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Question

Difficulty: HardTroubleshooting Windows OS Startup and Boot Errors

An IT technician is troubleshooting a Windows 10 desktop computer using legacy BIOS and an MBR partition layout. Following an improper system shutdown caused by a power outage, the computer fails to boot and displays the message 'Missing operating system' on a black screen. The technician boots the system using a Windows installation media flash drive into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) Command Prompt and launches the DiskPart utility. Inspection of the disk reveals that the primary system partition containing the boot loader files is fully intact, but its boot flag status is no longer marked as active. Which command within DiskPart should the technician execute after selecting the primary system partition to restore boot capability?

  1. Execute the active commandAnswer
  2. B
    Execute the assign letter=C: command
  3. C
    Execute the convert gpt command
  4. D
    Execute the extend size=1024 command

Answer

The technician should execute the active command after selecting the primary system partition in DiskPart.
Executing the active command in DiskPart sets the selected primary partition as the active boot partition. On legacy MBR systems, BIOS inspects the MBR partition table to find the partition marked active, which contains the boot loader code needed to initiate Windows startup.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the boot error symptoms and environment
Identified a legacy MBR system displaying 'Missing operating system' due to a missing active flag on the primary system partition.
Legacy BIOS systems require an MBR partition to be marked as 'active' so the system BIOS knows which partition contains the boot sector code.
2
Navigate DiskPart focus to the correct partition
Selected the target disk and system partition containing boot files.
DiskPart commands apply strictly to the currently focused disk, volume, or partition.
3
Run the active command
The selected partition is marked as active in the Master Boot Record partition table.
Executing the active command configures the partition table so the Master Boot Record can transfer control to the partition's boot sector during startup.

Key Concept

Legacy MBR Active Partition Configuration
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Topics

Troubleshooting Windows OS Startup and Boot Errors

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