Missing NTLDR files - nothing seems to work!

[Mr.Joecat]

I hope this is the right forum for this question. I have a "Missing NTLDR" problem where my computer won't boot up, and before coming to this forum I've tried every fix I found online, with no luck, so hopefully someone out there is expert enough to suggest something. I run Windows 2000 on my computer. I've ALREADY tried using a reboot disc and a startup disc, both as a floppy and as a CD. I've made sure both contained NTLDR, NTdetect.com, and boot.ini files as suggested, but they don't work. The computer is trying to access them (I can hear it trying) but either the information on the discs is not being read correctly or it just won't work. So I can't get into my computer to edit anything, I can't upload any fixes by inserting discs, and I can't even run it on safe mode. Is there anything else I can try or has my computer become just one big paperweight? Thanks for any help you can give!

[Cache]

I don't have a fix for you, but I can tell you the computer is not one big paperweight lol. I presume you need to backup some data. If you have access to another computer, pop your hard drive into that and see if you can access the data that way. Then if no-one has come-up with a magic fix for you, it might be worth trying a low level format before you give up.

[ANZAC_ELITE]

Microsoft on NTLDR missing error

You may also want to try this:

RESOLUTION
Remove the non-system disk from your boot device. For example, remove the non-system disk from the floppy drive or the CD-ROM drive.

Change your computer's boot sequence. Make sure that your computer's first boot sequence is the CD-ROM Drive.

1.Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.

Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted.

2.When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.

3.If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you must access from the Recovery Console.

4.When you are prompted, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.

5.Enter in the following commands

COPY X:i386NTLDR C:
COPY X:i386NTDETECT.COM C:
[where X=CD ROM Drive]
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

[Mr.Joecat]

Ok, I’ve made quite a bit of progress since my postings yesterday. I went to various computer help sites and downloaded the files for something called an “Emergency Restore Disk” or “Emergency Recovery Disk” on a floppy. That seems to work, in that it allows me to get past the initial screen and onto my computer normally. But here’s where the catch comes in:

When I try to correct the “Missing NTLDR” problem, I’ve used both the Windows System Restoration CD, and I have even tried to totally reload Windows altogether. The computer then says that for the changes to take effect, Windows must be restarted. However, when I do the computer isn’t reading it as a re-start, but rather right back where I began, as if I was booting on for the first time before any changes were made, where it still needs the floppy to operate and doesn’t yet recognize any of the changes or fixes that have just been installed. In other words, its like the old chicken-or-the-egg problem: for the newly installed files to work, I need a successful re-start, but in order for the computer to get a successful re-start on its own, I need for the newly installed files to work. It’s like a Catch-22.

I’ve read one idea on different help sites, in manually going in and inserting the NTLDR / NTdetec.com / boot.ini files etc. They all say they are root files, but I’m a computer novice of sorts, and I need to know exactly where on Windows 2000 these files are normally supposed to operate from, what file/subfolder/subfolder and so on. Will it work if I go in and manually insert them, or are there better ideas? At least I can now get onto my computer, but only with the help of the floppy.

[prplhaz999]

I have recently had this problem with windows 2000. Mine was an easier fix. I had to make sure the harddrive was properly seated in the scsi hot swap! That fixed the problem. You may try that if you haven't already.