Missing NTLDR?

[osci]

Hi guys, running XP pro SP2

I keep gettign this intermittent fault at startup, missing NTLDR....press ctr+alt+dlt to restart, I almost through a tantrum just now.

does anyone know what this is? and offer any advice?

cheers

[fandtm666]

If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS. Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive.

For NTFS:

1.

Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD.
2.

At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3.

Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1
4.

Enter in the administrator password when requested
5.

Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive)

*

COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
*

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

6.

Take out the CD and type exit


or

To fix the problem:

01. Boot the Windows CD-ROM .

02. When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press R to repair the installation.

03. Press C to start the Recovery Console.

04. Type the installation number that you wish to repair and press Enter.

05. Type the administrator password
that you provided when you installed Windows and press Enter.

06. Type chkdsk /r and press Enter.

07. Type cd .. and press Enter.

08. Type ren ntldr ntldr.old and press Enter.

09. Type copy <CD-ROM Drive:>\i386\ntldr c:\ntldr and press Enter.

10. Type exit and press Enter.

[problem child]

quick google
loose / dodgy ide cable
trying to boot to usb


has a missing ntlldr fix

[osci]

Thanks Diavalo & problem child.....I fiddled with the cables and has come back up, I have a win98 disk here that I will load the files from, but also muct get a hold of hirens boot cd.

cheers !!

[Philquad]

id go with the bad cable or even hard drive
even though those 2 are very important xp files
they shouldnt go walkabout without a reason

[BCNZ]

How many hard drives in your PC?

As well as the issues mentioned above, I've also had this problem when the machine isn't sure about which drive to boot from.
Most often shows up when you have a mix of IDE and SATA drives.