Fix NTLDR is missing in Win XP/2000

 

Issue:

NTLDR is Missing.

Related errors:

Below are the full error messages that may be seen when the computer is booting.

• NTLDR is Missing
  Press any key to restart
• Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
  Please insert another disk
• NTLDR is missing
  Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Solutions:

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source

Many times this error is caused when the computer is attempting to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or CD-ROM. First verify that no floppy diskette or CD is in the computer, unless you are attempting to boot from a diskette.

Note: This error has also been known to occur when a memory stick is in a card reader and the computer is attempting to boot from it. If you have any card reader or flash reader make sure that no memory stick is inside the computer. Additionally disconnect all USB drives, cameras, ipods, iphones, etc. from the computer.

2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS

Verify that your computer hard disk drive is properly setup in the CMOS setup. Improper settings can cause this error.

3. Corrupt NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM file

Windows 2000 users:

If your computer is using Microsoft Windows 2000 and you are encountering the NTLDR error. Create the below boot.ini file on the floppy diskette drive.

[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="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files from another computer using the same operating system. Both of these files are located in the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. For example, C:\NTLDR and C:\NTDETECT.COM should be the locations of these files on many computers.

• How do I view hidden files in Windows?

Once these files have been copied to a floppy diskette reboot the computer and copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files to the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. Below is an example of what commonly should be performed from the A:\> drive.

copy ntldr c:
copy ntdetect.com c:

After the above two files have been copied, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

Windows XP users:

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.
   
   copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
   copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.
8. You can do this to check your new boot ini file if you wish but this step can be skipped if you are confident that all is good.
   
   Type: type c:\Boot.ini
   You should see something like this:
   
   [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS operating systems multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect.      
9. If the system does not show the above result as in #8, run these commands one by one:                    

         Chkdsk 

         Chkdsk /p 

         Chkdsk /r

After finishing restart the system, Windows XP should boot up properly this time.


That’s all....!