NTLDR compressed

[Ronald E. Foltz]

I posted a message concerning this problem some time ago but don't believe i
was specific enough:
after trying to install the sevice pack 2 i received a black screen with the
message "NTLDR compressed
press ctrl+alt+del to restart. . .when i do this i just receive the black
screen with the NTLDR message. . .have run my "recovery disk" which gives me
three options,
1) "non-destructive restore" which restores all factory installed software
and drives plus saves all my personal files and applications. . .
2) "system restore. .no format" which restores all factory installed
software and applications, plus saves my personal files but all windows apps
and drivers installed after purchase, will be erased
3) "system restore. . quick format" restores all factory installed
applications and files , everything else will be erased
I tried the first option. . it went thru all the motions of restoring
files, showing files being restored, progress and time elapsed. . when
finished, it said to click start and remove the restore cd. . got the same
black screen with the NTLDR message. . .tried the second eption with the
same results. . .
I just want to know if there is anyway of getting into the windows desktop
so maybe i can try a system restore thru "help and support". . . i don't
want to try the third option and erase all my files unless absolutely
necessary. . .. any information will be greatly appreciated. .
..thanks.............Gene

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:14:24 -0500, "Ronald E. Foltz"

|any information will be greatly appreciated.

3 files u need to boot are C:\boot.ini ,
C:\NTDETECT.COM , & C:\ntldr so u got major problem.

Here's how they work:

In the boot process, the MB (master boot record) of
the HD that is at the head of the BIOS's HD boot
order gets control.

That MBR's executable code looks for the primary
partition that is marked "active" and passes control
to it.

The boot sector of that "active" partition looks
for ntldr and passes control to it. ntldr looks for
boot.ini and if there are more than 1 entry under
the line "[operating systems]", it displays the
textual portion of boot.ini's entries as a menu on
the screen. Otherwise, ntldr just passes control to
the entry listed as "default".


I have 3 separate ways of replacing all 3 files with
1's that worked b4 but that must be setup prior to a
problem occurring ( 'Proper planning prevents piss poor
performance' I've never done a reinstall but shall
look 4 references.

HTH-Larry

Any advise is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.

 

[John John]

It's easy to fix but you need a real Windows XP disk (not a recovery
disk) to access the Recovery Console or you will have to access the
installation by mouting your hard disc into another Windows 2000/XP
computer to "decompress" ntldr. If you can't borrow a suitable Windows
XP CD then you can use the Setup boot disks available from Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310994

To "decompress" ntldr simply boot to the Recovery Console and issue the
following commands (pressing <Enter> after each):

CD \
ATTRIB -C NTLDR

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

John

 

[Ronald E. Foltz]

Hello John John. . . thanks for the help. . one more question on the
commands. . do i press enter after
CD\ then after ATTRIB-C and again after NTLDR. . .????

 

[John John]

Yes, you have to press enter after any commands that you want to run.
You use cd \ command to change to the root directory of the System
drive, where ntldr is located, (that is usually C:\). Then you change
the compression attribute on the ntldr file with the attrib command.

John

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:21:42 GMT, "Larry(LJL269)"

| I've never done a reinstall but shall
|look 4 references.

Found "To correct this copy NTLDR to the root of the
boot drive (i.e. C:\). You can find these files in
the I386 directory on the XP CD or (possibility) in the
WinXP partition" at
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb...0f0197823098e2a11485d27&query=ntldr&submit=Go

Now to copy anything u gotta be running something- DOS
or Recovery Console or my favorite BartPE (bootable XP
CD that needs to be made a priori). Like choosing
between a horse, model T & Porsche

HTH-Larry
Any advise is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.