After applying a set of OS patches, a systems administrator finds that, on reboot, a server hangs with a blinking cursor after the system POST. Which of the following should the administrator do…

OS patches can overwrite or corrupt the MBR, which is responsible for loading the bootloader. Reloading or repairing the MBR using recovery tools (e.g., bootrec /fixmbr on Windows) is the least invasive and most targeted first response to this symptom - it directly addresses the likely root cause without data loss.

Replacing the drive and reinstalling the OS is a last-resort action that destroys existing data and configuration; it is not appropriate before attempting a targeted repair.

Restoring from backup is a valid recovery path but skips the simpler and faster MBR repair option that may fully resolve the issue without a full restore.

Cloning the boot drive copies the problem to another drive and does not repair the underlying MBR corruption causing the hang.