registry gone.'unrecognizable...

volume' and so on when boot up. I've used some commands such as fixboot and fixmbr from recovery console. getting 'ntldr' missing now whereas before it just remained dark. Pmagic recognizes it as damaged with error #116. I have another pc but can't put HD on that PC given SATA nature. The HD on the current PC isn't important. Any ideas? Thanks guys even though I'm probably smoked.


Dowloaded a warez like a moron and this caused it.

 

If you say the data is not important the easiest thing to do is reinstall the OS because this fix would be sort of advanced. It's up to you whether you reinstall or not.

As of right this moment what error comes up on boot?

 

Data is not important on this pc I'm on. I'm implying if I need another HD for a fix, this can be it.

I would appreciate your info. Contrary to my being in this state (long story), I'm fairly savvy so throw it at me.

thanks

 

Okay, as of this moment when you boot up, what error are you getting?

 

sorry...ntldr missing is the error I get. partition is recognizable but windows files are not.

thanks

 

Can you explain in detail how this happened? What was the last thing you did before this occured? Also, have you tried any solutions to fix it? If so, what?

 

I downloaded a utility from a shady site and it proceeded to delete (acted like it was installing) my registry. PC then rebooted and stopped...wouldn't go into recovery mode.

 

I don't this is related to the registry, this is something to do with boot files such as NTDETECT, BOOT.INI and NTLDR.

Do you have a Windows XP disc?

 

yes, I do. I've used it to access recovery console. I've used a few commands which got me to the point of the 'ntloader not found' (fixboot, fixmbr).

 

Try this simple fix and let me know how it goes..

• Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
• When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
• Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
• Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
• You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password, if you do not have one just press enter.
• 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:\​
  
  
• Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

 

It doesn't recognize me having a windows install; only a partition

 

It does not give you an option 1 for C:\WINDOWS ??

 

no. I cannot access files in recovery console from c:\ but have a list of commands.

 

Check the site below and let me know if any of the steps work.

NTLDR Fix

 

it won't recognize windows, so I just will have to do a reinstall. I can just acquire recovery cds from HP for the apps. thanks for your time though.

 

Check my previous post, if that does not work you can do a "Repair" reinstall, if that does not work then you will have to do a complete clean install.