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4 January 2021  John Weaver  Senior Program Developer
 

Summary
Generally, if the PC gets viruses or it is powered off suddenly, it may damage MBR and black screen problem will happen. If you ever met this problem or you’re encountering it, you can try following methods to fix MBR in Windows 10.



What Is MBR?

Master Boot Record (MBR) is a boot sector at the beginning of hard disk. MBR holds boot information which is used for identifing the partitions and the location of system. When you turn on or restart the computer, it will get startup code from MBR. If MBR is damaged, you won’t access the system when you boot the PC.

fix MBR

Common Situations if We Encounters Damaged MBR

If MBR gets damaged, computer can’t operate normally and black screen may appear when you turn on the PC. Besides, there could be something wrong with partition of hard disk or the hard disk can’t be recognized.
black screen with cursor

Causes of Damaged MBR

• Cause 1: Computer is turned off suddenly while processing files or data.

• Cause 2: Computer is suffering from virus.

• Cause 3: Computer was attacked or infected by malware.

• Cause 4: Startup files was damaged or accidentally deleted.

Three Solutions to Fix MBR in Windows 10

It’s so common that MPR gets damaged. But we have to fix it as soon as possible so that the PC can be started normally. Here, three ways to fix MBR will be provided.

Solution 1: Use Startup Repair to Fix MBR

Note: This way requires Windows installation disk. Please create one according to the steps as below if you don’t have it.
Step 1: Download Windows 10 Media Creation Tool on another normal PC.
Step 2: Run this tool and accept the license terms. Then select the second option “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC”. Click “Next”.
create media Windows 10
Step 3: Select “USB flash drive”. Please ensure the space of your USB flash drive has 8GB at least.
Bootable media USB drive in Windows 10
Step 4: Windows 10 installation file begins to download and it will be written in the USB flash drive. Please wait patiently.
downloading windows 10 iso
Step 5: Connect the USB to target PC. Change the boot order in BIOS setup and put “Removable Devices” as the first boot choice. Then boot the PC from USB disk.
change boot order in BIOS menu
Step 6: Click “Repair your computer” in the bottom-left corner after you boot your PC from the USB disk.
Repair your computer
Step 7: When you enter Windows recovery environment, select “Troubleshoot”> “Advanced Options”> “Startup Repair”.
startup repair in Windows
Tips: Restart the PC after startup repair completes. If this way does not fix MBR successfully, please refer to the following solutions.

Solution 2: Fix MBR via Command Prompt

Step 1: Refer to step 1/2/3/4 mentioned in Solution 1 to create a Windows 10 installation disk.

Note: Connect the USB to target PC. Change the boot order in BIOS setup and put “Removable Devices” as the first boot choice. Then boot the PC from USB disk.

change boot order in BIOS menu
Step 2: After entering Windows recovery environment, please select “Troubleshoot”> “Advanced Options”> “Command Prompt”.
command prompt
Step 3: In the command prompt, type bootrec /fixmbr,  bootrec /fixboot,  bootrec /rebuildbcd. Press “Enter” after you type each command. Please reboot the PC once the repair process finishes.
BOOTREC FIXBOOT
Tips: If you have installed dual systems or more, you will need to additionally type in: bootrec /scanos. It will add all systems to boot configuration data.

Solution 3: Fix MBR with System Rescue Tool Renee PasssNow

Windows Recovery, one of the functions of Renee PassNow, can fix MBR as well. It’s free to use.
Step 1: Download and install Renee Passnow in any Windows computer which can login and work normally. Then connect USB disk/CD/DVD to computer and Launch Renee Passnow.
press to the download button
Step 2: Open the software. Select one option from [Crate a Live USB] and [Create a Live CD]. Then, select [x64] or [x86] according to your computer. Next, click on [Download Now] to download the licensed ISO. Remember to activate the software beforehand. After that, click on [Create USB] to create the boot media.
use renee passnow to create usb to reset passnword
Step 3: Connect the created rescue USB/CD to target computer.
connect USB
Step 4: Boot computer and press hotkey to access BIOS. Please click here to find how to change the boot order of your computer brand. (Can not find your brand? Please refer to your PC manual to find out the method.)
If you create a rescue USB, select “Removable Devices” to be the first. If you create a rescue CD, then select “CD-ROM Drive” as the first boot choice. Finally, save and restart computer.
change boot order in BIOS
Step 5: Select “Windows Recovery” function after booting from the new created Windows password reset disk.
use renee passnow to fix errors when you cannot get into windows 10
Step 6: Select “Fix CHS Parameters in MBR” then choose the disk and click “Fix MBR”. After fixing, please restart computer.
fix mbr parameter in renee passnow to fix windows 10 error
Besides, Renee PassNow provides Windows password reset, data transfer, data recovery, Hard disk scan, etc.