NTLDR is missing

[leey2ki 0]

well my sisters computer was the main one used in the house, becuase it was the only one connected to the net.... but one day after shed used it the night before whilst i was working i came to start it up, but i got the "NTLDR file is missing" error message... n i knew some files on the windows were corrupted so i formated the hard drive, but im still getting the same error message..... and now i have no idea how to get the NTLDR file back so i can install windows xp once again and get her computer working

[Malaris 0]

Don't know if there is a fix for it, I had it before and I just reinstalled windows from the CD.

 

Sorry that this doesn't really help, but at least you know there is a 'contigency plan'.

[leey2ki 0]

but it wont let me install windows from the cd

[Malaris 0]

Have you put the CD into the drive as soon as your PC is turned on?

[leey2ki 0]

yep ive tried it with the cd in as i start the comp, its not working.....

[Merlin_666 0]

have you checked your board BIOS to make it boot from the CD-Rom as the 1st boot device?

Is you XP cd bootable or in good conditions? Have you tried it in another PC?

 

[markka 0]

your best bet is to boot from a Windows 98 DOS boot disk with fdisk.exe and format.exe on it. once you reach the command prompt, cd to the drive that you want to delete the partitions, and type fdisk and delete all the existing partitions. you can then run format to low level format the drive, and then run your install cd. This procedure assumes that your okay with losing all of your data and starting over.

[al92lt1 0]

NTLDR Missing

 

This error occurs when the partition marked as active does not contain the operating system boot files. The partition for the OS must be a primary partition that has been marked as active. If it is a SCSI, SATA or RAID drive the appropriate drivers need to have already been installed. The boot partition must be located on the disk pointed to in the BIOS boot sequence. The below advice is for single boot systems. Some exceptions apply if you have a dual boot setup..

 

So, two issues:

 

1. Having the PC boot from the correct drive, properly partitioned with the boot partition set as "Active".

 

2. Having the right files in that partition.

 

You can change the active partition using fdisk. And you can change the first boot device (but using an optical drive with a Windows CD to boot from can cause you problems later) in the BIOS.

 

Using fdisk:

 

1. Boot to a command prompt by using a boot disk (if you have one. Otherwise you can make one from any Windows 95/98/ME PC.

2. At the command prompt, type fdisk, and then press enter.

3. Click set active partition, choose the partition that you want to make active, and then hit enter.

4. Press Esc.

5. Remove the boot floppy disk, restart the computer.

 

Right Files:

 

 

 

 

Using the Recovery Console, copy the Ntldr file from the Windows XP CD-ROM to the root directory of the current active partition. Follow these steps:

1. Start your computer by using the Windows XP Setup floppy disks or by using the Windows XP CD-ROM.

2. At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press F10, or press R to repair.

3. Press C to start the Recovery Console.

4. Copy the Ntldr file from the Windows XP CD-ROM to the root of your system partition by using the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:

 

1. Type cd .. to go to the root of drive C. (Note the space)

2. Type the letter of the CD-ROM drive

3. Type cd i386 to change into the right directory

4. Type Copy ntldr c:

5. Type Exit

 

If the partition was not formatted by using Windows, you might also need to run the Recovery Console fixboot command to make the active partition bootable.

 

After you can boot into Windows, it is recommended that you use the Windows Disk Management snap-in tool to reset the original system partition as the active partition, and then restart the computer.

 

From Microsoft:

 

If the NTLDR is missing or damaged try the Recovery Console.

 

To start the computer and use the Recovery Console to replace the boot sector

 

"Insert the Windows XP Professional Setup CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

 

Restart the computer. If prompted to press a key to start the computer from the CD-ROM, press the appropriate key.

When the text-based part of Setup begins, follow the prompts. Press the R key to repair a Windows XP Professional installation.

If you are repairing a system that has more than one operating system installed, from the Recovery Console choose the Windows XP Professional installation that you need to repair.

Note

 

If you press ENTER without typing a number, the Recovery Console quits and restarts the computer.

 

 

The Recovery Console might also show valid installations of Windows NT 4.0. However, the results of attempting to access a Windows NT 4.0 installation can be unpredictable.

 

When prompted, type the Administrator password. If you do not have the correct password, or if the security database for the installation of Windows XP Professional that you are attempting to access is corrupted, Recovery Console does not allow access to the local disks and you cannot replace the boot sector.

 

To replace the boot sector, at the Recovery Console command prompt, type: fixboot [drive:]

 

If you do not specify a drive letter, the Recovery Console replaces the boot sector of the system volume. If you need to replace the boot sector of a volume that is not the system volume, then you must specify the appropriate drive letter."

 

... More Microsoft NTLDR Help

 

"Using Recovery Console enables you to recover from the following problems:

 

Corrupted or deleted startup files caused by incompatible software, user error, or virus activity.

 

Disk problems related to damage to the master boot record (MBR), partition table, or boot sector on x86-based systems.

 

A partition boot sector overwritten by another operating system's setup program.

 

If critical system files, such as Ntldr or Ntoskrnl.exe, are missing or corrupted, you can restore them by starting Recovery Console and copying fresh files from the Windows XP Professional operating system CD or other removable disk media." More

 

 

 

One user has written in with this feedback:

 

"I recently encountered the above mentioned 'NTLDR is missing' error

while starting up my pc and found the solution on your site. Thanks, people! Thing was, all the time I had a floppy in my floppy drive. And my pc is set up to have it's primary boot device be the floppy drive! Maybe you can add this tip to your page- make sure there is no floppy in the drive!"

 

 

Alan

al92lt1@gmail.com