NTLDR missing

Posted: 08-20-2003, 11:53 PM
Upon getting the Blaster worm, my computer shut down.
Now when I try to turn it back on, it goes through
initial PCI device listing, but never gets to Windows
startup. Rather, the line, "NTLDR is missing" comes up
and says to press any key to restart. Upon pressing
anykey, the same message comes back up, over and over.
So I can't even get my computer turned on to run the
patch. Please any help or advice?
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Responses to "NTLDR missing"

Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
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Re: NTLDR missing
Posted: 08-21-2003, 12:13 AM
Here's a few things to try.

Boot the system and start pressing F8, this should bring up a menu,
select "Last Known Good Configuration"

If that fails try the recovery console, assuming you
have a retail version or full OEM version of XP as opposed to the
manufacturer's recovery disks that don't have this option though they
might offer their own recover scenario.

Be sure your system is set to boot from the CD. If you are not sure, when
the system first boots you usually see message about how to enter setup or
something similar and tells you to hit a key, sometimes it's del, sometimes
it's esc, just hit the key. This takes you to the system bios, you need to
navigate to where the boot sequence is set, put the CD-ROM drive first in
line.

Place the XP CD in the drive, save your settings and exit. The system will
reboot and should boot from the CD. If you see a message to hit any key in
order to boot from the CD, do so, otherwise, assuming your system supports
it, the system should boot from the CD on its own as it can't find
an OS on the hard drive.

XP Setup will begin by examining your system, don't worry, just let it run,
it's just copying some files to a temp folder. Ultimately, you'll be
brought to a menu. Choose, "Repair a Windows XP installation using the
Recovery Console, press R.

You will be asked for an administrators password. This is not any of the
accounts you've created for XP. It's a hidden system account for which
users are asked only to create a password during setup. Most leave this
blank. If you left it blank, when asked for a password, just leave blank
and press enter.

At the command prompt type and press Enter key after each line as follows

COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C:\
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\

Then, type Exit at the command prompt to leave the Recovery Console, remove
the
XP CD and reboot.

If that fails, try a repair install as follows, again assuming you have an
actual XP CD:

NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.
--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/


Jeffrey wrote:
> Upon getting the Blaster worm, my computer shut down.
> Now when I try to turn it back on, it goes through
> initial PCI device listing, but never gets to Windows
> startup. Rather, the line, "NTLDR is missing" comes up
> and says to press any key to restart. Upon pressing
> anykey, the same message comes back up, over and over.
> So I can't even get my computer turned on to run the
> patch. Please any help or advice?

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Ken
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Posts: n/a
 
NTLDR Missing
Posted: 11-08-2003, 01:50 PM
I can't start me desktop. I keep getting the
message "NTLDR missing press CRTL+ALT+DEL to restart".
This is not after a install or anything. My computer
came with XP. How can I fix this or do I need to
reinstall XP???
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Ken
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NTLDR missing
Posted: 11-08-2003, 03:43 PM
I keep getting the "NTLDR missing Press Crtl+Alt+Del to
restart" error when I try to start my computer. It will
not load windows even with the XP CD. XP is my original
OS not a upgrade or anything. I've tried searching the
KB but all the fixes that are suggested in there do not
work. I have tried copying from the XP setup disk and it
still doesn't work. I decided to just reinstall XP. Can
someone tell me how and or why I got this error and how I
can prevent it from happening again??? I don't want to
do all this in the future. Thanks
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Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
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Posts: n/a
 
Re: NTLDR missing
Posted: 11-09-2003, 12:23 AM
Usually a system crash or lockup of some kind, also improper shutdown as in
you had to turn the machine off because it wouldn't shut down. Disk
utilities not rated for XP can corrupt the system as can a bad install or
even some conflict on your setup.

You might try running the compatibility wizard on your system to make sure
all hardware and software are in compliance. Place the XP CD in the drive,
when the setup screen appears, select "Check System Compatibility." After
you run it, the system may start XP setup, just cancel out of it at the
first available opportunity if that happens.

Also, check the Event Log for recurring errors. Open Control Panel, open
Administrative Tools, open Event Viewer, look for recurring errors, double
click the errors, the information contained within may give a clue as to a
source or the source of this issue.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ken" <kbat69@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:522101c3a617$5f557300$7d02280a@phx.gbl...
> I keep getting the "NTLDR missing Press Crtl+Alt+Del to
> restart" error when I try to start my computer. It will
> not load windows even with the XP CD. XP is my original
> OS not a upgrade or anything. I've tried searching the
> KB but all the fixes that are suggested in there do not
> work. I have tried copying from the XP setup disk and it
> still doesn't work. I decided to just reinstall XP. Can
> someone tell me how and or why I got this error and how I
> can prevent it from happening again??? I don't want to
> do all this in the future. Thanks

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Guest
Posts: n/a
 
NTLDR missing
Posted: 11-09-2003, 05:41 PM
From
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-
US;318728

NTLDR Missing
Use the Recovery Console
Use the Windows 2000 Setup disks to restart the computer,
or use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to restart the computer.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to repair the
Windows 2000 installation.
Press C to repair the Windows 2000 installation by using
the Recovery Console.
Type the number that corresponds to the Windows
installation that you want to repair, and then press
ENTER. For example, type 1, and then press ENTER. For
additional information, click the article number below to
view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
229716 Description of the Windows Recovery Console

Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
Type map, and then press ENTER. Note the drive letter that
is assigned to the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows
2000 CD-ROM.
Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after you type
each one, where drive is the drive letter that you typed
in step 4 of "Method 2: Use the Recovery Console," of this
article:
copy drive:\i386\ntldr c:\

copy drive:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

If you are prompted to overwrite the file, type y, and
then press ENTER.

