NTLDR error

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eric G
  • Start date Start date
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Eric G

Can't boot my notebook.
Getting "NTLDR is missing."
Can boot to a floppy or CD but that's it.

I've been to the MSFT site and see that this is a documented problem.
But I don't see a quick solution. In my case I can't create a boot
floppy with the NTLDR files because I don't have a Windows XP system
apart from my notebook.

MSFT's site talks about a resolution:
To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to
obtain the Bcupdate2 utility.

How do I get this file, what do I do with it and will it fix my
problem?

I know I should be able to reformat my hard drive, but I'm trying to
avoid that at all costs.

Thanks in advance!

Eric
 
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkd_tro_bohs.asp

Nathan McNulty
Click to expand...

Hi Hathan,

Thanks for your reply.
I wish the solution would be that easy!

Because I have a Toshiba notebook which didn't come with
"Windows XP Professional Setup CD-ROM" (it came with 3 recovery disks,
that's it), I don't have the luxory of inserting this setup disk and
going from there.

If I insert disk one, I have the choice to re-install XP from scratch,
which involves formatting my hard drive!!!

I'm really painted into a corner. I'm still hoping someone can get me
out.
Thanks! Eric
 
So the CD that they included, what are the options when you put it in?
If it gives you the option, you can chose to install and it should find
the existing install. Then it will ask if you want to repair. There is
also the recovery console where you can try to type fixmbr. What has
happened is the NTLDR is the NT Loader section of your Master Boot
Record. For some reason it was overwritten, deleted, or corrupted.
Hopefully there is a way to fix it with your CD's and not have to format :(

Nathan McNulty
 
Borrow a WinXP CD from a friend, boot with it into the
Command Console, then perform the various repair commands.

If your system disk uses FAT/FAT32 then you may be able to fix
the problem with a win98 boot disk. What is it, FAT32 or NTFS?
 
Eric G said in news:[email protected]:
Can't boot my notebook.
Getting "NTLDR is missing."
Can boot to a floppy or CD but that's it.
Click to expand...
<snip - repeat post>

When posting the same question across multipe newsgroups, CROSS-POST! Specify each newsgroup in the To header so the same post appears in each. This saves bandwidth and disk space by using a pointer in each newsgroup to the same message instead of wasting bandwidth and disk space with duplicate same-content posts. Do NOT multipost. Cross-post, please. Thanks.

See replies to your other multipost in microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support.

I think someone already mentioned about doing an in-place upgrade (i.e., repair) but you said that the OEM vendor never gave you *real* installation media. All you got were disk images that lay down the original image and wipe everything out. That's the problem with going with OEM-modified software. They don't have to provide a real copy of the software. Looks like you will have to save all your data and configuration files to backup media and do the wipeout restore, reinstall your applications, and then slide your data back. Have you contacted Toshiba to see if they have some trick to use their bogus installation CD so it will perform a repair rather than an overwrite?
 
So the CD that they included, what are the options when you put it in?
If it gives you the option, you can chose to install and it should find
the existing install. Then it will ask if you want to repair. There is
also the recovery console where you can try to type fixmbr. What has
happened is the NTLDR is the NT Loader section of your Master Boot
Record. For some reason it was overwritten, deleted, or corrupted.
Hopefully there is a way to fix it with your CD's and not have to format :(

Nathan McNulty
Click to expand...


Hi Nathan,

When you insert the CD it only gives you two choices, Re-install XP,
with a caution that everything on your hard drive will be wiped out,
or Cancel.
That message is pretty SCARY. Sure, I could risk clicking OK and then
hoping in the next screen or two I'll have the option to choose
Repair, but more likely it will wipe everything out and do a fresh
install.

Eric
 
Borrow a WinXP CD from a friend, boot with it into the
Command Console, then perform the various repair commands.

If your system disk uses FAT/FAT32 then you may be able to fix
the problem with a win98 boot disk. What is it, FAT32 or NTFS?
Click to expand...


Hi Pegasus,

I'll see if I can get one.
The system uses NTFS.
Thanks. Eric
 
Eric G said in news:[email protected]:
<snip - repeat post>

When posting the same question across multipe newsgroups, CROSS-POST! =
Specify each newsgroup in the To header so the same post appears in =
each. This saves bandwidth and disk space by using a pointer in each =
newsgroup to the same message instead of wasting bandwidth and disk =
space with duplicate same-content posts. Do NOT multipost. Cross-post, =
please. Thanks.

See replies to your other multipost in =
microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support. =20

I think someone already mentioned about doing an in-place upgrade (i.e., =
repair) but you said that the OEM vendor never gave you *real* =
installation media. All you got were disk images that lay down the =
original image and wipe everything out. That's the problem with going =
with OEM-modified software. They don't have to provide a real copy of =
the software. Looks like you will have to save all your data and =
configuration files to backup media and do the wipeout restore, =
reinstall your applications, and then slide your data back. Have you =
contacted Toshiba to see if they have some trick to use their bogus =
installation CD so it will perform a repair rather than an overwrite?
Click to expand...


Sorry about multiposting! I never was sure how to cross-post.
In Free Agent at the top where it says Newsgroups, would I type
something like:
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware,
microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support, etc. ?

That's correct, the OEM vendor never gave reall installation disks.
I've contacted Toshiba twice now (speaking to two different techs).
The first said I'd have to wipe everything out. The second told me
about a website where I could download a floppy boot disk to access c:
drive (NTFS system).
Neither mentioned any tricks to get their install CDs to do a repair.

Is it possible to get the necssary files:
ntldr and boot.ini (missing this one too) from MSFT's site and
instructions how I can copy these to c: drive in my situation?

