Can't get rid of NTLDR is missing - XP dual boot

[Per Chr]

Hi!
Background: I have vista 64 utimate installed, but needed to have a second
OS due to harware that has no 64 bit support. I installed XP home addition,
but installation failed due to bad CD. Lost vista in boot, but repaired it
via vista dvd. Got new CD from microsoft, formatted failed partition and
installed again. Everything works fine until restart of computer. On restart
I've got message NTLDR is missing. On the first installation (that failed due
to bad CD) I did not get this problem. Then installation continued efter
reboot, but failed later and locked completly on a lter stage.

I've tried to boot fromWindows XP setup menu to repair Windows.
I have copied \i386\ntldr and \i386\ntdetect.com to root and restarted, but
still same problem.

Does anyone have any tips on how to move foward to solve this problem!

Per chr

 

[Ian D]

Hi!
Background: I have vista 64 utimate installed, but needed to have a second
OS due to harware that has no 64 bit support. I installed XP home
addition,
but installation failed due to bad CD. Lost vista in boot, but repaired it
via vista dvd. Got new CD from microsoft, formatted failed partition and
installed again. Everything works fine until restart of computer. On
restart
I've got message NTLDR is missing. On the first installation (that failed
due
to bad CD) I did not get this problem. Then installation continued efter
reboot, but failed later and locked completly on a lter stage.

I've tried to boot fromWindows XP setup menu to repair Windows.
I have copied \i386\ntldr and \i386\ntdetect.com to root and restarted,
but
still same problem.

Does anyone have any tips on how to move foward to solve this problem!

Per chr

If XP and Vista are on different drives, make sure boot.ini,
ntldr, and ntdetect.com are in the roots of both drives. Also,
boot.ini should point to the proper location for XP. If Vista
is the boot drive, and XP is in the first partition of the other
drive, the rdisk value should be rdisk(1). Partition would be
partition(1). If XP is in the second partition of the Vista disk,
it would be rdisk(0), partition(2). The boot.ini in the XP
disk root would have rdisk(0), partition(1).

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi!
Background: I have vista 64 utimate installed, but needed to have a second
OS due to harware that has no 64 bit support. I installed XP home addition,
but installation failed due to bad CD. Lost vista in boot, but repaired it
via vista dvd. Got new CD from microsoft, formatted failed partition and
installed again. Everything works fine until restart of computer. On restart
I've got message NTLDR is missing. On the first installation (that failed due
to bad CD) I did not get this problem. Then installation continued efter
reboot, but failed later and locked completly on a lter stage.

I've tried to boot fromWindows XP setup menu to repair Windows.
I have copied \i386\ntldr and \i386\ntdetect.com to root and restarted, but
still same problem.

Does anyone have any tips on how to move foward to solve this problem!

Per chr

Vista uses a totally different booting mechanism than does WinXP. By
installing WinXP after Vista, you destroyed Vista's ability to boot.
Further, the inital failed WinXp installation likely caused further damage.

Normally, the older OS must be installed first unless you wish to
acquire and use some 3rd-party partition and boot management utility.
(In which case you have to follow the instructions provided by whatever
3rd party solution you select.) However, this KB Article (not for the
faint of heart or technically-challenged) explains how to repair the
Vista boot process after installing WinXP:

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of
the Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

MS-MVP John Barnett's Guide is considerably more user-friendly:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install_windows_xp_on_machine_running_vista.htm



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Peter Foldes]

Here is some additional info on your error

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

 

[Ian D]

http://www.vistabootpro.org/
It used to be free - now it is $9.95.
Repair Vista again and then install vistaboot pro.
Then run it in Vista and point it to your drive with XP. Make sure as
mentioned by Ian that your boot.ini file is pointing to the right
partition
on the right drive. Your bootloader is alway the Vista one. If you pick XP
it will then point it to your boot.ini file.

I'm booting Vista on C drive, XP on D drive which is partition 2 on the
first drive, and Windows 7 on J drive (another physical drive).
Vistaboot Pro made it all easy.

Menno,

What bugs me about the vistabootpro situation is that it appears
the pay version is the same as the free version, ver. 3.3.0. I'm sure
a Google search will find free copies still available.

There's one quirk with vistabootpro. If you start it in 64 bit Vista,
it will say it can't find a Vista installation, then work as normal. I
would have thought that they would have fixed that in a pay
version.