NTLDR missing (not floppy)

Hey folks, brother inlaw bought a new external hard drive and tried moving all his files onto it to free up some space but I think he moved a few too many.

Now windows (XP pro) won't boot (NTLDR missing) and the repair function on the windows disk apparently can't find a windows installation to repair... I think!! It asks which installation to repair but lists no options. I said to enter "1" it then asks for a passwd but he doesn't have one...

What are his options for getting windows up without reformatting? There's a lot of data on the computer that he doesn't want to lose.

Thanks in advance,
M

 

Hit Enter when it asks for a password.

 

Yeah, tried that too! No luck.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...68-6e4f-471c-b455-bd5afee126d8&DisplayLang=en

The XP boot flopies might get you past that problem.

If you do get in, you need to make sure NTLDR is present on the boot drive (presumably C. I'd also run bootcfg /rebuild.

 

You can try this, as well.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35319

 

Thanks folks! I'll post the progress when I talk to him again.

 

how do you make a boot disk for this problem if neither computer you own has a floppy disk drive??

 

You don't need a boot floppy for this, all the files except for the boot.ini are on the Windows CD. You can copy the boot.ini, if you need it, to a CD and transfer it to the computer.

 

Maybe you can try to use the recovery console and do fixboot and fixmbr commands to rewrite the bootsector which (correct me if i am wrong) contains the ntldr files. Try those commands in recovery console and see if it helps.
-the new tech guy

 

It's not a Boot Sector/MBR issue; fixboot and fixmbr won't fix an 'NTLDR is missing error' message.

Relevant MS Articles:
How to troubleshoot the "NTLDR Is Missing" error message in Windows 2000
How to troubleshoot the "NTLDR is missing" error message in Windows Server 2003

 

Actually, NTLDR errors can be related to the bootsector, and a floppy can help, hence my instructions in the Read Only forum, and the notes in here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320397/en-us

I'd say more often than not, NTLDR errors that don't deal with missing files are partition table issues, which, once again, a floppy can sometimes overcome.

 

I hadn't read that article, Thanks. I haven't encounter NTLDR errors caused by MFT fragmentation before.

In this case the user can't use floppies, neither computer has one; a bootable CD should serve the same purpose.

 

Oh ok because i thought those files existed and pretty much were the computer's boot sector and doing the commands previously posted, would rewrite those corrupted files automatically with new ones. If what Adrenalyne is saying is correct about the MFT being fragmented, we may need to somehow defrag it. Just thought the commands would simply make the copy easier by automating the process.
-the new tech guy

 

The article that Adrenalyne linked to explains how to fix MFT fragmentation. Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP2 do not have this problem according to Microsoft.

 

Yeah but how reliable has microsoft been? It may just be that. We do not know for sure. There is alot of advice posted so let's just wait and see what happens.
-the new tech guy

 

Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file

 

To Shadow_Puter_Dude, HELP. My name is Dixiebele and this is the only way I know how to get to you. I am getting NTLDR is missing on my laptop. I have a lot of pics that I did not back up before this happened, how can I save them and other data before doing the what you 5/24/05 posting is done, not that I really understand it but I need my laptop. Can you help me????? I am listed in the member list but I can not private message you since I am a Newbie. Thanks Dixiebele

 

How to fix ntldr is missing http://tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm
directions for making a floppy, CD-R and USB stick so whichever one suits, use those instructions.