NTLDR is missing

My computer model is PCG-661L. Sorry I don't have any more information about the computer. Because it won't even let me go to setup, I can't retrieve any more specs and I don't happen to have them memorized. I tried looking up this model at Sony's support site but it said "We are sorry, there is currently no information currently available for the PCG661L."

Alright, here's what I had been doing before this error message came up:

I had deleted a lot of stuff from my Sony VAIO notebook (Windows XP Home Edition) because it is running really slow and had also said that it needed to have some space freed up because it was dangerously low. This is an old computer, maybe around 6 years. This had been the first time I had used it in at least 6 months. Even after deleting a bunch of stuff, it was still running slowly.

I had a previous version of Avast! that was really old. It was a free version under Alware (I think it was) and had actually expired. I had tried to uninstall it but there were still files there for it that I couldn't manage to manually delete (one of them was something like ash.dll). I had downloaded a new copy of the installation file for Avast! Antivirus (free edition) but had met with failure. It would say that the file I was using was outdate and it tried to download an updated version to install it, but would fail to do this. I had also installed Google Chrome (successfully) and I think that was all that I installed.

During all this time Microsoft had like 62 automatic updates it was downloading (since I hadn't used the computer for so long, I suppose). So when it prompted me to restart the computer for this, I did so.

When it restarted, it went from the Sony screen straight to a black DOS-looking screen and said,
"NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart"

Now, every time I turn the notebook on or restart it per instruction, it does this same thing. I can't seem to even get to the setup menu by pressing F2 or F3. I had read on the internet something about a BIOS reset button in the slot for the battery, but I couldn't find one. I also tried this article's suggestion with a reboot CD but my computer still does the same thing: (nevermind, TechSpot is telling me "To be able to post links or images your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.")


Any suggestions?

Maybe I deleted something I shouldn't have? Maybe the computer is dusty inside? Maybe it's just really old and has died? Maybe it's related to what I was doing with Avast!?
 
Your hard drive data boot loader is corrupt. If you can, format the hard drive and install XP fresh. If this install fails, you may have a bad hard drive or another hardware problem. You could try an XP repair first. Is the Sony laptop recovery option still valid during startup?
 
Okay. Unfortunately, I don't think I can even reformat the computer. I can't seem to do anything from the "NTLDR" screen except restart the computer! Maybe it's just dust? Or more serious, maybe
 
If you have a friend that is more familiar with computer repair, they may be able to fix this computer fairly quickly and cheaply. If you want to buy a new computer, it may be time for that too
 
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