Does Win7 upgrade rewrite entire MBR?


  1. Posts : 1,030
    Linux Mint / XP / Win7 Home, Pro, Ultimate / Win8.1 / Win10
       #1

    Does Win7 upgrade rewrite entire MBR?


    Next upgrade question: does the upgrade installer completely rewrite the master boot record?

    I ask because the Adobe RoboHelp program writes authorization to the MBR (even though Microsoft says no program should do that) - if it gets blown out the app will not run and I'll have to jump through many hoops to get Adobe to re-activate it.

    Regards,
    GEWB
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 795
    windows 7 RTM x64
       #2

    I would do a clone of the drive before installing then, just to be sure.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,030
    Linux Mint / XP / Win7 Home, Pro, Ultimate / Win8.1 / Win10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    ccatlett1984 said:
    I would do a clone of the drive before installing then, just to be sure.
    Thanks, I'll invest in another HD and do a clone (cheap insurance).

    Regards,
    GEWB
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #4

    GEWB said:
    Next upgrade question: does the upgrade installer completely rewrite the master boot record?

    I ask because the Adobe RoboHelp program writes authorization to the MBR (even though Microsoft says no program should do that) - if it gets blown out the app will not run and I'll have to jump through many hoops to get Adobe to re-activate it.

    Regards,
    GEWB
    Pretty sure win 7 does especially if you are dual booting. It has to create a boot menu.

    ken
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,557
    XP, Seven, 2008R2
       #5

    I agree with Ken. (although it won't overwrite the partition table so technically the MBR is not entirely overwritten. Likely just the code portion would be)

    Just an idea, but maybe it will be easier (and cheaper) to back up the MBR rather than clone the entire hard drive. I know I've got some software around here that does this... I can't think of the name right of hand though, so I'll look for it and get back to you.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5,941
    Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers
       #6

    GEWB said:
    ccatlett1984 said:
    I would do a clone of the drive before installing then, just to be sure.
    Thanks, I'll invest in another HD and do a clone (cheap insurance).

    Regards,
    GEWB
    Hi there
    you don't even need to do that -- backup the MBR with Acronis True Image or other imaging software. While you are at it backup the OS partitions as well. These can be backed up on to DVD / external USB drives so you don't need to buy another HDD just for this purpose.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,557
    XP, Seven, 2008R2
       #7

    some free tools to back up the MBR:

    mbrsave, mbrtool, mbrwizard, mbrfix (included with EasyBCD 2.0), mbrsaver, or even a hex editor such as HxD can do it (although it won't be as easy to restore a hex backup unless you can boot off of another disk first)
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,030
    Linux Mint / XP / Win7 Home, Pro, Ultimate / Win8.1 / Win10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Thanks for all of the ideas!

    Having worked with Windows since version 2 (on a 286-AT with 1MB of RAM), I have been burned and learned my leason...spare hard drives are cheap insurance when making a major change to the OS.

    Regards,
    GEWB
      My Computer


 

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