WIPEMBR Tool
This page is applicable to version 1.0
Description
WIPEMBR.EXE is a DOS program that can be used in support of XT-IDE and XT-CF cards.
WIPEMBR 'wipes' the first sector on a hard drive (or CF, etc.). That sector is known as the MBR, the master boot record.
WIPEMBR does the wiping by writing 00 to all 512 bytes of the first sector. WIPEMBR will then read the sector back, verifying that all 512 bytes are 00.
If WIPEMBR encounters an error during its operation, you will be informed of that.
An OS (operating sytem, e.g. DOS) does not need to be present on the hard drive. WIPEMBR's scope is only the first sector, and it reads/writes that at the low level.
An example screen shot of WIPEMBR is at here
In what situation might I use it?
As one of the possible ways to address the problem described in the first entry at here.
Hard drive 0 versus hard drive 1
By default, WIPEMBR targets hard drive 0 (normally appears as logical drive C:).
If your vintage computer contains two hard drives, you may want to target hard drive 1 (normally appears as logical drive D:) instead. Of course, be confident about which drive is hard drive 0 and which is hard drive 1.
To target hard drive 1, start TESTMBR with the HD1 switch, as shown below.
A:>wipembr /hd1
/NOPROMPT switch
When WIPEMBR is started, it warns the user about what it is about to do, then prompts with "Continue (Y/N):".
If, for whatever reason, you do not want to see that warning and the prompt, then start WIPEMBR with the NOPROMPT switch, as shown below.
A:>testmbr /noprompt
/SILENT switch
Some advanced users may want to use WIPEMBR in a batch file, AND, want WIPEMBR not to display anything at all. That is what the SILENT switch is used for.
Note that WIPEMBR outputs a 'DOS error level' (i.e. something that a batch file can use to detect success/failure of WIPEMBR).
DOS error level of 0 = Success
DOS error level of 1 = Failure
A:>testmbr /silent
Download
Click here.