A Question Relating to a MBR Error

[#1]

Hi
The question is... I want to mend my MBR on my XP OS which is attached to my W7 PC via a USB SATA external drive.
Here's the coo, Have no problem with repairing MBR via XP recovery,.
But what is the likely hood of fixing the XP drive and messing up my internal W7 drive.
You see I remember long time ago someone did this operation but had to different OS and it messed up the other OS, only can not remember he had both
OS on same drive or one on a slave drive....

[#2]

For safety, I'd recomend disconnecting the W7 drive completely while running the repair on the XP disk (I assume you'll be booting from a CD/DVD so not having an internal hard drive connected shouldn't bother the PC too much).

[#3]

Course should of mentioned, W7 internal hdd is a sony vaio, so remove all screws from back, unsnap back off and remove shielding...
This is why my other laptop does not work, easy to unscrew not so, to work out how to unsnap... To this day I have never been able to completly put anything back together...
Heck I had a Sprinter van once, had to remove radiator to get at what needed mending. Put it all back and had 4 bolts, a bit of plastic and couple brackets left over, thought oh well, half way down the road radiator came adrift...................

[#4]

Do you have any other old PC or laptop you could use to repair the XP disk, sounds like dismantling the Vaio is not a good idea?

[#5]

Take it from me, you DON'T want to fix the MBR the way you are thinking of.  The Master Boot Record is part of the process of loading Windows.  If you are looking to repair your old XP computer by trying to fix its MBR you CANNOT do that from a Windows 7 computer because the two versions of Windows boot completely differently.
If you want to fix your XP computer, put the disc drive back in the computer and boot the computer from the XP installation disk.  Choose the Repair Console and then use the Fixmbr command to fix the Master Boot Record.  I guess the chances are that you don't have an XP installation disc, in which case you need to beg, steal or borrow one. 

[#6]

Quote from: zedingrove

Have no problem with repairing MBR via XP recovery,.

Then do it that way, for heaven's sake!

[#7]

Quote from: walker23

Do you have any other old PC or laptop you could use to repair the XP disk, sounds like dismantling the Vaio is not a good idea?

Can not believe how dumb I am, got an old desktop in the corner, you are a STAR..................

[#8]

Quote from: zedingrove

Heck I had a Sprinter van once, had to remove radiator to get at what needed mending. Put it all back and had 4 bolts, a bit of plastic and couple brackets left over, thought oh well, half way down the road radiator came adrift...................

LOL
Here's a little tip for you I picked up on a few years back..
When unbolting things (or unscrewing) have a hundred or so of those small plastic zip seal bags handy and a small notepad. Put the screws for each component in a bag and write a label for them and put that in too. Seal the bag and add to the pile of other bags of nuts, bolts, screws etc. When reassembling, (assuming you've kept the bags in order) you won't go wrong putting it all back together.
I had an entire engine and gearbox out of a car doing this - It went back in perfectly (apart from starting - electronic problem). An old mate of mine ridiculed me for it but it's a very effective method. Hit ebay and look for zip seal bags, they're only a few quid for a few hundred.

[#9]

You know I was told this a few years ago, and applied it just once to a Victorian wardrobe I was restoring  ... Had even drawn diagram.
To this day I swear some one swapped or hid something as I could not get it back together.
Saying that I attempted to put a metal/plastic garden shed up for a friend, took me just 8 hours (instructions said 2 hours), had to be de assembled as the entire back came away. Apparently the sheets I put on the back were meant for the front, which explains why I could not fix all the bolts on..................  

[#10]

I'm sure laptop manufacturers put extra redundant screws inside their laptops.
Every time I've taken one to pieces I usually have a screw left with no empty screw hole to take it.

[#11]

That's strange because every time I take a laptop to bits at least one screw vanishes!