NTLDR is missing

[drummond]

Could someone please help me I could not boot up into winxp prof, after I tried to create a PDF file on line with adobe everything froze solid and now wont start i created the xp boot disks(6) and ran them I am now getting "NTLDR is Missing" can anyone intruct me in laymans terms how to solve this (I looked at the pages put out by microsoft and do not understand them) as I would like to boot back into this hard drive without formatting if possible. thank you in advance for your help................John

 

[linney]

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

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q305/5/95.asp

NTLDR is Missing:

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

 

[drummond]

thank you for the reply, I tried the first one creating the boot disks that how I ended up with the message" NTLDR is missing".
I would like to try the second one again but i dont know or think I have an "administrators passwors" how do I get around that one..................John

 

[drummond]

Is there no way around the admin password all I get when i type in " copy d:\i386\ntldr c: " is access denied. I hope there is someway around this and I dont have to format this drive. Hope someone can help me...............John

 

[wolluf]

You generally need the administrator password to get into recovery console.

You could try creating an XP boot floppy to boot your installation. Copy the files ntldr, ntdetect.com & boot.ini to a newly formatted floppy disk (the first 2 are on the install CD as you know, and if you can't access the boot.ini on your machine you can create one with text editor - like notepad. Assuming one drive & one partition, your boot.ini should look like this:-

[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

If this floppy does boot your machine, it suggests the XP partition's boot sector is damaged. You can obviously copy the files ntldr & ntdetect.com from the CD to the hard drive from withing windows, and check that the boot.ini file is not corrupt (replace it too if it is) from within windows. But if still won't boot from hard drive, you need to run fixboot command from recovery console. Is this your own machine? (you say you don't know Administrator password - but does your account have Administrator privileges? If it does, you can change the Administrator password from your account - so you can access recovery console).

 

[drummond]

Thanks for the reply, yes this is my computer and I am sure I did not set up any password. This is way over my head, I would love to save the stuff on this hard drive but I think I am going to format and chalk it up to experience........John

 

[linney]

Did you try a blank password to enter Recovery Console? It was/is looking for the password that you use when you enter the Administrator account such as the one in Safe Mode. You are also confusing the 6 floppy setup disks with a floppy boot disk (single floppy) and completely different.

I feel for you and still well remember the terror of a failing system and the complete frustration and feeling of being lost and helpless. As you say experience is a great teacher. If you have the time do try to learn from it.

Don't format without at least trying this other repair option first.

Try repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp