Ntldr is missing

So i have purchaced the recovery cds and im still getting the same error i have placed cd drive in the #1 and I still get NTLDR IS MISSING.what could this be and can eny one please help me do i need a new hard drive or what.i can get into bios and thats all pressing r or f10 does nothing f1 works esc works but as you no it brings me to bios or boot menue I have a HP M370n with XP All help is most welcome:cry

 

You need to put the disc with the operating system in the drive and bring up the boot menu and select the CD drive to boot from.

 

Hi there aleisure2 what collins means is, you have to change the boot order in your BIOS, these instructions i'm giving you are if you have the original Xp cd, but will work with the recovery disc aswell !

To change the BIOS to boot from CD :

1 : Turn on your computer.

2 : Pay attention to the on-screen instructions given during the boot sequence. Press the key indicated in the instructions ( "F1," "F2," "F12," " or "Del" are common) to enter the BIOS setup. The selection may simply be called "Setup."

3 : Look for a boot priority screen. Depending on the manufacturer and version of your BIOS, there may be a menu called "Boot." Press the right arrow key to step through the menus until you find a boot priority screen.

4 : Note the primary and secondary boot device. Use the arrow keys and the "Enter" key to select the CD-ROM drive as the primary boot device. Use the arrow keys and "Enter" key to select the hard drive drive as the secondary boot device.

5 : Note the instructions in your BIOS for how to save and exit ("F10" is common). Press the key or key combination to save the changes and exit BIOS.

If you get the "NTLDR is Missing" error, follow these instructions:
For Use With Original XP CD

1. Load Windows XP CD into CD drive.
2. Make sure BIOS is set to boot to CD drive.
3. Boot the computer from CD.
4. At menu, press "R" to load Recovery Console.
5. Select the installation to be fixed.
*The following instructions assume CD-ROM is labeled as drive D and the hard drive partition the windows installation is on is labeled as drive C. Replace the letters accordingly.
6. Type "COPY D:\i386\ntldr C:\" and press ENTER.
7. Type "COPY D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\" and press ENTER.
8. Remove CD and type "EXIT" and press ENTER (to reboot your computer).

 

Sorry I didn't put much detail into my last post - I had to rush off to a lecture.

Anyway, RustyJack is right but my method is slightly quicker. What I am suggesting is for you to access the boot menu that will allow you to boot from the CD just for that startup rather than the computer looking to boot from the CD every time it starts. This will not prevent boot, only slow it down by a second or so.

The boot menu is normally accessed by F11 or F12.

 

So I have done that already sorry I dident make that clear.Ive placed the cd drive in the #1 and hard drive in#2 and save and exit bios to restart and the same thing happens ntldr is missing press ctrl alt del to restart.i have even pressed esc to go to the bios to manualy select the cd drive in the bios.and still no luck its very frustrateing.be assured im doing everything to the letter and getting the same results.

 

In this case I would assume that the disc is not bootable. Are you absolutely sure you are using the disc with XP written on it somewhere?

 

With Windows recovery Cds you have to watch for the message

"Press any key to boot from CD"

Then press the space bar.

This happens pretty quickly after switchon so watch carefully.

 

yes I just bought the disks from HP. I am whatching quite closely and im not missing the promt. I belive replaceing my hard drive is the answer.what do you guys think?HP recomends I buy a new PC because it will cost 250 to fix they say its the hard drive so IM going to buy a 79.00 drive and try that 250.00HP customer service sucks #%^%$ &^buy a new pc is thare answer to every thing...

 

A new hard drive is not the answer.

A proper CD should boot the PC regardless of whether it even has a hard drive.

So you did see the prompt and hit the space bar?

This is important.

 

Since your response is intermittent I am assuming you may be having some difficulty connecting.

I said the appearance of the prompt is important because it means that you have the BIOS correctly set to boot from a CD and that the CD drive and system recognises a bootable CD you have placed in it.

If the system then proceeds to the NTLDR missing notice it means that it has not recognised any input you have made.

This may be due to a faulty or/ USB or/ wireless keyboard. A plain vanilla keyboard is best for troubleshooting.

 

so i have just instaled my 79.00 hard drive and it went right to the press r to start recoveryall is well.it shut off and when i turned it on it gave me the r recovery option as well as f for formating full system recovery so i went with f and it keeps shuting down. and hear i thought every thing was good :cry as you might have guessed im doing this as i type this post so now she keeps shurting down

 

If you have put a new hard drive in the computer then you will need to purchase and install a new copy of Windows as the recovery disks you have probably only allow a repair install which requires a copy of windows to be present on the drive.

My advice to you at this stage is to put the old hard drive back in and try what studiot suggested above.

 

im useing a regular keybord .I discoverd that when i was messing round inside I took off the cooling vent thats on top of the processor well in doing so i broke a tab and it was getting hot because it was not laying flat. so when i held it down it started recovery just fine and was booting up and not shuting off .so I have damaged me pc further and need to find out if the plastic is replaceable or if i can repair it some how not sure yet it cooling off.but every thing seems to be fine other than that one issue witch makes my pc shut off so it is booting up just fine now with the disks and the new hard drive

 

I assume you mean the plastic tabs that hold down the heatsink on the processor.

They look like this: http://img228.imageshack.us/i/retentionpersgc5.jpg/

If this is the broken component then you need to replace it as the device it holds on is critical to the safe running of the system. Go to your local computer shop and have them replace it for you. I would advise against you using the computer until it is replaced.

 

Just get someone who knows what she is doing to help you, before you do any more damage.