ntldr is missing - reinstallin' xp following reformat - ideas?

[Guest_imported]

following repairing a system error of significant magnitude , i was advised that I should reformat and reinstall xp. So i used recovery to reformat the HD with ntfs and began the Xp setup. I changed bios back to auto.
loadin' up I get this message 'ntldr is missing press control alt delete to restart' and begin to wonder whether microsoft really is in league with the devil.
I have looked on the internet for solutions to this and all suggestions relate to installing xp over an earlier system.
I would be glad to get some feedback on where i messed up.
Thanks

 

[linney]

What are the details of this system. Particularly is it an OEM installed version of XP or do you use a XP CD.

What is the procedure you followed in formatting this drive?

Did you receive any error messages during the installation of XP?

 

[haaba01]

Maybe this will help:


Short for NT Loader, a program loaded from the hard drive boot sector that displays the Microsoft Windows NT startup menu and helps Windows NT load.

Often a user will see the message "NTLDR is Missing" after attempting to install Windows 2000 or Windows XP, or upgrade a Windows 95-based or Windows 98-based computer to Windows 2000 or Windows XP. The message appears after the first reboot. This occurs only if Windows 95 or 98 has been installed on a drive with the FAT32 file system.

To correct the problem, the user must boot the computer with a Windows 95 or 98 Startup diskette or another bootable diskette with sys.com on it. Then, at the "A:\>" prompt, type "sys c:" and press "enter." A "System Transferred" prompt should appear and then the user must reboot the computer without the diskette.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/N/NTLDR.html

 

[conceptumator]

You can also get this message if you try to boot the machine with a non-bootable disk in the A: drive.

 

[mikecx]

This also will occur if the hard-drive is fragmented and the ntldr file is fragmented. I had it happen to a pc, restarted it a few times, and got into windows. Checked some resources and found out that fragmented hard-drive could do it. Checked the hd, it was about 50% frag'd.

 

[DKatman]

I could be mistaken, but I think it is a simple fix. I thought I found the answer easily when searching the web for this problem.

You can boot off the XP CD and choose "R" to repair a setup. At the C:\, or however that starts again, type "fixboot".

I believe you should be fine after rebooting.

Dave