Master Boot Record and Disk Formatting Essentials
Master Boot Record (MBR) Structure
The Master Boot Record (MBR) is a small program that runs on each operating system and is located in the first sector on the disk. It seeks to transfer control to the Partition Boot Sector (Boot).
MBR Contents
- Partition Table: Contains information regarding the start and end of up to 4 partitions.
- Partition Types:
- Primary: Partition information is directly on the partition table.
- Extended: Created to overcome the limit of 4 partitions; it saves the partition table information.
- Logical: Partitions whose start and end information resides outside the main partition table.
- A small program that reads the contents of the partition table, specifically the active partition and the Partition Boot Sector.
- Free space reserved








