Windows 7: No Boot sector main hard drive

I have a Dell Inspiron that is running Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit and I am getting an error message while booting up it states
"No boot sector on internal hard drive"
"No bootable devices--strike F1 to retry boot"



When I hit F1 it does nothing. I am not worried about losing data on this computer because I have everything backed up. I would just like to fix it so I can use it again. When I first received this message I was able to strike F1 and it would boot just fine but then I tried to fix it on my own. I think I killed the boot sector altogether. I must warn you that I am new to the MBR set up so you will have to walk me through it one step at a time.

Have you run the Dell diagnostic tool?
If NO, Press F12 at boot, & run the Dell diagnostic tool.

What did you do in your attempts to fix it? You can use your Windows 7 disc to boot into the system recovery console and perform a "bootrec.exe /fixboot" which should fix the problem if that's the sole issue.

How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows

Before I wiped the MBR I ran Dell diagnostic and it did not find anything wrong.

How did you wipe the MBR?

Before I wiped the MBR I ran Dell diagnostic and it did not find anything wrong. In attempt to fix my MBR issue I used a program called BootIce but I did not understand how to use it so I did what any other man would do and started clicking buttons. Guess what it did not fix the problem.

So when I get to the command prompt I can just type in bootrec.exe /fixboot and that should fix it. Do I need to tell the system what drive I want to fix? Also I need to run the fixboot from the Windows DVD...correct?

1) Make sure the HD Drive is showing in BIOS.
2) Check all the cables.
3) Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic

1) Make sure the HD Drive is showing in BIOS.
2) Check all the cables.
3) Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic[/QUOTE]

I am pretty sure the drive is showing up but I will check for that when I get home tonight. I want to add that I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months and if I hit the F1 key it would boot up with no problems and work all day. I go a new laptop so I thought I'd fix the old one for my kid. I figured it would be easier to fix the computer than reminding him to hit the F1 key when the error message pops up.

Looking at your avatar makes me want to say ouch! Is that your leg or arm? Must make the metal detectors go nuts at the airport.

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.