no safe mode for windows xp

I had a guy to build me a computer with windows xp home version. I don't have any disks for it and I can't locate him. When I try to boot up it goes so far and says ntldr missing. I have tried pressing F7 and F8, but it continues on to ntldr missing. I do have an option of getting into the set-up by pressing del, but can't find a safe mode. Is there something else I can to get booted up all the way? If I buy windows vista will that work?

thank you,
mr. ignorant

 

Hi, computerignorant. Welcome to Major Geeks.

If you have a 2 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM and DirectX 9 capable graphics, you'd be able to run Vista. But, I have to ask do you have an external hard drive connected when you boot up? and is USB storage set ahead of the internal hard drive in the boot order/sequence? Both could be the source of your ntldr is missing error.

 

hey Mdonah,
thanks for the reply.
I have an AMD Athlon 1 Ghz processor and 1 gb of ram. I don't know what graphics I have, is there a way to find out? I don't know what boot up seguence it is either, will it tell me when I hit del during the boot up. the hard drive is a Seagate if that helps.

 

If you aren't sure how to access your boot order just reboot and immediately start tapping F8. If you are offered a choice of devices to boot from select your hard disk. The choice is often time limited so if you aren't quick enough in making your choice just try again.

If it boots OK come back and if necessary we will try to help you reset your boot order.

 

First off, your 1 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM is marginal for Vista — you could run it but, it would be a dog and look like heck because you wouldn't be able to run Aero. You'd have to run the Classic theme which, I can tell you, is awful.

If hitting Del during bootup takes you to BIOS settup, go to the boot order/sequence section and change the boot order so the CD drive is first and the internal hard drive is second. Save the changes and exit. If that fails to solve the issue, make sure no external hard drive or flash drive is connected when you boot the computer. Plug them back in after Windows is at the Desktop. IF that fails, report back here. It means there is another problem.

 

Mdonah the boot priority was sata and then cd/dvd I swaped them around and rebooted and it stopped and wanted a cd to be installed so I changed it back to the original.

 

OK. Is there a CD/DVD still in the tray when you reboot? Remove it and try rebooting agaiin. If you still get the "ntldr is missing" error, there's a problem with the installed OS and you'll need to download an XP Home SP3 ISO (the download link is at the bottom), burn it to CD and do a Repair install. This will not affect your files but, should get XP up and running again and you'll have the CD should you need it again. The Product Key from the sticker on your computer will work.

If you need help with instructions on how to do a Repair install, let me know.

 

the only sticker i see on the computer is a bar code that looks like a serial number.

 

There is no sticker anywhere on the computer (that also has a barcode or barcodes) with a series of 25 letters and numbers in groups of 5 separated by hyphens?

 

I've downloaded the SP3 on the computer. how do I find it so I can burn it to a cd?

 

There should be a file with a .iso extension in whichever folder you have specified to save downloads to — in XP it's typically Documents and Settings -> Your User Name -> My Documents -> Downloads.

 

that is the only sticker on the computer.

 

That sticker is your Certificate of Authenticity and Product Key for your XP installation. If you ever needed to do a clean re-install of XP, you would use the letters and numbers on that sticker when installation asked for them.

 

I downloaded it on windows 8.

 

This is from Microsoft:

 

there wasn't anything in downloads. I downloaded it again and I tried to copy, but it doesn't do any thing. I closed it and went to back to downloads and it wasn't there. I am downloading it again.

 

if I do get the program copied will I be able to use it without the product key?

 

Yes, because you're doing a repair. As far as locating the download, this is from TechSavvy:

You can also view downloads directly from your web browser. This is especially helpful for finding files you've downloaded recently, but it may not display every file in your Downloads folder.
We'll use Internet Explorer in the example below, but other web browsers will have similar options for viewing recently downloaded files.
In Internet Explorer, click the gear icon then select View downloads from the drop-down menu.

 

why when I click on copy it don't do anything. do I need to do something else first, it is in a zip format?

 

No, it's not in ZIP format. It is a bit-for-bit copy of the source material. You have to choose burn to CD not copy. Since Windows 8 has that capability built in, right click the ISO file and select burn to CD from the context menu.

 

the computer won't even try to boot up now, with or without a dick.

 

sorry about the wrong spelling of the word disk.

 

I don't understand quite what's going on with your XP machine. Did you go back into BIOS Setup (Del) and change the boot order to CD first? Once repairs are complete, you'll have to change it back to Hard Drive first.

I won't be able to help you further this evening but, first thing tomorrow morning (after I've had my morning coffee ). I'll have instructions on how to do the repair install WITH screenshots if you need them.

 

In Post #6, you stated boot choices were SATA first and CD/DVD second. You might have problems if you needed to do a clean install of XP because XP doesn't natively support SATA. It requires the installation of an AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) driver which I couldn't begin to tell you where to obtain one because your machine is a custom build.

We'll stick with the Repair install because the AHCI driver is already installed on your XP machine.

 

I made my boot dvd first priority and disabled sata. when I booted it ask for a dvd. I put it in and pressed a key, but nothing happened. so I went back and made sata my 2nd boot and still could get any further.

 

You burned a DVD instead of a CD? Your system may only have a CD ROM which won't read a DVD. Neither will a CD RW drive if that's what you have. You need to burn the ISO to a CD.

 

I burned a cd-rw. I have 2 external drives one says super writemaster dvd multi-recorder and the other is a dvd rom and also has compact disk on it. on boot I have cd/cvd: 4S-TSSTcorp as first priority and hard hard drive as second. I disable the hard drive to see if that was the problem, but it didn't help.

 

If you're trying to boot from an, external, USB connected drive, you have to put USB storage as the first boot choice. I thought you were trying to boot from an internal optical drive. Is that 4S-TSSTcorp drive internal or one of the USB connected drives?

 

it is a part of the computer that you push a button and a door opens so you can put a disk in.

 

it is installed in front of the computer.

 

OK. When you select CD in the boot choice, that's the one you use. Not one of the external drives (if that's what you were trying to do). If it still won't boot from the TSST drive, you may have to use one of the external drives but, as I said, USB storage will have to be set as first choice.

 

is an external drive something that I have to buy or is it something I can plug into like a usb stick?

 

if so I will have to burn the xp iso file onto a usb stick.

 

No. You said you had 2 external drives. If you can't boot from the TSST Corp internal drive (the one on the front of the computer), plug ONE of the external drives into a USB port on your computer and set USB as the first boot choice.

However, you could boot from a bootable flash drive by setting USB first as well.

 

I was thought the two installed on the front of the computer were called external drives. I know you must be getting frustrated with me and if you want to quit I will understand.

 

would any external drive work or do I have to buy one that is compatible to my computer?

 

No, I'm not getting frustrated and I very much want to see this through to a successful resolution. Internal drives are anything that's physically mounted to the computer like your hard drive and, apparently, you have two optical drives that are internal as well despite the fact that the trays slide out. External drives are just that. They will have their own cases/enclosures, sit by themselves outside of the computer and require an external connector like a USB cable.

 

Any USB connected drive should be compatible with your computer. I'm running a Dell Precision M70 that has Windows Vista Ultimate on the "C" drive and it came with an internal NEC ND-6650A DVD±RW. I have an external Sony Optiarc DVD±RW and an external LG Super Drive that I can connect to USB ports on my Dell and burn 3 CDs/DVDs at once. I had actually done that when I was experimenting with different Linux distributions in an attempt to find a suitable Windows XP replacement because Microsoft support for Windows XP was about to end.

But, guess what — I'm still running XP on another drive I can put in in place of the NEC. :-D

 

I'm going to sign off for this evening. If you have the boot order set to CD first and can't boot from one of your internal optical drives, put the CDRW you burned in the other and see if you get "Press any key to boot from CD...". If you do, report back and I'll give tou the links for the instructions on how to do the Repair install with screenshots.

 

I will try that tomorrow. I really appreciate your helping me.

 

when I put the disk in one of the drives the computer acts like it is searching but can't find what it is looking for. maybe it isn't recognizing the iso file I downloaded and burned to the cd.

 

computerignorant...

If you migrate to the .iso that you downloaded and right click and select Properties, you should be able to see the size of the .iso. Could you post back the size of the file. It should be 600-700 MB...

 

Actually for XP, it's 500 — 600 MB. My OEM is 589 MB and my retail was 581 MB. But, yeah, apparently the ISO wasn't burned to the CD. Computerignorant said he/she burned the ISO to a CDRW on a Windows 8 computer. Perhaps he/she should try with a CD-R and/or try using CDBurnerXP or similar.

 

This drive is the one you use to boot from CD. You've got a Master/Slave configuration with your two optical drives — but, that's a subject for another discussion.

 

compressed is 584,533
uncompressed 627,328

 

on the disk I burned it says it is compressed. should it be uncompressed or does the computer suppose to do that when I try to install it on the computer I an trying to fix.

 

OK, that's for the ISO file. Could you put the CD you burned in the optical drive of your Windows 8 computer and right click on the optical drive icon in Computer and select Properties and see what it reports?

 

Some files will be compressed on the CD but will be expanded by Windows Setup during installation to the hard drive.

 

AtlBo............I tried to burn with a cd-r and I could only copy. if it can be done I don't know how.
I am a male and Geary is my name.

 

on the burned disk it has 584,533 compressed