How to fix a corrupt MBR?

[embj]

I was trying to install Linux and it wouldn't install correctly. For some reason it just locked up....I am not even gonna bother with it anymore. Well, it made my MBR corrupt. So now it just sits at Verifying DMI Pool Data. I had this happen one time but, it wasn't involving Linux. It just did it on it's own.

I have some really valuable data...about 15gb worth that I just put on there before attempting to install Linux. I had to put it on there because my slave HDD which has been getting worse and worse for weeks was starting to go click, click, click. I wouldn't care about formatting the mbr even though I just installed 4 new Windows OS's on it (it was a new 160gb HDD that just got here this weekend) except that fact that those 15gb of data are on it. That even includes everything that makes up my website that I have spent hours compiling.

So if there is anyway to fix a corrup mbr please let me know. Thanks.

[maface]

try FDISK /MBR at a dos prompt

[embj]

How would I boot into DOS? I mean I did install that with Windows 98 but, I have no boot disk.

[cbuddha42]

get boot disk off bootdisk.com or make one

[Siliconjunkie]

Make a boot floppy with 98 or goto www.bootdisk.com and get one.

[maface]

If you have a Win98 machine you can make one like Siliconjunkie and cbuddha42 said

start up disk

[embj]

Well, fdisk didn't help either. Is there any other way?

[Siliconjunkie]

I think there is something with the sys command. Something like boot from the 98 floppy and do a sys c:

***Don't try this unless someone else verifies it***

I am a bit rusty on this so I am reaching a bit.

[griobhta]

nope you dont want to do sys c: it will not fix the mbr at all but will overight the win98 sys files with dos.

g

[Scott Tiger]

What version of Windows are you using? If you're using Win2k or XP I think you need to use the recovery console and then do the FDISK /MBR like maface said.

Sorry Linux didn't work for you.