How to Backup Master Boot Record (MBR) in Windows 11/10/8/7

Introduction of MBR (disk)

As we all know, it is required to initialize a hard drive to be either MBR or GPT in the first usage. MBR and GPT are two different types of partition structure. Today, we will talk about MBR and explain why it is essential to backup MBR.

MBR (short for Master Boot Record) is a special boot sector at the beginning of a disk, holding OS boot loader and logical disk partition information. It decides whether the system could boot up normally and successfully. If the MBR disk is corrupted by any drive errors, malware, or virus, etc, then all partitions, not to mention all the data, on this disk become inaccessible.

Why is MBR backup essential?

There is an old saying in IT that goes something like this: “You will never realize how important backups are until you need one but don’t have one”. Same apply to MBR backup. As stated above, MBR damage or corruption will lead to disk inaccessible issue and you will lose access to data inside, backing up MBR is essential. 

With the MBR backup, you can easily restore them instead of trying to recover the files from damaged drive. More reasons include:

• Fast Recovery System: When the operating system (installed on the MBR disk) crashed suddenly, you can effectively restore the OS to the previous normal state with an MBR backup. That saves you from the time-consuming task of wiping out the disk and then reinstalling OS.
• Upgrade Disk: The MBR disk backup could play a role when you want to upgrade the disk from old to new, small to large, or bad to good. When you meet such computer problems as “low running speed” and “low disk space”, you can fix them by upgrading the disk and restoring it with the backup.

How to backup MBR in Windows 11/10/8/7 easily

If you have realized the importance of MBR backup, then you might wonder how to backup MBR. Read on to get the best MBR backup tool to help you.

In order to backup MBR disk for enhancing data security or some other purpose, you can try a powerful utility AOMEI Backupper Standard.

• It can assist you in dealing with all sorts of backup issues, like system backup, disk/partition backup and file backup.
• It enables you to schedule backups to backup changed data automatically.
• Not only MBR disk, but it also supports backing up GPT disk.

The most exciting part is that you can free backup MBR disk via AOMEI Backupper. Below is the step-by-step guide.

Step 1. Install and open this software. Select “Disk Backup” under the "Backup" tab.

Step 2. Select the MBR disk to be backed up and select a destination path to store the backup image file. 

✍Tips:

• “Task Name” allows you to set a particular name to distinguish it from other backups later.
• Clicking the “Plus” icon can help you backup several disks at one time.

Step 3. Confirm all your operations and click "Start Backup". 

Notes:✎...

Options: You can write comments, enable email notification and image compression, etc.

Schedule Backup: It allows you to make a daily/weekly/monthly backup. You can also run backups automatically using the "event triggers" or "USB plug in" mode.

Backup Scheme: A scheduled backup uses the incremental backup method by default. However, incremental backups require all backup files in a set to be retained, or you can't restore your backups. Therefore, you can choose the more convenient differential backup. And you can enable the automatic backup cleanup feature to remove your old backup files periodically. Differential backup and auto backup deletion are available in AOMEI Backupper Pro or higher.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, it is of great importance to backup MBR Windows 10 because there will be inevitable disk problems or data loss at any time. If you have backed up the disk in advance, you can easily restore the disk when something unexpected and horrible happens. What's more, it is recommended to create recovery environment with AOMEI Backupper so that you can restore MBR backup even when your computer refuses to boot.

The free disk backup software AOMEI Backupper Standard helps you complete MBR disk backup in just a few clicks, and it also allows you to backup your disk regularly. Download this software right now to discover more!