Can a 1TB SSD Hard Drive with a damaged MBR boot up.

I have messed up.

I have edited this thread since I decided that the software parts of my query may be more relevant to the Windows Board and the original post can be seen here; https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/windows/t/4661992-...

Can a Hard drive with a damaged MBR be recovered ?

Can my files be recovered ?

Can I put back the original boot files for that 1TB Hard Drive so that its windows files become accessible and so that it can boot up ?

Kindly advise,
Fido

Edited by Fido (Fri 16-Oct-20 21:45:20)

Fix link I came across.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3113585/how-to-repai...

I'd look to get some sort of fix mbr DOS commands on to a USB and boot to that.

Files normally can, try using a Linux live disk to boot the computer and use that to copy the files to a USB stick, saying that they should have been backed up.
There is software to fix a MBR, Macirum reflect which is a hard drive back software have some tools that may help.

How did it get damaged? i have not seen a drive with a damaged MBR for years

Even the Linux Live USB does not see my files.

The main 1TB Hard drive got damaged because I had been faffing about for days including late nights and early mornings trying to compare USB Linux Speed Tests with the Windows speed tests and because it was concluded that there was a issue within my Windows 10 Pro, (which to me had been working perfectly and the speed tests are now the same, on the second drive with a fresh installation of Windows 10 Pro, as they were on my first drive before I started faffing about looking for issues).- To find the issues that did not exist, I started to mess with the settings and I eventually carried out a complete fresh install of windows on the second 1TB Hard Drive that had been a back up for all files and it was that second hard drive that main Hard Drive had been cloned from last year..

When logged into the second hard drive I noticed what looked like Linux files in the first and I did not really trust and/or know Linux Downloads so when I saw them I removed them and it was a catalogue of disaster from then on. I had previously tried to Hyper V with Linux to avoid needing to swap around so much but I am not a Linux user I did not trust the download.

I was swapping between internal drives and the Linux USB and somehow everything seemed to go wrong when a scandisk started at the boot. - Prior to that I had forgotten to change the bios start up priority after I installed Windows 10 Pro on the second hard drive.- So it was down to me and when I changed some files/partition sizes on what looked like the second hard drive, which I was planning to re-install Windows again on I may have inadvertently changed the first hard drive . - When it would not boot up I tried bootrec codes via the Windows 10 recovery USB.

At the present time: I can still see my main 1TB Hard Drive, (from my second 1TB Hard drive), if I log into my second hard drive and I connect my main hard drive to my laptop either via a USB to SATA Connecting Cable or if I connect it internally.

However, although I can see my main 1TB Hard Drive from my second internal 1TB Hard Drive I cannot access any information on it and it looks for the most part it is empty but there are a few small size hidden files on the main partitions but they mostly seem empty even when they are seen via disk management where I can see the partitions exist and it report them as being healthy but they seem empty with the main drive 100% free.

The main 1TB Hard Drive is a SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD with 3D NAND Technolog but I do not know if that is relevant.

I put this down to a problem with the MBR.

Can anything be done ?

Is there a way of getting the main hard drive to boot up in its original state ?

Edited by Fido (Sat 17-Oct-20 15:45:35)

Not readily. You have to fix the MBR by creating a boot drive on USB (or floppy, if you have such a thing), and running commands from said drive to fix the bad drive's MBR.

Edit: Other options include a rescue disk via CD/DVD, or installing stuff on a second hard drive as a boot drive (bypassing the USB option).

Edited by camieabz (Sat 17-Oct-20 18:00:52)

In reply to a post by camieabz:

Not readily. You have to fix the MBR by creating a boot drive on USB (or floppy, if you have such a thing), and running commands from said drive to fix the bad drive's MBR.

Edit: Other options include a rescue disk via CD/DVD, or installing stuff on a second hard drive as a boot drive (bypassing the USB option).

This seems to provide some light at the end of the tunnel.

Can a rescue disk that automatically checks and then repairs the boot and that recovers the operating system without damaging files be purchased ?

If there is a disk; does it need to be Windows 10 specific or is it a case of finding a way to get the the Command prompt Screen and then using commands to recover the operating system ?

I already have a Windows 10 Recover USB to hand, it will not boot up without the Rescue USB and the rescue options appear to be limited because it cannot find a Windows operating system. - Using the command screen I have tried the commands;

bootrec /fixmbr = That Operation seemed successful.

bootrec /fixboot = That operation seemed successful.

bootrec /scanos = IT DID NOT FIND THE OPERATING SYSTEM

bootrec /rebuildbdc = That operation seemed successful.


I did the above a few times which may have made it worse


Since bootrec /scanos did not find the operating system I was tempted to try the following commands but I have not yet done so;

bcdedit /export c:\bcdbackup - (which as I understand it should backup the bcd store).

attrib c:\boot\bcd -h -r -s - (To remove the hidden, read-only/system/attributes from the BCD.).

ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old - (To rename the BCD store)

bootrec /rebuildbcd - (In the hope that it will make the operating system visible).


Are there better commands ?

Can I replace partition 1 of the disk with something else or would that make it even worse ?

i think you may be screwed then, sorry. The only other way maybe is to use a some software that find deleted files, not sure if that will help , the other way, but it is expensive is to send the drive to a company that deal’s in getting files from drives.
The other thing is, could this be a problem because it is a SSD? They handle things differently to the old spinny drives, which is another reason why I still use mechanical drives for storing files.

Thanks to everyone for helpful advice.

From what I have seen the companies that specialize in file recovery dissemble an SDD hard drives to repair and I am not too keen to have others looking through my letters, passwords etc. so I will try to fix it myself. - My security/privacy concerns was why I did not just back the files up to the cloud.

I have tried a few type of recover software but up to now; none of them have worked.

I have written an update on the Windows board as to how I am getting on using command codes and at present I have reformatted the 99 MB System file and I am trying to reinstall UEFI boot files in it.to try and get it to boot into the recovery process.

I have added more details on the following thread and would welcome any further advice

https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/windows/f/4662016-...