Missing file NTLDR

[The Best Alias]

I awoke to a black screen of death this morning. The message was the same as the thread title, missing file NTLDR, hit ctrl, alt, del to restart. Of course windows won't start without the NT loader file. Raced out to Fry's and got a new HD (and a new case for good measure since the drive in question was sandwiched in between 3 other drives in an over crowded box) and did a clean install. I slaved the old drive and I was able to retrieve a bunch of files which I hadn't backed up. All is well that ends well, plus I was way overdue for a clean install. So here's my questions:

1. Was this possibly the result of a virus? (or more likely)
2. Was this the result of a crummy (Maxtor) hard drive fixing to fail?

Note: When I slaved this HD, I only ran it for about 30 minutes and I noticed when I unplugged it, that it was VERY VERY hot. The other HDs didn't even feel warm and they had been running hours longer. This is the 2nd Maxtor I've seen do this exact thing (missing NTLDR). I'm a bit concerned because I have another Maxtor HD in my kid's machine. It's running as the data drive and not the OS drive. I think I'm gonna swap it B4 it has a chance to mess up. I don't think applying thermal paste to the ATA connector will help. :stickout:

 

[tbrunt3]

Cause:

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
3. Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file.
4. Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
5. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
6. New hard disk drive being added.
7. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
8. Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
9. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.


try this troubleshooting guide..

and if your problem is number 3 here is the fix..

Windows XP users

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter "E". This letter may be different on your computer.

copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy ntdetect.com c:\

7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.


If the problem is bad boot sector here is the fix



It's possible your computers hard disk drive may have a corrupt boot sector and/or master boot record. These can be repaired through the Microsoft Windows Recovery console by running the fixboot and fixmbr commands.

Additional information and help in getting into the Microsoft Windows Recovery console can be found on document CH000627.


rest pretty simple..

 

[The Best Alias]

Great answer. I'm gonna choose #8 because the machine died sitting idle in the middle of the night. Did I mention how hot that drive got? Very!

 

[patio]

I don't understand #5 in your list of causes...
Why would attempting to upgrade from a FAT 32 OS cause a black screen and/or problems ? ? ?
Seems innaccurate at best.

patio.

 

[tbrunt3]

Simple answer you need NTFS for Xp not fat32 thus the answer for 5 .You place xp on fat 32 you will sometimes get this .

 

[patio]

Simply not true. I've probably done at least a half dozen machines for clients that needed FAT 32 for one reason or another and XP runs fine on all of them.

patio.

 

[The Best Alias]

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
Well now how on earth could you boot from a non-bootable source?

2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
I'm running Windohs not BeOS.

3. Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file.
NTDETECT.COM is not my ISP.

4. Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
I tried hitting the ini key, it still wouldn't boot.

5. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
HELLO! What century are we in, and who you calling fat?

6. New hard disk drive being added.
This was done after the fact, unless I was sleep upgrading again.

7. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
You just made that one up.

8. Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Stating the obvious about M$0ft operating systems isn't going to solve my problem.

9. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.
I use only the finest cables Tiwan can produce.

Did I mention how hot that Hard Drive got? Do you think spraying it with WD40 will help?

 

[tbrunt3]

Now that is funny the above post thanks :wave:

patio yes it will run on fat32 but it is suppose to be on a NTFS more security

here the link I got this from check it out yourself..

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