Windows & DOS: Issues & Discussions

Hello everyone,

I'm having some difficulty trying to convert a MBR file with hex codes into a "translated" version, where the output explains the contents of the file. For example, a table of primary partitions that I want to translate into plain english:

Code:

--- MBR: ---

Partition 1 - 80 01 01 00 83 FE 3F 01 3F 00 00 00 43 7D 00 00
Partition 2 - 00 00 01 02 83 FE 3F 0D 82 7D 00 00 0C F1 02 00
Partition 3 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Partition 4 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00



--- Translation: ---

partition 1: ID=0x83, active, starthead 1, startsector 63, 32067 sectors;
partition 2: ID=0x83, starthead 0, startsector 32130, 192780 sectors, code offset 0x48

According to a webpage I found, it can be done by using the following commands:

Code:

a) $dd if=/dev/YOUR_DATA_STORAGE_DEVICE of=DESTINATION_FILE bs=512 count=1

b) $file YOUR_EXTRACTED_MBRE

The only problem is that I'm looking for a way to do this in Windows through a text-editor of some sorts. I have a .txt file with the hex values as plain text (80 01 01 00 83 FE 3F 01 3F 00 00 00 43 7D 00 00 etc...). Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!

Is it possible I can give the MBR hex code to someone with Unix to solve this for me?

Solve what? Having the MBR won't give me the ability to write to your disk's MBR in Windows. I don't think the information you have is anywhere near complete enough to use, anyway. The DESTINATION_FILE is what you were supposed to keep.

IOW, if you'll tell us what you're trying to do and not just how you're trying to do it, maybe we can get a complete enough picture to help.