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This topic is related to my questions 1 and 2, however as I've entered yet another phase of this complex issue, I must ask another standalone question:

How can we copy back an MBR to an HDD with Windows 7?

I've used every type of software out there to try and read the data off the HDD with the corrupted MBR, with no success. The reason, as stated here is:

Important: Restoring your Master boot record with the wrong partition table will make your data unreadable and will make it very hard to recover your data later.

When I used Boot Repair Disk to attempt fixing the corrupt MBR after being messed up by the RAT's and Comodo's consequent deletion of them, it wrote the wrong type of MBR which conflicts with the Partition table of the HDD. It is also possible it wrote another partition table as well. No matter what I do, unless I fix one, the other won't work. As is, it's not going to read any data off the disk. This is a fact I've proven over and over already.

What I need to know:

I have a copy saved of the HDD when it was new and using ZarX, I was able to extract and copy the entire MBR to an image file. I now have 2 options to proceed and therefore I'll need answers how to do the following :

Option 1. I can copy back the copy of the MBR to the original HDD and see if that makes the files readable. There must be software out there capable of this. Which are they and what are the steps to do it for Windows 7?

Option 2: I can restore the Partition Table. I'll probably have to do this anyway, so I'm getting the programs for it as listed here and need to figure what can be done with those. I may have more questions on proceeding with that, but that's another topic and I don't need help with that - yet.

Any ideas and help with this issue is appreciated. To get in touch with me directly and see a full history of this topic, you can join the discussion here:

Recovering files when MBR has been corrupted

EDIT: According to This EaseUs Partition Master can rebuild an MBR, but when I used it, it does not show any Disk dropdown menu or MBR menu option. Anyone know why?

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  • I would suggest using TestDisk - but no GUI interface (!) and you have to understand what you are doing (you should know what primary and logical partition is, remember what sizes had your partitions earlier approximately). On run TestDisk lists what it finds and suggests partitions found, be careful before you confirm writing of new MBR. – snayob Oct 10 '15 at 00:04
  • Are you familiar with the Linux command `dd`? – qasdfdsaq Oct 20 '15 at 14:07
  • @qasdfdsaq from what I've read, it's a file copying command and requires operands. I'm not familiar with its use and it probably wouldn't be able to be used in my case as I have to find a fix first for the latest stage in this issue now, an I/O drive error. – xCare Oct 21 '15 at 22:52
  • I've seen some utilities which use the dd function supposedly, like http://aeroquartet.com/movierepair/dd%20for%20windows I might give them a go. – xCare Oct 21 '15 at 23:05
  • DD has been ported to Windows: http://www.chrysocome.net/dd If you are familiar with it, then it's just one plain command. If not, I can suggest some GUI programs that can do it too, but if you have I/O errors that suggests a drive fault that fixing the MBR won't help with. I would image the entire drive to a backup device then work on it there. – qasdfdsaq Oct 21 '15 at 23:35
  • ty for the link, idk if the programs might work bit I might give them a try if I can get past the device I/O error that's popped up. The latest stage now: http://superuser.com/questions/990052/how-does-one-recover-from-a-internal-hard-drive-i-o-error – xCare Oct 21 '15 at 23:59

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