NOTE: In these commands, there is a space between the
ntldr and c:\, and between ntdetect.com and c:\.
Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
type c:\Boot.ini

A list similar to the following list appears: [boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microso ft
Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

If you receive the following message, the Boot.ini file
may be missing or damaged:
The system cannot find the file or directory specified.

If the Boot.ini file is missing or damaged, create a new
one. To do so, follow these steps:
Use a text editor, such as Notepad or Edit.com, to create
a boot loader file similar to the following boot loader
file:[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microso ft
Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

For additional information, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
102873 BOOT.INI and ARC Path Naming Conventions and Usage

301680 HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT
Partition in Windows

Save the file to a floppy disk as Boot.ini.

NOTE: If you used Notepad to create the file, make sure
that the .txt extension is not appended to the Boot.ini
file name.
Type the following command at the Recovery Console command
prompt to copy the Boot.ini file from the floppy disk to
the computer:
copy a:\Boot.ini c:\

Type exit, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts.
>-----Original Message-----
>I keep getting the "NTLDR missing Press Crtl+Alt+Del to
>restart" error when I try to start my computer. It will
>not load windows even with the XP CD. XP is my original
>OS not a upgrade or anything. I've tried searching the
>KB but all the fixes that are suggested in there do not
>work. I have tried copying from the XP setup disk and it
>still doesn't work. I decided to just reinstall XP. Can
>someone tell me how and or why I got this error and how I
>can prevent it from happening again??? I don't want to
>do all this in the future. Thanks
>.
>
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Ryanne Bendol
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
Re: NTLDR missing
Posted: 11-09-2003, 05:43 PM
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-
US;318728

NTLDR Missing
Method 2: Use the Recovery Console
Use the Windows 2000 Setup disks to restart the computer,
or use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to restart the computer.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to repair the
Windows 2000 installation.
Press C to repair the Windows 2000 installation by using
the Recovery Console.
Type the number that corresponds to the Windows
installation that you want to repair, and then press
ENTER. For example, type 1, and then press ENTER. For
additional information, click the article number below to
view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
229716 Description of the Windows Recovery Console

Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
Type map, and then press ENTER. Note the drive letter that
is assigned to the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows
2000 CD-ROM.
Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after you type
each one, where drive is the drive letter that you typed
in step 4 of "Method 2: Use the Recovery Console," of this
article:
copy drive:\i386\ntldr c:\

copy drive:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

If you are prompted to overwrite the file, type y, and
then press ENTER.

NOTE: In these commands, there is a space between the
ntldr and c:\, and between ntdetect.com and c:\.
Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
type c:\Boot.ini

A list similar to the following list appears: [boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microso ft
Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

If you receive the following message, the Boot.ini file
may be missing or damaged:
The system cannot find the file or directory specified.

If the Boot.ini file is missing or damaged, create a new
one. To do so, follow these steps:
Use a text editor, such as Notepad or Edit.com, to create
a boot loader file similar to the following boot loader
file:[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microso ft
Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

For additional information, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
102873 BOOT.INI and ARC Path Naming Conventions and Usage

301680 HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT
Partition in Windows

Save the file to a floppy disk as Boot.ini.

NOTE: If you used Notepad to create the file, make sure
that the .txt extension is not appended to the Boot.ini
file name.
Type the following command at the Recovery Console command
prompt to copy the Boot.ini file from the floppy disk to
the computer:
copy a:\Boot.ini c:\

Type exit, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts.
>-----Original Message-----
>Usually a system crash or lockup of some kind, also
improper shutdown as in
>you had to turn the machine off because it wouldn't shut
down. Disk
>utilities not rated for XP can corrupt the system as can
a bad install or
>even some conflict on your setup.
>
>You might try running the compatibility wizard on your
system to make sure
>all hardware and software are in compliance. Place the
XP CD in the drive,
>when the setup screen appears, select "Check System
Compatibility." After
>you run it, the system may start XP setup, just cancel
out of it at the
>first available opportunity if that happens.
>
>Also, check the Event Log for recurring errors. Open
Control Panel, open
>Administrative Tools, open Event Viewer, look for
recurring errors, double
>click the errors, the information contained within may
give a clue as to a
>source or the source of this issue.
>
>--
>Michael Solomon MS-MVP
>Windows Shell/User
>Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
>DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
>
>"Ken" <kbat69@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:522101c3a617$5f557300$7d02280a@phx.gbl...
>> I keep getting the "NTLDR missing Press Crtl+Alt+Del to
>> restart" error when I try to start my computer. It will
>> not load windows even with the XP CD. XP is my original
>> OS not a upgrade or anything. I've tried searching the
>> KB but all the fixes that are suggested in there do not
>> work. I have tried copying from the XP setup disk and
it
>> still doesn't work. I decided to just reinstall XP.
Can
>> someone tell me how and or why I got this error and how
I
>> can prevent it from happening again??? I don't want to
>> do all this in the future. Thanks
>
>
>.
>
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