[wdisneymom]

if I do an fdisk /mbr will I be able to re-boot my damaged hard drive

[ETS]

Maybe, but it depends on what the damage is. FDISK /MBR will only rewrite the Master Boot Record, and there are other problems that can prevent your system from booting.

[MacFromOK]

Possibly, if a damaged master boot record is
your problem. It shouldn't hurt to try if
the conditions listed below DO NOT exists.

Note: You can type fdisk /status to find
out how many partitions you have.

Do NOT use if:

1.The disk was partitioned using the
Storage Dimensions SpeedStor
utility with its /Bootall option.

2.More than four partitions exist.

3.Certain dual-boot programs are in use.
(It would be risky if ANY dual-boot
programs are in use)


Sorry ETS, we posted at same time...

[aelarson]

Two small DOS programs which I have found VERY useful in
such situations are Norton Utilities DISKEDIT and Power
Quest's PARTINFO. These can both be run from a bootable
floppy if your HD isn't working. Power Quest's PARTINFO
I am sure is available free from their site and maybe
somebody would loan you a copy of N.U.'s DISKEDIT. I've
used DISKEDIT to rescue several botched HDs. With
DISKEDIT you can read as well as write directly to the HD
and with some reflection you may be able to diagnose your
and fix your problem, although it helps to know what you
are looking at. Power Quest's PARTINFO is an analysis
program and doesn't include write capability. These programs work in the presence of disk overlays whereas FDISK/MBR does NOT. One trick I have used is to make
copies of good sectors from another HD (machine) (with
DISKEDIT), then copy them to your disk and make
the appropriate changes (with DISKEDIT) to get your HD
going again. This takes some knowledge of the HD struc-
tures but it can be done.