and use the recovery tools to fix the MBR (even if it isn't broken)?
---------- Post added at 03:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 PM ----------
I should have included this:
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---------- Post added at 11:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------
Is it true that EasyBCD only writes one portion of the boot chain below needed right before the OS:
MBR --> PBR of Active Partition --> "BOOTMGR" --> "Boot\ BCD" --> "System32\Winload.exe"
The reason I ask:
I successfully cloned my original hard drive to a new hard drive. Not long after, something went wrong with my original hard drive (I accidentally marked the wrong partition as "active" and could no longer boot) and I decided to fix it by cloning the NEW hard drive back to the original (assuming the new hard drive had the same exact data, including MBR and boot loader). When I did this, I had to edit the MBR with EasyBCD to add the new hard drive as a boot option at the boot menu at startup. Note that I can successfully boot from either hard drive and all appears to work properly. However, is it possible that my cloning procedure created something like a "partially" corrupt MBR on the original hard drive that may lead to problems down the road? Should I run the Windows 7 Repair Disc and use the recovery tools to fix the MBR (even if it isn't broken)?
---------- Post added at 03:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 PM ----------
I should have included this:
---------- Post added at 11:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------
Is it true that EasyBCD only writes one portion of the boot chain below needed right before the OS:
MBR --> PBR of Active Partition --> "BOOTMGR" --> "Boot\ BCD" --> "System32\Winload.exe"