Master Boot Record question

[RogerR]

~ My desktop crashes overnight ... sometimes. It attempts to reboot, but halts at 'Verifying DMI pool data'.
(No idea why it crashes - it isn't consistent - it doesn't crash during daily use, and most likely a power flicker issue.)

~ I reboot using MiniTool Partition Wizard boot disc, rebuild the MBRs, re-order the HD boot priority and it usually fires up on the restart. PITA but there is no data loss (so far) so it's just a chore not a debacle.

~ I have 3 HDDs; 2 appear as masters and the other as slave. (I haven't checked the jumper settings).

The 1st question is: should I have more than 1 MBR?

The 2nd question is: why does the system not boot (when the mobo is supposed to scan all 3 drives for the boot info)?

 

[jumanji]

From what I see, your motherboard has one IDE connector to which you can connect two IDE (PATA) drives. The one you boot from should be Master and the other one has to be a Slave. Most probably you haven't changed the jumper to Slave in the second IDE drive. Check.

( You haven't specified the model number of drives and to which connectors these are connected. In SATA drives there is no Master/Slave since each drive is connected to a singular port..)

( In all hard drives SATA or PATA the first sector is conventionally called the MBR Sector. It carries the boot code (in case of the HDD on which the OS is installed) and the partition table)

 

[RogerR]

From what I see, your motherboard has one IDE connector to which you can connect two IDE (PATA) drives. The one you boot from should be Master and the other one has to be a Slave. Most probably you haven't changed the jumper to Slave in the second IDE drive. Check.

( You haven't specified the model number of drives and to which connectors these are connected. In SATA drives there is no Master/Slave since each drive is connected to a singular port..)

( In all hard drives SATA or PATA the first sector is conventionally called the MBR Sector. It carries the boot code (in case of the HDD on which the OS is installed) and the partition table)

There are 3 physical SATA drives;

1. Ch2 M WD5000 AADS
2. Ch3 M WD2500 KS
3. Ch3 S WD5000 AACS

 

[gregrocker]

Please post back a screenshot of Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image.

Have you run Startup Repair on the Win7 HD with all others unplugged yet?

 

[RogerR]

Please post back a screenshot of Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image.

Have you run Startup Repair on the Win7 HD with all others unplugged yet?

I have not run a Startup Repair. It boots up normally, when it boots.

 

[gregrocker]

Unplug all HD's, plug Disk0 cable into C HD so Win7 is in Disk0 slot where an OS HD should be, so it cannot have it's boot files derailed to a preceding Primary partition during any repairs or reinstall. Make sure the Win7 HD is set first to boot in BIOS setup.

Leave all other HD's unplugged to see if the problem persists. If it's the OS HD which is causing the problem then run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times , report back results. Trigger DVD or Repair CD to do the repairs using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key.

If the problem doesn't persist with only the OS HD plugged in, plug back in the other HD's one at a time with enough time between each to test if the problem returns.

If you are able to isolate the HD causing the boot problem, move its data off and wipe it with Diskpart Clean Command then repartition in Disk Mgmt. I would make all data partitions Logical. Partition / Extended : Logical Drives - Windows 7 Forums
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