Can only boot using floppy, NTLDR is missing

[JT]

I got a 30Gig hard drive my brother no longer needed. I copied
everything off of my old drive onto the new one, but when I try to boot
I get the "NTLDR is missing" error message. I can only boot using a
floppy disk. I researched the NTLDR message and have tried everything
I saw including using the XP CD to create and format the partition;
using the Recovery Console with fixboot, fixmbr, and bootcfg; and
copying ntdetect.com and ntldr off of the CD.

Nothing works except to use the floppy. I even tried copying the
working files off of the floppy onto the hard drive. Any ideas? I
know that everything is correct in the BIOS setup and the "NTLDR is
missing" message is coming from the boot sector of the hard drive in
question.

Thanks.
-JT

 

[Unk]

I got a 30Gig hard drive my brother no longer needed. I copied
everything off of my old drive onto the new one, but when I try to boot
I get the "NTLDR is missing" error message. I can only boot using a
floppy disk. I researched the NTLDR message and have tried everything
I saw including using the XP CD to create and format the partition;
using the Recovery Console with fixboot, fixmbr, and bootcfg; and
copying ntdetect.com and ntldr off of the CD.

Nothing works except to use the floppy. I even tried copying the
working files off of the floppy onto the hard drive. Any ideas? I
know that everything is correct in the BIOS setup and the "NTLDR is
missing" message is coming from the boot sector of the hard drive in
question.

Thanks.
-JT

It means the boot block that initiates the Windows OS is damaged or missing.

Repair the Boot Sector using the Recovery console on the CD.
<http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How to Repair the Boot Sector:>

To repair a damaged Boot Sector, run the Recovery console from the CD. At
the command prompt type FIXBOOT and press Enter. Then answer "Y"

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm

How to fix: NTLDR is missing, press any key to restart
http://www.tinyempire.com/shortnotes/files/ntldr_missing.htm


Microsoft resources:

HOW TO: Troubleshoot the "NTLDR Is Missing" Error Message in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=318728

You Receive an "NTLDR Is Missing" Error Message When You Start Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=320397

"NTLDR Is Missing" Error Message When You Upgrade or Install Windows XP
Over Windows 9x, or Windows ME
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=314057

 

[Lardy]

Just curious, exactly how did you copy "everything off of my old drive onto
the new one"?

Lardy.

 

[JT]

I used a freeware utility called "savepart" to save the partition from
the old drive and restore it to the new drive. I've used it many times
in the past on all versions of Windows, but I think I always restored
to the same size partition. I think that's the problem. All of the
files are fine and I've inspected the boot sector, but I don't see
anything wrong.

I'm going to try one more thing. I'll install XP, save the boot sector
it creates and compare it to the boot sector after I restore the
partition. My theory is that when I restore the partition the boot
sector for the partition (not the MBR) is getting overwritten. I
thought the "fixboot" command was supposed to address this?

I don't know if it matters, but I'm using FAT32

 

[JT]

Thanks for your help, but I've tried all of those things. See my reply
to Lardy for what I'm going to try next.