HDD not in boot sequence and doesn't boot up

Hi,
I've using my Dell desktop for a couple of years. Last night I installed software downloaded from cnet.com.

Anyway, this morning I started my PC and got the "NTLDR is missing".
I have a raid system FYI and win xp.
Here is what I've done so far.
Check bios and saw that HD is not in boot sequence. However, the drives are detected under the drives secton in bios.
Ran my win XP cd to do repairs such as:
copy NTLDR, fixboot, chkdsk. I did this on the C prompt.
None of them worked as my HD aren't recognize

I check to see if any of the cables were loose and reseated them. None were loose.

Now after this, the win xp when pressing R for repair doesn't go t c:\ and says in can't find HD.

I've put the HD as a slave disk and connect to another PC and I'm able to see all files, access them, and open them.

I've connected another HD (IDE) (current HD are SATA) to the problem PC. The boot sequence in bios sees IDE HD but still can't boot.

thanks,
Frank

 

It sounds like your Boot Drive is part of a RAID? If so, then you probably need to look at the repairs for your RAID, not Windows per se.

RAID systems typically will sort of hijack the standard Windows Bootup Sequence, taking the standard SATA-IDE boot patterns and re-direct all commands thru the RAID "interpreter" (to simplify this concept).

The question becomes, of course, "Is the RAID Software bad or is one or more drives bad?"

(And I'm assuming you've got RAID from the motherboard connectors and NOT a separate RAID card. If so, then, well, the hijacking is a tad more complex.)

Of course, the timing of this latest software installation throws a huge question-mark into your considerations, and determining which straw broke the RAID's back OR if the drive(s) were on the verge of death anyway.

 

Hi Christine,
Thanks for the response. I don't think the HDD is bad as they are fairly new (maybe 3-4yrs?). I also can access all files when I make them a slave drive to my other PC. Also, it would be interesting that both HDD goes bad that the same exact time.
Anyway, I don't have a RAID on the mother board. I have made the RAID via software. The Dell mother board as two SATA ports and I made two HDD into RAID via software.
Where would the RAID software reside?

 

What kind of raid is it?
I'm somewhat in agreement with Christine in that I think it to be more of a raid issue than a windows issue, and that you latest installment could have broken your raid, especially if it was a software raid. Software is more susceptible to corruption than hardware.

I am not sure how you set up your initial raid before or after installation, but for a genuine/hardware raid, you would have to load separate drivers into windows, especially windows xp; using F6 and Floppy Disks. The other way it can be done is via slipstreaming, where you make your own unique version of windows with your drivers in the disc, so it loads initially and sees your raid and hard drives.

This error of windows xp not seeing your drives can also happen if you have windows xp and AHCI set on. You can either slipstream the AHCI drivers onto your XP disc or set AHCI to IDE mode, but in that case, you will not get the benefits of AHCI, and you cannot change it after install.

 

Hi BlueJay,
I have RAID 1. On my Dell Dimension E510 one can turn on RAID settings. The software I DL last night was a video editing software. I started to delete other software that it installed. Maybe I deleted something related to the RAID? All I know is that when I boot up this morning, I get the NTLDR is missing.
Hope this helps you isolate my problem.

 

Franky, you actually DO have RAID on the motherboard.

I should elaborate - there are two kinds of RAID - one using separate controller cards like LSIs and Adaptec, and one using the motherboard's offerings. The motherboard's hard-drive controller is "the hardware" piece to this and certainly not as robust as a separate card's 'controller chip' but it has enough functions so the software kicks off the functionality. It more or less "uses the doorway" that the motherboard's HDD controller has built in, already.

As long as both drives are still functional, then you've properly ruled out that possibility.

When I see a Motherboard RAID, there's usually some Very Early BIOS Setup option to explore the RAID services. I don't know what Function Key you'd tap to get into this RAID Services pre-BIOS-menu, but it should flash on-screen during the first moments of Boot Up.

To throw more spaghetti on this confusing wall, here's another consideration...

Do you have drive capacity to offload the RAID Drives' contents? Let's pretend you can jury-rig some access to the data stored on those to RAID drives. You'll probably want to wipe 'em out and re-load them from scratch just to be on the safe side, so you'll need 'extra capacity' for the Important Files. I'd probably kiss goodbye the OS and the Program Files, by the way - the loss of NTLDR isn't always a simple Copy & Replace solution.

 

(If you're ever suffering from watching American TV commercials about various pharmaceuticals, so many come with frightening side-effects warnings. "Thought of suicide", "anti-social behavior", "increased risk of fatal heart attacks or strokes" - those kind of comments always make me think, "I might just accept this runny nose a bit longer, thank you please..."

I bring this up because RAID failures leads me into counseling about side-effects. Thoughts of suicide. Thoughts of float-testing computers from high bridges over deep water. Pondering the joys of 9-lb sledgehammers vs. computer components.

All I have to do is ask Hubby where he's left the napalm tanks at, and he's scurrying around, offering to fix some computer himself... gee - I wonder why?

 

If you are referring to turning it one in the bios, then, that is a hardware raid, using the motherboard's raid function.

franky, if it is a simple matter of copying back the lost ntldr file, I suggest you try this first.