NTLDR is MISSING???

[qwestgirl]

I am running windows XP Home Edition and while booting up, I am getting the following error message..."NTLDR IS MISSING, Press Crtl+Alt+Delete to restart.....Upon reboot, I get the same error message...What is it and what do I need to do to fix?? Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[hksoftware]

I typed NTLDR into Google and found this:

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

 

[qwestgirl]

My issue is that I have a reinstall disk but not an OEM copy of windows XP. I have no way of extracting the individual files.Is there any other way of correcting this error message??? Again, I truly appreciate any//all information given...

 

[franklin97355]

Have you checked your floppy drive for disks?

The answer is "42"

 

[LawnBoy]

M$ will lead you to believe that you can simply extract the missing file(s) and all is good. It has never worked for me. As soon as you replace ntldr, another file will be missing. Replace it, and another one is missing. So on and so on, ad nauseum.

You're going to need to reload windows from scratch. But first, why did the files corrupt? I'd run a thorough scandisk to make sure the drive is in good shape before reloading.

 

[qwestgirl]

My Dell does not have floppy drive installed.....That would have been too easy..LOL

 

[qwestgirl]

In reference to LawnBoy's answer....I am not sure why the file is suddenly corrupt....Just, that it is.....So, re-installing windows, at this point is the only "fix?" This can be done but, I will only do this as a last resort because I have not backed up ANY of my files that we too often swear we are going to do every time something like this happens!!

 

[stduc]

Maybe time to splash out on SpinRite to check the drive. Go to grc.com to get it - it can make a bootable CD-ROM.

 

[qwestgirl]

Scandisk came up clean...No errors

 

[LawnBoy]

If you could put that drive in another PC (as a secondary, not the primary) you may be able to pull your files off of it.

 

[sumITguy]

You also can reinstall windows - but choose the "restore" option, again this is not the recovery console. This will replace windows and all replace your computer name - so you will have to pull all your documents and settings.

This will NOT deleted any of your other files other then the windows folder.

Hi I'm new to this forum..

 

[qwestgirl]

HI sumITguy AND WELCOME TO THIS GREAT FORUM......Thank you for the input on my situation....I am thinking that a re-install may be my best course of action, at this point...I appreciate all of the help!!!

 

[sumITguy]

Why thank you,

I'm lookin forward to learning, but helping as much as I can.

May I suggest that you "clean up" your PC and backup all your external files. After you have everything installed and jus the way you like it (minus your documents and media files) - image-backup your computer.

Use one of many programs out there like Acronis or Ghost. I believe theres xxcopy that works quite well... though not user friendly.

That way - 2days worth of work is shortened to 20min incase something goes a miss.. and it usually does.

G'luck.

 

[qwestgirl]

Sounds like a great idea...Thanks again....Qwestgirl

 

[qwestgirl]

Ok...I reinstalled XP Home and it seemed to be working ok until I tried to access my Documents and Settings.....It states that access is denied...I tried to check the properties for the folder to check the "sharing" settings however, this is grayed out and not accessible. Any chance of getting help on this one??????

 

[stduc]

You need to take ownership of the folder.

Full instruction here

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421&sd=tech

 

[qwestgirl]

Excellent!! Thank you for the reply and link....I am crossing my fingers!!

This looks like the solution to my issue....Qwestgirl