Thanks! Eric
 
Hi

Boot with your XP CD in the cd drive. Select 'To repair..' by pressing 'R'.
When in the Recovery Console type the following:

"copy X:\i386\ntldr C:\" - without the quotes. Where X is the letter of
your CD drive and C is the letter of your system drive. Take the XP CD out
of the cd drive and reboot into XP normally.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups


|
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkd_tro_bohs.asp
|
| Nathan McNulty
|
| Eric G wrote:
| > Can't boot my notebook.
| > Getting "NTLDR is missing."
| > Can boot to a floppy or CD but that's it.
| >
| > I've been to the MSFT site and see that this is a documented problem.
| > But I don't see a quick solution. In my case I can't create a boot
| > floppy with the NTLDR files because I don't have a Windows XP system
| > apart from my notebook.
| >
| > MSFT's site talks about a resolution:
| > To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to
| > obtain the Bcupdate2 utility.
| >
| > How do I get this file, what do I do with it and will it fix my
| > problem?
| >
| > I know I should be able to reformat my hard drive, but I'm trying to
| > avoid that at all costs.
| >
| > Thanks in advance!
| >
| > Eric
 
Hi

Boot with your XP CD in the cd drive. Select 'To repair..' by pressing 'R'.
When in the Recovery Console type the following:

"copy X:\i386\ntldr C:\" - without the quotes. Where X is the letter of
your CD drive and C is the letter of your system drive. Take the XP CD out
of the cd drive and reboot into XP normally.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups


| Can't boot my notebook.
| Getting "NTLDR is missing."
| Can boot to a floppy or CD but that's it.
|
| I've been to the MSFT site and see that this is a documented problem.
| But I don't see a quick solution. In my case I can't create a boot
| floppy with the NTLDR files because I don't have a Windows XP system
| apart from my notebook.
|
| MSFT's site talks about a resolution:
| To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to
| obtain the Bcupdate2 utility.
|
| How do I get this file, what do I do with it and will it fix my
| problem?
|
| I know I should be able to reformat my hard drive, but I'm trying to
| avoid that at all costs.
|
| Thanks in advance!
|
| Eric
 
Yeah, you don't want to do that. The option isn't there :( By
Re-installing XP, it will delete your user files which may include your
My Documents folder, My Music folder, etc. Did you try the recovery
console?

Nathan McNulty
 
Hi Will,

Unfortunately I don't have an XP CD to boot from.
I have a Toshiba Satellite notebook that came with Windows XP Home,
pre-installed. All they gave me were three CD's that allow a
re-imaging of XP and wiping out of everything on the hard drive.

Eric
 
Hi Nathan,


Yeah, you don't want to do that. The option isn't there :( By
Re-installing XP, it will delete your user files which may include your
My Documents folder, My Music folder, etc. Did you try the recovery
console?

Nathan McNulty
Click to expand...

My 3 Toshiba CD's don't have a Recovery console.

Eric :(
 
Eric G said in news:[email protected]:
Sorry about multiposting! I never was sure how to cross-post.
In Free Agent at the top where it says Newsgroups, would I type
something like:
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware,
microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support, etc. ?

That's correct, the OEM vendor never gave reall installation disks.
I've contacted Toshiba twice now (speaking to two different techs).
The first said I'd have to wipe everything out. The second told me
about a website where I could download a floppy boot disk to access c:
drive (NTFS system).
Neither mentioned any tricks to get their install CDs to do a repair.

Is it possible to get the necssary files:
ntldr and boot.ini (missing this one too) from MSFT's site and
instructions how I can copy these to c: drive in my situation?
Click to expand...

For Windows XP Pro setup diskettes:
http://snipurl.com/5afn
http://snipurl.com/4njc (with SP-1)

For Windows XP Home setup diskettes:
http://snipurl.com/4njc
http://snipurl.com/5ph5 (with SP-1)

The above are links at Microsoft where you download an image that will create install floppies. These are NOT complete. They only are used for booting up the system enough to read the files from the install CD. I haven't used them (because I have a real CD) so I don't know if they offer the Repair function (without the need for the rest of the files on the CD) or if they might have a copy of the NTLDR file. If the floppies let you get into Recovery Console mode, see if running FIXBOOT gets it running again. If the floppies don't work, you might end up having to do a parallel install of another copy of Windows XP (in a different directory than \Windows) and using it to run FIXBOOT. But this means you need to get your hands on a real copy of the Windows install CD. But then if you got your hands on a real CD then you could boot using it and run Repair from it.
 
Do you have a friend with a floppy who could copy his file over to your
computer? I'm not sure if that would work, but it is worth a try. I
could email it to you if you want. To put it on the harddrive, use Dr.
DOS from www.bootdisk.com ;)

Nathan McNulty
 
Do you have a friend with a floppy who could copy his file over to your
computer? I'm not sure if that would work, but it is worth a try. I
could email it to you if you want. To put it on the harddrive, use Dr.
DOS from www.bootdisk.com ;)

Nathan McNulty
Click to expand...


Hi Nathan,

Thanks for your offer.

Yesterday after spending many hours trying to get the notebook fixed
(talking to MSFT techs and Toshiba support) etc. I finally got it
working.
The strange thing is that none of the tech people who were helping me
could get it to work!

In the end it was really quite simple. I downloaded a file from MSFT's
site that allows you to create 6 boot/setup floppies.

After loading the 6 floppies I was able to gain access to the c:
drive. From there I went into c:\Windows\i386 and copied the NTLDR
file to c:\.

I was quite surprised when the computer booted up after that!

Phewww!!!! Eric
 
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