NTLDR file missing

[anela]

I put the reboot CD in and it says -If I click to fix windows I will lose everything on hard drive C. It also says Boot to comand prompt from CD. I tried fixboot <enter> fixmbr <enter> and pressed enter - and it said bad command or file name. Can someone help please?

 

[Diz2K2]

Are you using Windows 2000, XP Home or Pro?

 

[anela]

I'm using XP home.

 

[tennesota]

What is confusing is the fact that a REPAIR option shows up twice; I suspect you are seeing REPAIR at the "Welcome To Setup" screen.

At this point you would want to press ENTER to start the Windows setup. After pressing F8 to accept the license agreement Windows will search your system for a Windows installation. If Windows finds an installation that can be reapired you will see an option to press R to start the repair.

 

[tennesota]

Once the repair begins it will just like installing the operating system requiring the same steps along the way.

 

[anela]

NO the window that comes up now is - systems restore menu
with 2 options
1. restore window XP -warning you will lose all information on C drive
2.boot to command prompt from CD-Rom

This is a different computer than the one I am using now. It won't start up at all. When it begins a window comes up that says Verifying DMI pool data. Boot from CD NTLDR missing. Then when I boot from the CD I now get the above window - systems restore menu

 

[RyDogg1]

Put a Windows XP CD in, boot, get to the recovery console and run a full chkdsk, just to make sure the harddrive hasn't been corrupted.

 

[anela]

It's not corrupt the only thing wrong is the NTLDR file is missing.

 

[RyDogg1]

A hard drive corrupt such as checksum errors can lead the OS to believe that the file is missing. Run it for giggles anyway.

 

[RyDogg1]

Ton of possible fixes here:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

 

[anela]

I deleted the file yesterday I know was a dumb thing to do. How do I restore it without losing everthing?

 

[RyDogg1]

Well now the truth comes out. About halfway down that page I linked above:

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter "E". This letter may be different on your computer.

copy e:\i386\ntldr c:
copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:

7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Also once you do this, I would reinstall the latest SP for XP Home.

 

[anela]

It finally dawned on me that I am getting different windows because I don't have the XP CD I have the thea restore CDs (bootable CdDs) that came with the computer. Windows XP was on it. So when I put it in I don't get a promt to boot from the CD I get Microsoft windows millennium start up menu
choice is 1 with or with out step by step confirmation
then It takes me to - windows is bypassing start up files- create a start up log file (Bootlog. TXT)
Y or N

 

[RyDogg1]

So you have the only choice of installing the original OS that came on the computer, sorry but without the XP CD you are out of luck.

 

[TGS]

Just search your recovery CD for the NTLDR file. Get a bootable CD or floppy, to put the file on and copy it over to your system disk.

 

[Robor]

Get the NTLDR file from an existing working system (if you want, PM me and I'll Email it to you). Burn it to a CD or copy it to a floppy (it's only 245K so it will fit). Boot your system to a command prompt. Copy the NTLDR file from the CD or floppy to C:\ Reboot and you should be all set.

Welcome to Anandtech!

 

[Crizza]

Unless you know exactly what it is, it's typically not a good idea to delete a hidden file

 

[scottws]

This reminds me of hearing people talk about how back in Win 3.11 days they'd delete some important DLL files while trying to clean up the PC.