Windows ntldr missing....

Discussion in 'Software' started by bixie_62, 7 May 2006.

  1. bixie_62

    bixie_62 Minimodder

    Joined:
    17 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    1,597
    Likes Received:
    10
    hey all

    well my nephews DELL is a little messed up.

    when you boot it up it says 'ntldr missing' 'prss crl+alt+del to restart' or something along those lines.

    now the problem is, he needs the pc up and running QUICKLY and cant wait for a warranty return jobby, so is there any way to replace the ntldr file?

    its running Windows XP home and its a Dimension 9100 (quite a nice machine)

    what would be the procedure to do this? the major problem is that the main partition has been formatted with NTFS and not FAT so i cant access the I386 folder on C:, so i cant just go in there and copy the file over.

    if anyone could help with this, would be a FANTASTIC help.

    and yes, i know saying 'dell' over here is a crime! especially at a modding site! lol.

    ta
     
  2. MrWillyWonka

    MrWillyWonka Chocolate computers galore!

    Joined:
    25 Jul 2004
    Posts:
    5,892
    Likes Received:
    12
    I used to get that problem when overclocking my computer for some reason and had to underclock it slightly. Another time I think I used fixmbr in the windows repair console (you'll need the Windows CD).
     
  3. bixie_62

    bixie_62 Minimodder

    Joined:
    17 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    1,597
    Likes Received:
    10
    say i had a xp pro cd, would that work with a xp home install?
     
  4. MrWillyWonka

    MrWillyWonka Chocolate computers galore!

    Joined:
    25 Jul 2004
    Posts:
    5,892
    Likes Received:
    12
    for the fixmbr, I would imagine so. But your friend should have the oem cd with the computer. Or is it one of those that has the reinstall files integrated into the OS?
     
  5. hitman012

    hitman012 Minimodder

    Joined:
    6 May 2005
    Posts:
    4,877
    Likes Received:
    19
    fixmbr, fixboot, and "chkdsk /p" are commands worth running in the Recovery Console for this sort of error.
     
  6. John Cena

    John Cena What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    1 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    818
    Likes Received:
    0
    make sure you dont have a floppy disk inserted at the time of boot.

    if you still get the error, then windows has become corrupted. I think you can repair it using the xp cd.
     
  7. WILD9

    WILD9 Been here aaaaages

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2001
    Posts:
    574
    Likes Received:
    4
    Sorry if I sound super patronising but is there a floppy disk in the drive. Thats probably the most common cause of that message on boot.
     
  8. MrWillyWonka

    MrWillyWonka Chocolate computers galore!

    Joined:
    25 Jul 2004
    Posts:
    5,892
    Likes Received:
    12
    Wouldn't that be the system disk error rather than the ntldr is missing error?
     
  9. yodasarmpit

    yodasarmpit Modder

    Joined:
    27 May 2002
    Posts:
    11,433
    Likes Received:
    242
    Like Wonka said "ntldr missing" only ever happened to me after overclocking too far.
    Using the recovery console and then doing the fixmbr and fixboot routine would usually solve the problem, on the odd occasion a repair install was required.
     
  10. WILD9

    WILD9 Been here aaaaages

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2001
    Posts:
    574
    Likes Received:
    4
  11. bixie_62

    bixie_62 Minimodder

    Joined:
    17 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    1,597
    Likes Received:
    10
    heya
    well i popped my xp cd into his pc, and went on to try to install. it doesnt even find a partition on the drive! if i use my bootcd and use partition managed, it finds the partitions no problems.

    HELP!
     
  12. Herbicide

    Herbicide Lurktacular

    Joined:
    27 May 2004
    Posts:
    1,533
    Likes Received:
    17
    If it's under warranty, return it.

    - H.
     
  13. bixie_62

    bixie_62 Minimodder

    Joined:
    17 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    1,597
    Likes Received:
    10
    hmm......what if he has, shall we say....shared content on his computer, in the form of mp3's and dvds.......
     
  14. MrWillyWonka

    MrWillyWonka Chocolate computers galore!

    Joined:
    25 Jul 2004
    Posts:
    5,892
    Likes Received:
    12
    Well, thats something we can't answer.

    Looks like it could be a faulty hard drive, if xp can't find the partition there isn't a lot you can do (if it's sata, you'll need the drivers) although you might want to try moving the hdd to another sata/ide slot to see if that'll solve the problem, then try fixmbr.

    Try using some recovery software to recover the data before returning the computer since the hdd is probably on its way out. Try booting with a bootable linux to see if it detects the hdd.
     
  15. thestig198

    thestig198 Minimodder

    Joined:
    24 Jan 2004
    Posts:
    201
    Likes Received:
    0
    My brothers machine had this problem and the only way I could fix it was booting from a Linux live CD, mounting the partition and copying his data to a spare drive. Then I wiped the drive blank using one of the utils from the UBCD (ultimate boot CD) and started again.

    I did try fixing it with the Windows CD but couldn't get to the recovery console or do a repair install.
     
Tags:

Share This Page