No Boot sector main hard drive

[GMadd]

I have a Dell Inspiron that is running Win7 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.

 

[theog]

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

 

[FliGi7]

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

 

[GMadd]

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

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

 

[FliGi7]

How did you wipe the MBR?

 

[GMadd]

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

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.

 

[GMadd]

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

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?

 

[theog]

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

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

I ran Dell diagnostic and it did not find anything wrong.

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

 

[GMadd]

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.

 

[theog]

I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.

 

[FliGi7]

I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.

This is true. Sounds like more serious problems are occurring with the hard drive itself rather than just a singular booting issue.

 

[gregrocker]

You should boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair. All bootrec, bootsect and other repair commands, tests and fixes are automated in Startup Repair. Run it several times then post back what it reports.

Next make sure Win7 or its 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) are still marked Active: Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two). You can also use free Partition Wizard bootable CD to mark Active, then click on HD to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply steps, reboot. This may preclude the need to run Startup Repair.

If these repairs fail then after confirming HD is good you'll need to run full Factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or from Recovery disks you have made or order. Or find a Win7 installation DVD to clean reinstall using the Product Key on COA sticker: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[GMadd]

I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.

Ok I'll try to Fix the MBR again and see what happens.

 

[theog]

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

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

I ran Dell diagnostic and it did not find anything wrong.

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

I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.

Ok I'll try to Fix the MBR again and see what happens.

Trying to fix MBR will not make the BIOS see the HD. As your HD turning on/off.

 

[GMadd]

You should boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair. All bootrec, bootsect and other repair commands, tests and fixes are automated in Startup Repair. Run it several times then post back what it reports.

Next make sure Win7 or its 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) are still marked Active: Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two). You can also use free Partition Wizard bootable CD to mark Active, then click on HD to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply steps, reboot. This may preclude the need to run Startup Repair.

If these repairs fail then after confirming HD is good you'll need to run full Factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or from Recovery disks you have made or order. Or find a Win7 installation DVD to clean reinstall using the Product Key on COA sticker: Reinstalling Windows 7

The only disks I have for this computer are the ones I made using the Dell Data safe back up. I did this just before I started messing with this drive. I know I can use it to install Windows back on the computer because I tried it once already but did not try to use the repair console. I am not sure I saw that as an option. I have my Windows 7 professional 64 bit from my new computer; can I use it to get the repair console up?

 

[gregrocker]

You can use any Win7 installation DVD for repairs as long as it is the same 32- or 64-bit version.

Try also rebooting and tapping the F8 key to see if Repair console is on Advanced Boot Options menu

 

[theog]

You should boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair. All bootrec, bootsect and other repair commands, tests and fixes are automated in Startup Repair. Run it several times then post back what it reports.

Next make sure Win7 or its 100mb System Reserved partition (preferred) are still marked Active: Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two). You can also use free Partition Wizard bootable CD to mark Active, then click on HD to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply steps, reboot. This may preclude the need to run Startup Repair.

If these repairs fail then after confirming HD is good you'll need to run full Factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or from Recovery disks you have made or order. Or find a Win7 installation DVD to clean reinstall using the Product Key on COA sticker: Reinstalling Windows 7

The only disks I have for this computer are the ones I made using the Dell Data safe back up. I did this just before I started messing with this drive. I know I can use it to install Windows back on the computer because I tried it once already but did not try to use the repair console. I am not sure I saw that as an option. I have my Windows 7 professional 64 bit from my new computer; can I use it to get the repair console up?

You can use any Win7 installation DVD for repairs as long as it is the same 32- or 64-bit version.

Try also rebooting and tapping the F8 key to see if Repair console is on Advanced Boot Options menu

Trying to fix MBR will not make the BIOS see the HD. As your HDis turning on/off.

 

[gregrocker]

If the HD is confirmed good then these are the repairs needed first to know that Win7 is bootable.

 

[theog]

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"

I had been receiving the error message about no boot sector for about 3 months

Are all signs of a bad HD Drive.

Hopefully not a bad MOBO.

 

[GMadd]

That is a sign of a bad HD Drive.

This is true. Sounds like more serious problems are occurring with the hard drive itself rather than just a singular booting issue.

Can anyone suggest a good tool to check and see if the hard drive is actually bad?? I have a program called HD Tune 2.55 that has an Error scanner on it but I am not sure if that is what I need to use.