Cannot create boot floppy

[Charles Lavin]

Hi --

I have a Windows XP computer. The PC's owner tried to fix "a virus" by
reinstalling Windows using the PC's recovery CD. He wound up with a machine
that spits out "NTLDR missing" when switched on and will not boot.

I want to see what this man did before I do anything. I've been trying to
create a boot floppy to see if I can use it to start into Windows.

I've followed the instructions in KB 305595 to create a boot floppy from a
Windows XP box, with boot.ini, ntldr and ntdetect.com. However, when I try
to boot the PC using this floppy, all I get is:

Disk error
Press any key to restart

I get this same error if I try to boot the PC with a blank floppy that was
formatted under Windows XP. If I try to boot the PC with a blank MS-DOS
formatted floppy, I get the familiar "Non-system disk or disk error" error.
And if I try to boot the PC using a bootable MS-DOS floppy, the PC boots
into DOS. So I'm sure that the floppy drive is working properly and that I
have no BIOS issues.

I've enabled the System attributes on the files on the floppy -- no help.

Why won't my boot floppy work? Is there some magical step I've forgotten to
take?

Thanks,
CL

 

[Li'l Roberto]

If your DOS boot diskette is setup correctly it will get you to an A: prompt, but remember MS-DOS cannot read NTFS, I think your problem is linked to the OEMs recovery methodology.
Not knowing what the machine is it's hard to be more specific, but some, EG Packard Bell's require a dedicated diskette to boot into the hidden recovery partition [FAT32] as part of the process, others just use a recovery CD.

rgds
Robert

 

[Peter Foldes]

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

 

[Kelly]

Tons of info, Charles. It depends.....good luck!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=NTLDR+is+missing

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com

In memory of those lost during Katrina &
Prayers and Hope for the remaining displaced.

Thanks for the info. But I'm just trying to get around the machine's
"NTLDR missing" error for the moment. I'm hoping that by providing the
missing NTLDR on a Windows XP boot disk, the PC will then continue to boot
off of whatever is on the hard drive.

When I created the Windows XP boot diskette using the instructions in that
MS Knowledge Base article, the PC wouldn't boot as advertised.

When I try to boot off a normal DOS boot diskette, the PC boots to DOS.
Granted, that's not of much help to me, except to show that the floppy
disk drive is working properly and that the BIOS is properly set up to
boot from floppy.

Thanks again,
CL


If your DOS boot diskette is setup correctly it will get you to an A:
prompt, but remember MS-DOS cannot read NTFS, I think your problem
is linked to the OEMs recovery methodology.
Not knowing what the machine is it's hard to be more specific, but
some, EG Packard Bell's require a dedicated diskette to boot into
the hidden recovery partition [FAT32] as part of the process, others
just use a recovery CD.

rgds
Robert

Hi --

I have a Windows XP computer. The PC's owner tried to fix "a virus" by
reinstalling Windows using the PC's recovery CD. He wound up with a
machine
that spits out "NTLDR missing" when switched on and will not boot.

I want to see what this man did before I do anything. I've been trying to
create a boot floppy to see if I can use it to start into Windows.

I've followed the instructions in KB 305595 to create a boot floppy from
a
Windows XP box, with boot.ini, ntldr and ntdetect.com. However, when I
try
to boot the PC using this floppy, all I get is:

Disk error
Press any key to restart

I get this same error if I try to boot the PC with a blank floppy that
was
formatted under Windows XP. If I try to boot the PC with a blank MS-DOS
formatted floppy, I get the familiar "Non-system disk or disk error"
error.
And if I try to boot the PC using a bootable MS-DOS floppy, the PC boots
into DOS. So I'm sure that the floppy drive is working properly and that
I
have no BIOS issues.

I've enabled the System attributes on the files on the floppy -- no help.

Why won't my boot floppy work? Is there some magical step I've forgotten
to
take?

Thanks,
CL

 

[Charles Lavin]

Thanks for the info. But I'm just trying to get around the machine's "NTLDR
missing" error for the moment. I'm hoping that by providing the missing
NTLDR on a Windows XP boot disk, the PC will then continue to boot off of
whatever is on the hard drive.

When I created the Windows XP boot diskette using the instructions in that
MS Knowledge Base article, the PC wouldn't boot as advertised.

When I try to boot off a normal DOS boot diskette, the PC boots to DOS.
Granted, that's not of much help to me, except to show that the floppy disk
drive is working properly and that the BIOS is properly set up to boot from
floppy.

Thanks again,
CL


If your DOS boot diskette is setup correctly it will get you to an A:
prompt, but remember MS-DOS cannot read NTFS, I think your problem is
linked to the OEMs recovery methodology.
Not knowing what the machine is it's hard to be more specific, but
some, EG Packard Bell's require a dedicated diskette to boot into
the hidden recovery partition [FAT32] as part of the process, others
just use a recovery CD.

rgds
Robert